Table 1.
Exploratory Factor Analysis Results for the Feelings of Loss Item Pool
| Item Description | Factor 1 |
Factor 2 |
Factor 3 |
Factor 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I have stopped living my life to care for the person with the injury. | 0.72 | 0.03 | −0.11 | 0.38 |
| It feels like I have lost my own identity because I am caring for someone else. | 0.85 | 0.00 | −0.07 | 0.33 |
| The responsibilities I have as a caregiver make me feel socially isolated. | 0.86 | −0.06 | −0.10 | 0.42 |
| I am sad because my life may not be the way I thought it would be. | 0.83 | 0.07 | −0.01 | −0.09 |
| I feel sad I cannot go places because I have to care for the person with the injury. | 0.87 | 0.01 | −0.11 | 0.25 |
| I mourn that I can no longer do things that I had planned because of my role as a caregiver. | 0.88 | 0.01 | −0.03 | 0.17 |
| I mourn for the life I used to have before the person I care for was injured. | 0.76 | 0.07 | 0.11 | −0.02 |
| I get depressed when I think that I am losing my future. | 0.96 | 0.08 | −0.16 | −0.09 |
| I feel devastated when I think that I am losing my future. | 0.98 | 0.13 | −0.22 | −0.07 |
| I feel miserable when I think about how my life has changed since the injury. | 0.86 | 0.07 | 0.01 | −0.16 |
| I feel sad because becoming a caregiver has changed who I am. | 0.90 | −0.13 | 0.11 | −0.02 |
| I feel sad because I am no longer able to do things I used to enjoy with the person I care for. | 0.43 | 0.22 | 0.35 | 0.04 |
| I feel sad because becoming a caregiver has changed what I expect for my future. | 0.96 | −0.07 | −0.01 | 0.03 |
| I feel devastated because my plans for the future have changed since the injury. | 0.83 | 0.16 | −0.07 | −0.08 |
| It is difficult to pursue new relationships because I have to care for the person with the injury. | 0.70 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.31 |
| It is difficult to deal with personality changes in the person I care for. | 0.37 | 0.24 | 0.31 | 0.04 |
| My relationships with other people are affected because I have to care for the person with the injury. | 0.68 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.44 |
| I have a sense of loss due to the injury. | 0.44 | 0.32 | 0.16 | 0.07 |
| I have a sense of loss because I cannot travel as much as I would like because of my caregiver responsibilities. | 0.72 | 0.07 | −0.03 | 0.34 |
| I miss the way my life was before the injury. | 0.72 | 0.00 | 0.21 | 0.02 |
| I feel like the plans I had for the rest of my life have changed since becoming a caregiver. | 0.77 | 0.03 | 0.06 | 0.22 |
| I have difficulty accepting how much my life has changed. | 0.79 | 0.01 | 0.15 | −0.16 |
| I feel like I do not have a fulfilling life due to my role as a caregiver. | 0.84 | 0.01 | 0.04 | 0.02 |
| I feel that I have no hope when I think about the future of the person I care for. | 0.56 | 0.36 | −0.01 | −0.07 |
| I feel like the life I once had is now over. | 0.80 | 0.04 | 0.07 | 0.09 |
| I feel like my life is gone because I am providing care for someone else. | 0.89 | 0.03 | −0.02 | 0.03 |
| It is difficult to accept my new way of life. | 0.83 | 0.02 | 0.11 | −0.18 |
| My life has changed for the worse due to my role as a caregiver. | 0.86 | −0.01 | 0.01 | −0.07 |
| I feel like I have changed the focus of my life to care for the person with the injury. | 0.46 | 0.12 | −0.01 | 0.46 |
| It is difficult to accept that I may be caring for the person with the injury for the rest of my life. | 0.74 | 0.09 | 0.03 | −0.07 |
| I limit my social activities because I have to care for the person with the injury. | 0.62 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.54 |
| I have had trouble getting my life going again since the person I care for was injured. | 0.62 | 0.07 | 0.16 | 0.14 |
| I neglect relationships because of my caregiving role. | 0.71 | −0.04 | 0.06 | 0.44 |
| I feel excluded from social activities because I have to care for the person with the injury. | 0.72 | 0.00 | 0.04 | 0.48 |
