Background
Methods
Data
Ethics
Measures
Statistical analysis
APQ items | Strongly disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly agree | Reason for exclusion |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Timeline-chronic
| ||||||
1. I am conscious of getting older all the time | 14% | 25% | 25% | 31% | 5% | Excluded due to overlap with Item 4 (r = 0.67, MI = 425.6, EPC = 0.33) |
2. I am always aware of my age | 13% | 28% | 20% | 34% | 5% | Excluded due to overlap with Item 1 (r = 0.73, MI = 294, EPC = 0.33) |
3. I always classify myself as old
| 30% | 43% | 15% | 10% | 2% |
Retained
|
4. I am always aware of the fact that I am getting older
| 12% | 24% | 18% | 42% | 4% |
Retained
|
5. I feel my age in everything that I do
| 25% | 45% | 16% | 12% | 2% |
Retained
|
Consequences-positive
| ||||||
6. As I get older I get wiser
| 3% | 10% | 23% | 52% | 12% |
Retained
|
7. As I get older I continue to grow as a person
| 2% | 5% | 19% | 60% | 14% |
Retained
|
8. As I get older I appreciate things more
| 2% | 3% | 9% | 65% | 21% |
Retained
|
Control-positive
| ||||||
10. The quality of my social life in later years depends on me
| 2% | 5% | 10% | 66% | 17% |
Retained
|
11. The quality of my relationships with others in later life depends on me
| 2% | 4% | 10% | 68% | 17% |
Retained
|
12. Whether I continue living life to the full depends on me
| 2% | 4% | 8% | 67% | 20% |
Retained
|
14. As I get older there is much that I can do to maintain my independence | 2% | 4% | 10% | 67% | 17% | Excluded due to overlap with Item 12 (r = 0.56, MI = 174.495, EPC = 0.19) |
15. Whether getting older has positive sides to it depends on me | 1% | 3% | 10% | 68% | 18% | Excluded due to overlap with Item 14 (r = 0.73, MI = 1328.86, EPC = 0.51) |
Consequences-negative
| ||||||
16. Getting older restricts the things that I can do | 5% | 47% | 18% | 24% | 7% | Excluded due to overlap with item 19 (r = 0.70; MI = 170.4; EPC = 0.20) |
17. Getting older makes me less independent
| 3% | 26% | 18% | 42% | 10% |
Retained
|
18. Getting older makes everything a lot harder for me | 3% | 23% | 24% | 41% | 9% | Excluded due to overlap with item 17 (r = 0.77; MI = 107.25, EPC = 0.22) |
19. As I get older I can take part in fewer activities
| 4% | 42% | 19% | 30% | 6% |
Retained
|
20. As I get older I do not cope well with problems that arise
| 3% | 23% | 19% | 45% | 10% |
Retained
|
Control-negative
| ||||||
21. Slowing down with age is not something that I can control
| 5% | 52% | 17% | 22% | 4% |
Retained
|
22. How mobile I am in later life is not up to me | 5% | 31% | 15% | 42% | 8% | Excluded due to overlap with Item 24 (r = 0.61, MI = 828.570, EPC = 0.4) |
23. I have no control over whether I lose vitality or zest for life as I age | 3% | 23% | 15% | 50% | 10% | Excluded due to overlap with item 24 (r = 0.80, MI = 128.06, EPC = 0.45) |
24. I have no control over the effects which getting older has on my social life
| 3% | 22% | 15% | 51% | 9% |
Retained
|
Timeline-cyclical
| ||||||
27. I go through cycles in which my experience of ageing gets better and worse | 9% | 30% | 32% | 27% | 2% | Excluded due to dropped dimension |
28. My awareness of getting older comes and goes in cycles | 8% | 27% | 23% | 40% | 2% | Excluded due to overlap with Item 27 (r = 0.88, MI = 1181.31 , EPC = 0.5) |
30. I go through phases of feeling old | 15% | 39% | 19% | 26% | 2% | Excluded due to dropped dimension |
31. My awareness of getting older changes a great deal from day to day | 14% | 43% | 22% | 20% | 2% | Excluded due to dropped dimension |
32. I go through phases of viewing myself as being old | 18% | 43% | 17% | 20% | 2% | Excluded at Step 2 due to overlap with several items, e.g. item 30 (r = 0.77, MI = 61.87, EPC = 1.7) |
Emotional representations
| ||||||
9. I get depressed when I think about how ageing might affect the things that I can do
| 18% | 39% | 21% | 18% | 4% |
Retained
|
13. I get depressed when I think about the effect getting older might have on my social life | 19% | 45% | 21% | 12% | 3% | Excluded due to overlap with item 9 (r = 0.69, MI = 355.849, EPC = 0.28) |
25. I get depressed when I think about getting older | 20% | 51% | 17% | 10% | 2% | Excluded due to conceptual overlap with item 9, weak empirical overlap |
26. I worry about the effects that getting older may have on my relationships with others
| 16% | 52% | 17% | 13% | 2% |
Retained
|
29. I feel angry when I think about getting older
| 25% | 55% | 14% | 5% | 2% |
Retained
|
Step 1: test the existing model
Step 2: identify items for removal
