Psychometric Performance of Attitudes towards Aging Questionnaire Chinese Version for the Elderly in Guangdong
Objective To analyze the psychometric performance of Attitudes towards Aging Questionnaire Chinese Version (AAQ-CV) for the elderly in Guangdong. Methods A stratified random sampling was used to select 1109 old people from 5 cities in Guangdong province, and AAQ-CV was used to investigate them. The floor and ceiling effects were used to evaluate its sensitivity. And then, Cronbach’s α coefficients were used to analyze the internal consistency of the questionnaire, and Convergent validity, discriminant validity, and factor analysis were used to evaluate its structural validity. Finally, the total score of the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-15) was used as the calibration criterion to verify the simultaneity calibration validity of AAQ-CV. Results First, the total score of AAQ and the scores of three dimensions were all governed by the normal distribution, without any floor or celling effect. Second, the Cronbach’s α coefficient of the total questionnaire was 0.823, and the Cronbach’s α coefficients of the 3 dimensions of dealing with physical change (DPC), loss of psychosocial function (LPF), and psychological attainment (PA) were 0.717, 0.615 and 0.809 respectively, which met with the requirements of the group comparison. Third, the calibration success rates of convergent validity of DPC, LPF, and PA were 87.50%, 87.50% and 100%, respectively. The calibration success rates of discriminant validity of DPC, LPF, and PA were 93.80%, 87.50%, and 100% respectively. Forth, three components obtained from factor analysis basically reflect the theoretical conception of AAQ-CV, with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 44.772%. Final, the total score of AAQ-CV and scores of DPC, LPF, and PA all negatively predicted the total score of GDS-15. Conclusions: The psychometric performance of AAQ-CV for the elderly in Guangdong was valid and reliable.
Key words: Attitudes towards aging; Validity; Reliability; Sensitivity; The elderly