| I feel like I do not have direction in my life. | 0.87 | −0.10 | 0.03 | 0.04 |
| I feel like I have lost relationships because of my caregiver responsibilities. | 0.74 | −0.06 | 0.07 | 0.44 |
| I feel like my life has been turned upside down because of the injury. | 0.66 | 0.06 | 0.16 | 0.12 |
| I feel lonely in my role as a caregiver. | 0.75 | −0.10 | 0.22 | 0.19 |
| It feels like life is going on without me. | 0.83 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.12 |
| I feel as if I do not have anyone to share my life with anymore due to the injury. | 0.74 | −0.08 | 0.26 | 0.10 |
| I feel depressed because it is difficult to relate to the person I care for. | 0.48 | 0.17 | 0.35 | −0.11 |
| I feel like my life was ruined by the injury. | 0.79 | 0.02 | 0.14 | −0.12 |
| I feel like my life has been destroyed by the injury. | 0.84 | 0.01 | 0.10 | −0.09 |
| My heart breaks over the situation the person I care for is in. | 0.00 | 0.76 | −0.10 | 0.18 |
| I mourn the way the person I care for used to be before the injury. | −0.11 | 0.78 | 0.23 | −0.03 |
| I get sad when I think about the loss of abilities of the person with the injury. | −0.12 | 0.97 | 0.04 | 0.07 |
| I get sad because it is difficult to put myself in the position of the person I care for. | 0.13 | 0.45 | 0.16 | −0.12 |
| I get sad when I think about lost relationships of the person I care for. | 0.03 | 0.67 | 0.21 | 0.06 |
| I get depressed when I think about the situation the person I care for is in. | 0.22 | 0.70 | −0.07 | −0.10 |
| I feel devastated when I think that the person I care for is losing his/her future. | 0.21 | 0.78 | −0.12 | −0.06 |
| I feel sad because the person I care for has experienced changes in emotion that are a result of the injury. | −0.11 | 0.78 | 0.23 | 0.13 |
| I feel sad because the person I care for has experienced changes in memory that are a result of the injury. | 0.02 | 0.69 | 0.16 | 0.12 |
| I feel sad because the person I care for may never fully recover. | 0.01 | 0.89 | −0.03 | 0.10 |
| I feel angry because the person I care for may never fully recover. | 0.20 | 0.66 | −0.04 | −0.10 |
| I feel as if the person I care for does not have a fulfilling life since the injury. | 0.06 | 0.77 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| It is difficult trying to accept that the person I care for may never fully recover. | 0.23 | 0.60 | 0.04 | −0.08 |
| It is difficult to accept that the person I care for is no longer the same person as before. | 0.15 | 0.53 | 0.30 | −0.13 |
| It is painful to remember who the person I care for used to be before the injury. | 0.01 | 0.50 | 0.46 | −0.06 |
| I mourn the fact that the person I care for no longer interacts with other family members in the same way as before the injury. | 0.01 | 0.47 | 0.45 | 0.20 |
| I feel like I am grieving for who the person I care for used to be. | 0.11 | 0.51 | 0.43 | 0.02 |
| I grieve about the loss of the future of the person I care for. | 0.10 | 0.77 | 0.07 | 0.03 |
| I feel devastated about the changes in personality of the person I care for since their injury. | 0.08 | 0.55 | 0.36 | −0.08 |
| I feel like the life of the person I care for has been destroyed by the injury. | 0.22 | 0.60 | 0.11 | 0.03 |
| I get sad when I think about how much my relationship has changed with the person I care for since the injury. | 0.27 | 0.20 | 0.53 | −0.04 |
| I feel like I am waiting for the person I care for to change back to the person she/he used to be. | 0.24 | 0.26 | 0.27 | −0.19 |
| I have had to adjust to the new personality of the person I care for. | 0.00 | 0.33 | 0.46 | 0.20 |
| I miss the companionship I once shared with the person I care for. | 0.19 | 0.17 | 0.64 | 0.00 |
| I feel like I need to get to know the person I care for again. | 0.10 | 0.17 | 0.60 | 0.02 |
| I mourn the fact that the person I care for no longer interacts with me in the same way as before the injury. | 0.08 | 0.27 | 0.68 | 0.04 |
| I feel like the bond I once shared with the person I care for is gone. |
0.37 | 0.00 | 0.63 | −0.08 |