Abstract

This study aimed to modify and validate an aphasia-friendly questionnaire that can be used to assess marital attachment for couples impacted by aphasia. Twenty participants (10 people with aphasia and their spouses) participated across two sessions. The study consisted of two phases. Phase 1 focused on modifying the Brief Accessibility, Responsiveness, and Engagement Scale (BARE) into an aphasia-friendly format through collaboration with an expert panel. Phase 2 involved piloting the revised questionnaire on participants with aphasia and their spouses along with a cognitive interview to obtain qualitative and descriptive data to assess the questionnaire's face validity and preliminary test-retest reliability for people with aphasia and alternate forms reliability for their spouses. Qualitative findings were analyzed using reflexive codebook analysis. Findings revealed categories that aligned with relationship accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement. The theme of personal accessibility corresponded with the categories of availability and relationship. Personal responsiveness was reflected in the categories of listening and mutual reliance. Meanwhile, personal engagement was associated with the category of closeness. The theme of spouse accessibility corresponded with the categories of attention and availability. Spouse responsiveness was reflected in the categories of listening and shared time. Spouse engagement aligned with the categories of closeness and communication. These findings suggest good face validity for people with aphasia regarding their personal accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement and their spouse's accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement. Preliminary BARE test-retest reliability for the person with aphasia and alternate forms reliability for the spouse showed generally good reliability for responsiveness and engagement but not for accessibility. Preliminary findings suggest that when answering questions from the BARE-aphasia related to relationship accessibility, responsiveness, or engagement, participants with aphasia were thinking about experiences that mapped onto the associated construct. Moreover, not enough data have been collected to adequately interpret test-retest and alternate forms reliability results. Future reliability measures with an adequate sample size could help determine which BARE subtest scores might be useful as clinical and research outcomes.

Degree

MS

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Communication Disorders

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2025-05-28

Document Type

Thesis

Handle

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd13690

Keywords

aphasia, attachment, couples, marriage, reliability, validity

Language

english

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