Step 3: test dimension combinations
Step 4: identify dimensions for removal
Comparison of internal consistency and construct validity
Results
Descriptive statistics
Step 1: testing the established measurement model
Model | Description | Chi-Square | df | RMSEA | 90% CI | CFI | TLI | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Step 1: Test established model | ||||||||
1.1 | 7 Factors, 32 items | 10056.02 | 444 | 0.057 | 0.056 | 0.058 | 0.837 | 0.818 |
Step 2: Remove Items
| ||||||||
2.1 | 7 Factors, 21 items | 1892.69 | 168 | 0.039 | 0.038 | 0.041 | 0.968 | 0.961 |
Step 3: Combine sub-dimensions
| ||||||||
3.1 | 6 Factors, 21 Items | 6197.67 | 171 | 0.072 | 0.071 | 0.074 | 0.890 | 0.865 |
Consequence dimensions combined, Residual Covariances for Negative Items | ||||||||
3.2 | 6 Factors, 21 Items | 2593.06 | 171 | 0.046 | 0.044 | 0.047 | 0.956 | 0.946 |
Consequence dimensions combined, Residual Covariances for Positive Items | ||||||||
3.3 | 6 Factors, 21 Items | 4664.29 | 171 | 0.063 | 0.061 | 0.064 | 0.918 | 0.899 |
Control dimensions combined, Residual Covariances for Negative Items | ||||||||
3.4 | 6 Factors, 21 Items | 2532.91 | 171 | 0.045 | 0.044 | 0.047 | 0.957 | 0.947 |
Control dimensions combined, Residual Covariances for Positive Items | ||||||||
3.5 | 6 Factors, 21 Items Negative Control and Consequence items combined | 2920.59 | 174 | 0.048 | 0.047 | 0.050 | 0.950 | 0.939 |
3.6 | 6 Factors, 21 Items Positive Control and Consequence items combined | 6423.66 | 174 | 0.073 | 0.072 | 0.075 | 0.886 | 0.862 |
3.7 | 6 Factors, 20 items | 1882.74 | 155 | 0.041 | 0.039 | 0.042 | 0.967 | 0.959 |
Model 3.5 with Item 22 removed | ||||||||
Step 4: Remove Sub-dimensions
| ||||||||
4.1 | 5 Factors, 17 items | 1433.54 | 109 | 0.043 | 0.041 | 0.045 | 0.968 | 0.960 |
Model 3.7 with Timeline-Cyclical Removed |
Step 2: item removal
Step 3: dimension combination
Step 4: dimension removal
Comparison of internal consistency and construct validity
Long version | Shortened version | ||
---|---|---|---|
Sub-scale | Cronbach's alpha | Sub-scale | Cronbach's alpha |
Time-line chronic | 0.85 | Time-line chronic | 0.76 |
Time-line cyclical | 0.87 | Dropped | |
Consequences positive | 0.78 | Consequences positive | 0.78 |
Control positive | 0.84 | Control positive | 0.84 |
Consequences negative | 0.88 | Consequences and control negative | 0.81 |
Control negative | 0.81 | ||
Emotional representations | 0.86 | Emotional representations | 0.75 |
Long version | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Time-line chronic
| ||||||
Time-line cyclical
| 0.50 | |||||
Consequences-positive
| -0.04* | -0.04** | ||||
Control-positive
| -0.08** | -0.05** | 0.40** | |||
Control-negative
| 0.42** | 0.35** | -0.10** | -0.18** | ||
Consequences-negative
| 0.56** | 0.52** | -0.11** | -0.15** | 0.57** | |
Emotional representations
| 0.54** | 0.69** | -0.11** | -0.11** | 0.42** | 0.55** |
Shortened version
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
| |
Time-line chronic
| ||||||
Consequences-positive
| -0.06** | |||||
Control-positive
| -0.07** | 0.34** | ||||
Consequences and control-negative
| 0.56** | -0.12** | -0.11** | |||
Emotional representations
| 0.50** | -0.10** | -0.05** | 0.54** |
Physical limitations | Depressive symptoms | Self-Realisation/pleasure | Control/autonomy | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N | B | Adjusted R2
| N | B | Adjusted R2
| N | B | Adjusted R2
| N | B | Adjusted R2
| |
Timeline-chronic (L)
| 6,319 | 0.20** | 0.15 | 6,226 | 0.23** | 0.07 | 6,101 | -0.28** | 0.13 | 5,793 | -0.37** | 0.14 |
Timeline-chronic (S)
| 0.23** | 0.16 | 0.24** | 0.08 | 6,186 | -0.29** | 0.16 | -0.39** | 0.16 | |||
Consequences-positive
| 6,475 | -0.03* | 0.11 | 6,381 | -0.08** | 0.03 | 6,236 | 0.22** | 0.06 | 5,914 | 0.11** | 0.03 |
Control-positive (L)
| 6,451 | -0.06** | 0.12 | 6,358 | -0.08** | 0.03 | 6,229 | 0.17** | 0.06 | 5,899 | 0.16** | 0.04 |
Control–positive (S)
| -0.04** | 0.11 | -0.03** | 0.02 | 0.12** | 0.03 | 0.11** | 0.03 | ||||
Control-negative (L)
| 6,225 | 0.18** | 0.14 | 6,133 | 0.18** | 0.05 | 6,021 | -0.21** | 0.17 | 5,710 | -0.31** | 0.10 |
Consequences-negative (L)
| 0.30** | 0.19 | 0.29** | 0.10 | -0.33** | 0.22 | -0.53** | 0.27 | ||||
Consequences and control-negative (S)
| 0.27** | 0.18 | 0.29** | 0.09 | -0.31** | 0.24 | -0.50** | 0.23 | ||||
Emotional representations (L)
| 6,414 | 0.18** | 0.14 | 6,319 | 0.33** | 0.13 | 6,202 | -0.38** | 0.15 | 5,885 | -0.42** | 0.19 |
Emotional representations (S)
| 0.18** | 0.14 | 0.32** | 0.12 | -0.37** | 0.14 | -0.42** | 0.19 |