A Validation of the French Version of the Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire (AAQ): Factor Structure, Reliability and Validity.

Manon Marquet,Pierre Missotten,Marjan Van Den Akker,Frank Buntinx,C Van Den Broeke ,Sarah Schroyen,Iris Van Sambeek,Stéphane Adam

doi:10.5334/pb.301

Manon Marquet, Pierre Missotten + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.5334/pb.301

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Abstract

Introduction: The Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire (AAQ) was developed to measure attitudes toward the aging process as a personal experience from the perspective of older people. The present study aimed to validate the French version of the AAQ.Participants and methods: This study examined factor structure, acceptability, reliability and validity of the AAQ’s French version in 238 Belgian adults aged 60 years or older. In addition, participants provided information on demographics, self-perception of their mental and physical health (single items), quality of life (WHOQOL-OLD) and social desirability (DS-36).Results: Exploratory Factor Analysis produced a three-factor solution accounting for 36.9% of the variance. No floor or ceiling effects were found. The internal consistency, measured by Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the AAQ subscales were 0.62 (Physical Change), 0.74 (Psychological Growth), and 0.75 (Psychosocial Loss). A priori expected associations were found between AAQ subscales, self-reported health and quality of life, indicating good convergent validity. The scale also showed a good ability to discriminate between people with lower and higher education levels, supporting adequate known-groups validity. Finally, we confirmed the need to control for social desirability biases when assessing self-reported attitudes toward one’s own aging.Conclusion: The data support the usefulness of the French version of the AAQ for the assessment of attitudes toward their own aging in older people.

Highlights

The Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire (AAQ) was developed to measure attitudes toward the aging process as a personal experience from the perspective of older people
In Western societies, this increasing proportion of older people is associated with a view of aging which is deeply focused on decline
The total sample was composed of people having participated in different surveys including the measure of interest (AAQ) conducted by the Psychology of Aging Unit (University of Liège)

Summary

Introduction

The Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire (AAQ) was developed to measure attitudes toward the aging process as a personal experience from the perspective of older people. According to the Levy’s stereotype embodiment theory (Levy, 2009), prolonged exposure to negative aging stereotypes during childhood and adulthood results in people developing negative stereotypes about the older population. This phenomenon has consequences: a long-term follow-up study among 395 people aged 22 years at baseline showed that people with more negative age stereotypes (at baseline) demonstrated significantly worse memory performance over 38 years than those with less negative age stereotypes (Levy, Zonderman, Slade, & Ferrucci, 2012). A study showed that among participants aged 49 and younger, those who held negative age stereotypes were significantly more likely to experience a cardiovascular event in the following 38 years than those with more positive age stereotypes (Levy, Zonderman, Slade, & Ferrucci, 2009)

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