Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation, and Validation of the Fear of Dependency Scale Into European Portuguese

Abstract

Background: Dependency is defined as a person’s inability to meet basic human needs. In the context of aging, biopsychosocial changes compromise functionality, predisposing older adults to rely on others to perform daily activities. Fear of dependency describes the fear people have of appearing and/or being weak and/or reliant on others. The Fear of Dependency Scale (FDS), developed by Adams-Price and Ralston in 2016, aims to assess the fear of dependency by measuring an individual’s attitudes toward being helped. Objective: This study presents a European Portuguese version of the FDS and examines its psychometric properties (internal consistency reliability and content validity). Methods: The translation and both cultural and linguistic adaptation of the FDS were performed by a panel of experts. A cross-sectional study was then performed to evaluate the psychometric properties (in terms of its reliability and validity) of the translated version of the FDS among a sample of 100 community-dwelling older adults. Results: The European Portuguese version of the FDS exhibited good psychometric properties. The scale’s internal consistency was 0.84. Conclusions: The European Portuguese version of the FDS is a reliable, valid, and practical instrument for assessing the fear of dependency in older adults in the Portuguese population. It can be used in the context of health care provision and research.