Hostname: page-component-5f56664f6-6m42z Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-05-07T21:50:24.407Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Aging Anxiety Scale for Middle-Aged Adults: Turkish validity and reliability study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2025

Mesiya Aydin*
Affiliation:
Public Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Science, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, Türkiye
Tuba Yilmaz Bulut
Affiliation:
Public Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Türkiye
Yasemin Çekiç
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Ankara University, Ankara, Türkiye
*
Corresponding author: Mesiya Aydin; Email: [email protected]

Abstract

The older population is increasing. As age increases, many changes occur in individuals’ lives, physically, socially, psychologically, and this situation varies from individual to individual. The uncertainty about how this period will pass can cause anxiety in individuals. Therefore, valid and reliable tools are needed to investigate ageing anxiety and potential factors that increase this anxiety, especially in the ageing population. This article presents the results of a Turkish validity and reliability study of the Aging Anxiety Scale for Middle-Aged Adults. The study sample consisted of 293 middle-aged adults. Content validity, face validity and construct validity methods were applied to measure validity. Item analysis, Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest methods were used to measure internal consistency in the reliability analysis. The content validity index of the Aging Anxiety Scale for Middle-Aged Adults was found to be 0.97 based on expert opinion. Model fit indices were calculated as χ2 = 473.583, df = 275, χ2/df = 1.722, CFI = 0.95, GFI = 0.89, IFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.05, RMR = 0.06 and SRMR = 0.05. The analysis results indicated that the scale model values were within accepted limits and that the 5-sub-factor and 26-item structure of the scale was confirmed. It was concluded that the Turkish version of the Aging Anxiety Scale for Middle-Aged Adults was a valid and reliable measurement tool to enable Turkish society to determine middle-aged individuals’ ageing concerns.

