In addition to the stress and burden, caregiving can bring positive feelings and rewards: feeling altruistic, alleviating a loved one’s suffering, and having a sense of purpose. These positive aspects of caregiving are often overlooked, even though nearly three out four caregivers report having positive experiences (Cohen, Colantonio, & Vernich, 2002). In a study of 1,229 caregivers, the caregivers’ positive feelings toward caregiving were positively associated with their level of well-being, self-reported health, and satisfaction with received social support (Tarlow et al., 2004).

The Positive Aspects of Caregiving is a 9-item scale that combines two components: Self-Affirmation, and Outlook on Life for one total score. This measure was designed to identify the positive aspects of caregiving using a sample of dementia caregivers. Higher scores represent more positive appraisals.