[Assessment of problems associated with caregiving: the family strain questionnaire].

Our study concerns a questionnaire for the evaluation of caregiving-related problems: the Family Strain Questionnaire. The questionnaire, which is composed by a structured interview and 47 dychotomous items, was administered to 409 caregivers of patients with different kinds of chronic diseases. Factorial analysis shows a structure of 5 factors named: emotional strain, social involvement, knowledge of the disease, family relationships and thoughts about death. The FSQ is sensible in discriminating different groups of caregivers. This paper presents the psychometric properties as well as the clinical advantages evidenced by the FSQ.