Behavioral and psychiatric symptoms (BPSD), common in persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD), are known to be associated with caregiver burdening. Therefore, early recognition of BPSD is necessary to protect these caregivers. The aim of this validation study was to test the internal consistency, test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of an Italian translation of the revised memory and behavior problems checklist (RMBPC), as it demonstrated high plasticity in timely measuring the day-to-day BPSD changes that challenge caregivers. A cohort of 355 dyads composed of AD subjects and their principal caregivers were assessed with the Italian version of RMPBC capitalizing on the information provided by the latter ones. The results were compared with the ones from other predictors (i.e., the Zarit Burben Interview, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the EurQuality of Life, the neuropsychiatric symptoms). The validity and stability of the It-RMBPC resulted being solid and concurrent reliability resulted having higher correlations with principal caregiver anxiety level. Future studies on the role of BPSD in fostering anxiety in AD principal caregivers are merited.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, BPSD; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS; Neuropsychiatric Inventory, NPI; Principal caregiver; Revised, memory and behavior problem checklist, RMBPC; Zarit Burden Interview, ZBI.