Type
Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Aydin, A and Kabasakal, E (2021) Turkish adaptation of the aging anxiety scale for middle-age women: Validity and reliability study. Journal of Basic and Clinical Health Sciences 6, 173180. https://doi.org/10.30621/jbachs.974023.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergman, YS and Segel-Karpas, D (2021) Aging anxiety, loneliness, and depressive symptoms among middle-aged adults: The moderating role of ageism. Journal of Affective Disorders 290, 8992. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.04.077.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Canatan, A (2015) Yaşlılar ve Toplum. In Bacanlı, H and Işık Terzi, Ş (eds.), Içinde Yetişkinlik Ve Yaşlılık Gelişimi Ve Psikolojisi. İstanbul: Açılım Kitap, 355390.Google Scholar
Çay, M, Yanardağ, U and Yanardağ, MZ (2023) Adaptation of relational aging anxiety scale into Turkish. Archives of Health Science and Research 10, 8793. https://doi.org/10.5152/ArcHealthSciRes.2022.22035.Google Scholar
Çokluk, Ö and Şekercioğlu, G and Büyüköztürk, Ş (2012) Sosyal Bilimler Için Çok Değişkenli Istatistik: SpSS Ve Lisrel Uygulamaları. 2nd Edn. Ankara: Pegem Academy.Google Scholar
Daşıkan, Z, Paker, S, Altıntaş, RY, Kazankaya, F and Bakır, S (2022) Validity and reliability study of the Turkish version of the aging anxiety scale for middle‐aged women. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care 58, 29182926. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppc.13141.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, LL (1992) Instrument review: Getting the most from a panel of experts. Applied Nursing Research 5, 194197. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0897-1897(05)80008-4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durak, M (2016) Yaşlılık Dönemi Psikososyal ve Bilişsel Gelişim. In Bacanlı, H and Işık Terzi, Ş (eds.), Içinde Yetişkinlik Ve Yaşlılık Gelişimi Ve Psikolojisi. Istanbul: Açılım Kitap, pp. 275.Google Scholar
Erkuran, H (2020) Fear of aging. Health and Society 20, 2629.Google Scholar
Esin, MN (2014) Veri toplama yöntem ve araçları & veri toplama araçlarının güvenirlik ve geçerliği. In Erdoğan, S and Nahcivan, N (eds.), Hemşirelikte Araştırma: Süreç, Uygulama Ve Kritik. Istanbul: Nobel Tıp, .Google Scholar
Farage, MA, Miller, KW Elsner, P and Maibach, HI (2013) Characteristics of the aging skin. Advances in Wound Care 2, 510. https://doi.org/10.1089/wound.2011.0356.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fornell, C and Larcker, DF (1981) Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research 18, 3950. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frankl, VE (2018) İnsanın Anlam Arayışı. 46th Edn. İstanbul: Okuyan Us Publishing, 120122.Google Scholar
Gözüm, S and Aksayan, S (2003) A guide for transcultural adaptation of the scale II: Psychometric characteristics and cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Research and Development in Nursing 5, 314.Google Scholar
Hatcher, L and O’Rourke, N (2013) A Step-by-Step Approach to Using SAS for Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling, 2nd edn. Cary, NC: SAS Institute.Google Scholar
Kalaycı, I (2021) The anxiety about aging scale: A validity and reliability study with Turkish menopausal women. Turkish Studies-Social Sciences 16. https://doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.52527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karacan, E (2017) Old age population in Turkey under the social policy: Problems and solution proposals. Journal of International Social Research 10, 637643.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karagöz, Y (2019) SPSS-AMOS-META Applied Statistical Analysis, 2nd edn. Ankara: Nobel Academic Publishing, pp. 10431044.Google Scholar
Kline, P (2000) Handbook of Psychological Testing, 2nd edn. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kruger, A (1994) The midlife transition: Crisis or chimera? Psychological Reports 75, 12991305. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1994.75.3.1299.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lasher, KP and Faulkender, PJ (1993) Measurement of aging anxiety: Development of the anxiety about aging scale. International Journal of Aging and Human Development 37, 247259. https://doi.org/10.2190/1U69-9AU2-V6LH-9Y1L.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LaWare, MR and Moutsatsos, C (2013) ‘For skin that’s us, authentically us’: Celebrity, empowerment, and the allure of antiaging advertisements. Women’s Studies in Communication 36, 189208. https://doi.org/10.1080/07491409.2013.794753.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oh, EA and Park, KH (2022) Development and validation of the aging anxiety scale for Korean middle-aged adults. Current Psychology 41, 16631674. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-02758-z.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Özdamar, K (2017) Scale and Test Development Structural Equation Modeling in Education, Health and Behavioral Sciences: IBM SPSS, IBM SPSS AMOS and MINITAB Applied, 2nd edn. Eskisehir: April Bookstore, pp. 65154.Google Scholar
Özdemir, Z (2018) Development of a Likert type attitude scale in health sciences. Journal of Hacettepe University Faculty of Nursing 5, 6068.Google Scholar
Polit, DF and Beck, CT (2006) The content validity index: Are you sure you know what’s being reported? Critique and recommendations. Research in Nursing and Health 29, 489497. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.20147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ross, CE and Drentea, P (1998) Consequences of retirement activities for distress and the sense of personal control. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 39, 317334. https://doi.org/10.2307/2676341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Şahan, AG and Kilavuz, A (2024) Older adults’ metaphorical perceptions of aging in Turkey. Journal of Gerontological Nursing 50, 2734. https://doi.org/10.3928/00989134-20240416-05.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Santrock, JW (2019) Ergenlikte Sosyo duygusal Gelişim. In Yaşam Boyu Gelişim. Ankara: Nobel Publishing, 175–205.Google Scholar
Streiner, DL and Norman, GR (2014) Health Measurement Scales: A Practical Guide to Their Development and Use, 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tuna Uysal, M (2020) Perception of aging of elderly individuals during social change period. Turkish Studies - Social 15, 31613177. https://doi.org/10.47356/TurkishStudies.44157.Google Scholar
Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) (2023). Seniors in Statistics, 2022. Available at https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=%C4%B0statistiklerle-Ya%C5%9Fl%C4%B1lar-2022-49667&dil=1 (accessed 28 March 2025).Google Scholar
United Nations (2019) United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019. Available at www.un.org/development/desa/pd/news/world-population-prospects-2019-0 (accessed 28 March 2025).Google Scholar
United Nations (2023) UN Report Calls for Re-thinking Social Protection as the World Ages. Available at https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/01/1132392 (accessed 28 March 2025).Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2022) Ageing and Health. Available at www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health (accessed 28 March 2025).Google Scholar
Yaşlıoğlu, MM (2017) Factor analysis and validity in social sciences: Application of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Istanbul University Journal of the School of Business 46, 7485.Google Scholar