Factor analyses of the Chinese Zarit Burden Interview among caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in a rural Chinese community

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the factor structure of the Chinese version of the 22-item Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) among family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in China. METHODS: Using one-stage cluster-sampling design, 324 primary caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in Ningxiang County, Hunan Province, China, completed the Zarit Burden Interview face-to-face. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was first performed based on existing models to check model fit. Owing to an unsatisfactory result of CFA, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was then conducted to explore a new factor structure, and a subsequent CFA was run to examine its model fit. RESULTS: The CFA results showed that none of the existing models fit the data reasonably well. The EFA results suggested five dimensions: negative emotion (10 items), interpersonal relationship (4 items), time demand (3 items), patient’s dependence (2 items) and self-accusation and guilt (2 items). The following CFA confirmed the five-factor solution in this study, and the goodness-of-fit for this model fell within the acceptable range. The overall internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) was 0.88, and the internal consistency coefficients of individual dimensions were 0.68 to 0.84. CONCLUSION: This study supported a 22-item ZBI scale, with a five-factor structure when applied to Chinese caregivers of patients with schizophrenia.