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Sekentei and Family Caregiving of Elders Among the Japanese: Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Sekentei Scale

¹ Department of Sociology and Human Welfare, Meisei University, Tokyo, Japan.
² Social Science Research Institute, University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Address correspondence to Masayuki O. Asai, Department of Sociology and Human Welfare, Meisei University, 2-1-1 Hodokubo, Hino-shi, Tokyo 191-8506 Japan. E-Mail: moa{at}soci.meisei-u.ac.jp

Objectives. This study describes the development and psychometric evaluation of a measure for assessing sekentei, a construct rooted in the Japanese culture. Sekentei is a social construct that causes a person to worry about others' evaluations of his or her behavior. The concept of sekentei may be an important factor related to family caregiving of elders in Japan.

Methods. We used a multiphased process to develop, refine, and evaluate the reliability and validity of the Sekentei Scale. Following the development and refinement of the measure, we administered the Sekentei Scale and other measures for assessing validity to 150 Japanese National and 116 Caucasian American family caregivers of elders. We used Cronbach's alpha to estimate internal consistency reliability. We examined validity by (a) correlating scores on the Sekentei and Shame Scales and (b) testing the Sekentei Scale's ability to yield hypothesized differences between the Japanese and the Americans.

Results. The results provided adequate support for the reliability and validity of the Sekentei Scale.

Discussion. The findings provide useful data regarding the construct and measurement of sekentei and provide preliminary psychometric support for the measure's use in future research.