Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T05:20:39.424Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Measuring anxiety about aging across the adult lifespan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2013

Kerry A. Sargent-Cox ,
Masori Rippon  and
Richard A. Burns
Kerry A. Sargent-Cox*
Affiliation:
Centre for Research on Aging, Health and Wellbeing, Australian National University, Canberra ACT, Australia
Masori Rippon
Affiliation:
Centre for Applied Psychology, University of Canberra, Bruce, ACT, Australia
Richard A. Burns
Affiliation:
Centre for Research on Aging, Health and Wellbeing, Australian National University, Canberra ACT, Australia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Kerry Sargent-Cox, Centre for Research on Aging, Health and Wellbeing, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia. Phone: +61-2-6125-8439; Fax: +61-2-6125-0733. Email: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

The development of instruments to measure aging attitudes is an essential part of research into the role of individual differences in the aging process, giving clarification to the relationship between attitudes and behavior across the lifespan. Here we test the structural validity of Lasher and Faulkender's (1993) Anxiety about Aging Scale (AAS), and explore measurement invariance across age and gender.

Methods:

A sample of 783 adults (42% females) age ranging from 20 to 97 years (M = 57.3, SD = 13.66) participated.

Results:

The first-order four-factor AAS model reflecting the original Lasher and Faulkender (1993) structure showed a better fit to the data than the second-order model. Measurement invariance for both gender and age groups (young adults 20–44 years; mid-aged adults 45–64 years, older adults 65+ years old) was found for three of the factors, but not for all items in the Fear of Losses factor. Structural covariance inequality between the Fear of Losses and Physical Appearance factors was shown between males and females.

Conclusions:

Findings indicate that the original AAS measures four distinct dimensions of anxiety about aging. These dimensions were shown to be generally comparable across age and gender, indicating that the AAS is a suitable measure for providing meaningful comparison of anxiety about aging across the lifespan. The exception is the Fear of Losses factor, where items may have differential meanings across groups based on cultural and social attitudes regarding aging and gender.

Keywords

aging anxietyfactor structurefear of agingstructure validity
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 26 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 135 - 145
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2013 

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.)

References

Abramson, A. and Silverstein, M. (2006). Images of Aging in America 2004. Washington, DC: AARP.Google Scholar
Allen, P. and Bennet, K. (2008). SPSS for the Health and Behavioral Sciences. Victoria, Australia: Thomson.Google Scholar
Baltes, P. B. and Baltes, M. M. (eds.) 1990. Successful Aging: Perspectives from the Behavioral Sciences. New York, NY: Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, A. E. and Von Rohr, C. (2008). Gendered perceptions of aging: An examination of college students. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 67, 359–386. doi:10.2190/AG.67.4.d.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bengtson, V. L. (1993). Is the “contract across generations” changing? Effects of population aging on obligations and expectations across age groups. In: Bengtson, V. L. and Anchenbaum, W. A. (eds.), The Changing Contract Across Generations (pp. 3–24). New York, NY: Walter de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Byrne, B. M. (2012). Structural Equation Modeling with Mplus: Basic Concepts, Applications and Programming. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Chen, F. F., Sousa, K. H. and West, S. G. (2005). Testing measurement invariance of second-order factor models. Structural Equation Modeling, 12, 471–492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheung, G. W. and Rensvold, R. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 233–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, S. M., Kropf, N. P. and Deweaver, K. L. (2000). Knowledge of and attitudes toward aging among non-elders: gender and race differences. Journal of Women and Aging, 12, 77–92. doi:10.1300/J074v12n01_06.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gregorich, S. E. (2006). Do self-report instruments allow meaningful comparisons across diverse population groups? Testing measurement invariance using the confirmatory factor analysis framework. Medical Care 44, S78–94. doi:10.1097/01.mlr.0000245454.12228.8f.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris, L. A. and Dollinger, S. (2003). Individual differences in personality traits and anxiety about aging. Personality and Individual Differences, 34, 187–194. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00019-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heckhausen, J., Dixon, J. and Baltes, P. B. (1989). Gains and losses in development throughout adulthood as perceived by different adult age groups. Developmental Psychology, 25, 109–121. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.25.1.109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kafer, R. A., Rakowski, W., Lachman, M. E. and Hickey, T. (1980). Aging opinion survey: a report on instrument development. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 11, 319–333. doi:10.2190/JQF5-XDCV-H1AH-3E1Y.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kenny, D. A. (2011). Measuring Model Fit [Online]. Available at: http://www.davidakenny.net/cm/fit.htm; last accessed 22 March 2012.Google Scholar
Lasher, K. P. and Faulkender, P. J. (1993). Measurement of aging anxiety: development of the Anxiety about Aging Scale. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 37, 247–259. doi:10.2190/1U69-9AU2-V6LH-9Y1L.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levy, B. (2009). Stereotype embodiment: a psychosocial approach to aging. Current Psychological Directions in Science, 18, 332–336. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01662.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lockenhoff, C.et al. (2009). Perceptions of aging across 26 cultures and their culture-level associates. Psychology & Aging, 24, 941. doi:10.1037/a0016901.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lynch, S. M. (2000). Measurement and prediction of aging anxiety. Research on Ageing, 22, 533–558. doi:10.1177/0164027500225004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mcconatha, J. T., Schnell, F. and Mckenna, A. (1999). Description of older adults as depicted in magazine advertisements. Psychological Reports, 85, 1051–1056. doi:10.2466/PR0.85.7.1051.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mcconatha, J. T., Schnell, F., Volkwien, K., Riley, L. and Leach, E. (2003). Attitudes towards aging: a comparative analysis of young adults from the United States and Germany. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 57, 203–215. doi:10.2190/K8Q8-5549-0Y4K-UGG0.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mcconatha, J. T., Hayta, V., Rieser-Danner, L., Mcconatha, D. and Polat, T. S. (2004). Turkish and US attitudes towards aging. Educational Gerontology, 30, 169–183. doi:10.1080/03601270490272106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mcguinn, K. K. and Mosher-Ashley, P. M. (2002). Children's fears about personal aging. Educational Gerontology, 28, 561–575. doi:10.1080/03601270290099769.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Hanlon, A. and Coleman, P. (2004). Attitudes towards aging: adaptation, development and growth in later years. In Nussbaum, J. F. and Coupland, J. (eds.), Handbook of Communication and Aging Research (pp. 31–64). Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S. and Kaler, M. (2009). The meaning in life questionnaire: assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 80–93. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watkins, R. E., Coates, R. and Ferroni, P. (1998). Measurement of aging anxiety in an elderly Australian population. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 46, 319–332. doi:10.2190/0LU1-0UWE-2TLW-QVAP.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitbourne, S. K. and Sneed, J. R. (2004). The paradox of well-being, identity process, and stereotype threat: ageism and its potential relationships to the self in later life. In Nelson, T. D. (ed.), Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice Against Older Persons. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Yun, R. J. and Lachman, M. E. (2006). Perceptions of aging in two cultures: Korean and American views on old age. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 21, 55–70. doi:10.1007/s10823-006-9018-y.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed