Twenty-seven wives who care for their spouses suffering from dementia completed the Anticipatory Grief Scale (AGS) and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist—SCL-90-R. The alpha coefficient for the AGS was 0.84, indicating good internal consistency. The AGS was also positively and significantly correlated (p < 0.001) with the depression, anxiety, and hostility dimensions of the SCL-90-R, demonstrating good validity. This study explores bereavement issues of spouses of patients with dementia and provides preliminary findings on a new instrument to measure anticipatory grief.
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