Suitability of the Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire Short Form for Use among Adults in Their 50s: A Cross-Sectional e-Survey Study

Gail Low (), Alex Bacadini França, Donna M. Wilson, Gloria Gutman and Sofia von Humboldt
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Gail Low: Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Alex Bacadini França: Laboratory of Human Development and Cognition, Federal University of São Carlos, São Paulo 13566-590, Brazil
Donna M. Wilson: Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Gloria Gutman: Gerontology Research Centre, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC V6B 5K3, Canada
Sofia von Humboldt: William James Center for Research, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, 1149-041 Lisbon, Portugal

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 22, 1-16

Abstract: This cross-sectional e-survey study examines the suitability (reliability and validity) of the 12-item Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire Short Form (AAQ-SF) for use among adults in their 50s. The AAQ-SF instrument was originally designed to capture subjective perceptions of physical change, psychosocial loss, and psychological growth by asking people aged 60 and beyond how they feel about growing older. Our sample comprised 517 people residing in three Canadian provinces. Respondents completed the Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire Short Form, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and a short sociodemographic profile. Our findings replicate the original AAQ-SF structure for physical change, psychosocial loss, and psychological growth, with a promising internal consistency range for the third subscale. In our sample, psychological growth is best represented as ‘Self’ and ‘Generativity’, with a particularly greater capacity to explain variations in scores for item 18 and item 21. Physical change and psychosocial loss scores strongly differed based on perceived health and chronic illness presence. Psychosocial loss and psychological growth were moderately correlated with two aspects of self-esteem. We relate these patterns of findings within the context of prevailing growth and development theory and their perceived implications within the context of COVID-19 and post-pandemic life.

Keywords: attitudes to aging; midlife; psychometrics; survey; Canada (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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