Background
-
Timeline: the awareness of aging and the experience of the process over time. This dimension is divided into two sub-dimensions: timeline chronic, an awareness of aging that is chronic in nature (e.g., ‘I always classify myself as old’), and timeline cyclical, an awareness of aging that comes and goes in waves (e.g., ‘I go through phases of feeling old’).
-
Consequence: beliefs about the impact of aging on various life domains. This dimension is comprised of two sub-dimensions: consequences positive (e.g., ‘As I get older I get wiser’) and consequences negative (e.g., ‘Getting older makes me less independent’).
-
Emotional representations: the emotional response generated by aging (e.g., ‘I get depressed when I think about getting older’).
-
Control: beliefs about the extent to which one can manage different aspects of aging. Two sub-dimensions are present: control positive, control beliefs concerning positive experiences (e.g., ‘Whether I continue living life to the full depends on me’) and control negative, control beliefs concerning negative experiences (e.g., ‘How mobile I am in later life is not up to me’).
Methods
Participants and procedure
Measures
Aging Perceptions Questionnaire
Items
|
Missing (%)
|
M
|
SD
|
Med
|
λ
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Timeline chronic
| |||||
1. I am conscious of getting older all of the time | 2.00 | 4.03 | .84 | 4.00 | .60 |
2. I am always aware of my age
|
2.70
|
3.54
|
1.06
|
4.00
|
.76
|
3. I always classify myself as old
|
3.30
|
2.92
|
1.14
|
3.00
|
.75
|
4. I am always aware of the fact that I am getting older
|
3.00
|
3.59
|
1.02
|
4.00
|
.78
|
5. I feel my age in everything that I do | 3.50 | 3.03 | 1.14 | 3.00 | .75 |
Timeline cyclical
| |||||
27. I go through cycles in which my experience of ageing gets better and worse
|
6.10
|
2.95
|
1.04
|
3.00
|
.71
|
28. My awareness of getting older comes and goes in cycles | 7.10 | 3.10 | 1.03 | 3.00 | .62 |
30. I go through phases of feeling old
|
5.60
|
2.88
|
1.12
|
3.00
|
.76
|
31. My awareness of getting older changes a great deal from day to day
|
6.30
|
2.69
|
1.06
|
3.00
|
.72
|
32. I go through phases of viewing myself as being old | 5.90 | 2.89 | 1.14 | 3.00 | .76 |
Consequence positive
| |||||
6. As I get older I get wiser
|
4.40
|
3.21
|
1.00
|
3.00
|
.74
|
7. As I get older I continue to grow as a person
|
6.20
|
3.15
|
.94
|
3.00
|
.83
|
8. As I get older I appreciate things more
|
3.60
|
3.82
|
.85
|
4.00
|
.55
|
Consequence negative
| |||||
16. Getting older restricts the things that I can do
|
5.50
|
3.56
|
.94
|
4.00
|
.67
|
17. Getting older makes me less independent | 7.20 | 3.18 | .99 | 3.00 | .50 |
18. Getting older makes everything a lot harder for me
|
6.50
|
3.09
|
1.04
|
3.00
|
.85
|
19. As I get older I can take part in fewer activities
|
4.70
|
3.49
|
.99
|
4.00
|
.71
|
20. As I get older I do not cope as well with problems that arise | 5.30 | 3.17 | 1.03 | 3.00 | .69 |
Emotional representations
| |||||
9. I get depressed when I think about how ageing might affect the things that I can do | 3.40 | 2.90 | 1.16 | 3.00 | .70 |
13. I get depressed when I think about the effect that getting older might have on my social life | 5.60 | 2.67 | 1.06 | 3.00 | .78 |
25. I get depressed when I think about getting older
|
6.50
|
2.56
|
1.06
|
2.00
|
.85
|
26. I worry about the effects that getting older may have on my relationships with others
|
6.20
|
2.67
|
1.02
|
3.00
|
.74
|
29. I feel angry when I think about getting older
|
5.50
|
2.15
|
.97
|
2.00
|
.63
|
Control positive
| |||||
10. The quality of my social life in later years depends on me
|
3.60
|
3.82
|
.87
|
4.00
|
.85
|
11. The quality of my relationships with others in later life depends on me | 3.40 | 3.84 | .83 | 4.00 | .84 |
12. Whether I continue living life to the full depends on me
|
2.70
|
3.57
|
.97
|
4.00
|
.61
|
14. As I get older there is much I can do to maintain my independence | 5.00 | 3.82 | .82 | 4.00 | .41 |
15. Whether getting older has positive sides to it depends on me
|
5.50
|
3.75
|
.81
|
4.00
|
.49
|
Control negative
| |||||
21. Slowing down with age is not something I can control
|
4.70
|
2.27
|
.87
|
2.00
|
.62
|
22. How mobile I am in later life is not up to me
|
5.20
|
2.40
|
.93
|
2.00
|
.73
|
23. I have no control over whether I lose vitality or zest for life as I age
|
4.90
|
2.62
|
1.03
|
2.00
|
.77
|
24. I have no control over the effects which getting older has on my social life | 5.90 | 2.98 | 1.03 | 3.00 | .59 |
Wellbeing
Physical functioning
Socio-demographic variables
M
(SD)/%
|
Missing (%)
| |
---|---|---|
Wellbeing (1 - 4) | 2.74 (.47) | 3.10 |
Physical functioning (0 - 8) | 5.75 (2.10) | 3.10 |
Age (70 - 99) | 78.59 (6.17) | 0 |
Gender (%) | ||
Female | 57.60 | 0 |
Income (%) | ||
≤ € 1000 | 8.80 | 18.00 |
Education (%) | ||
≤ Elementary | 33.00 | 4.00 |
Marital status (%) | ||
Single/widow | 59.30 | 2.00 |
Ethnic/migrant group (%) | ||
Non-Dutch | 15.20 | 0 |
Analyses
Results
Data screening
Confirmatory factor analysis
Reliability and subscale distributions
APQ Dimensions
|
1.
|
2.
|
3.
|
4.
|
5.
|
6.
|
7.
|
M
(SD)
|
% Min
|
% Max
|
α
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Timeline chronic
| |||||||||||
APQ (2007) | - | 2.90 (.87) | 1.80 | .80 | .86 | ||||||
APQ | - | 3.42 (.83) | 2.70 | .80 | .85 | ||||||
APQ-S | - | 3.35 (.92) | 2.00 | 5.50 | .81 | ||||||
2. Timeline cyclical
| |||||||||||
APQ (2007) | .50***
| - | 2.70 (.82) | 2.40 | .20 | .89 | |||||
APQ | .49***
| - | 2.90 (.84) | .60 | 3.80 | .84 | |||||
APQ-S | .44***
| - | 2.84 (.88) | 4.20 | 1.00 | .76 | |||||
3. Consequence positive
| |||||||||||
APQ (2007) | -.07***
| -.08***
| - | 3.70 (.59) | .20 | 2.60 | .64 | ||||
APQ | .23***
| .11***
| - | 3.40 (.76) | 3.50 | .80 | .74 | ||||
APQ-S | .21***
| .09**
| - | 3.40 (.76) | 1.30 | 3.30 | .74 | ||||
4. Consequence negative
| |||||||||||
APQ (2007) | .55***
| .42***
| -.09***
| - | 3.40 (.74) | .20 | 1.80 | .80 | |||
APQ | .55***
| .57***
| .15***
| - | 3.30 (.76) | .80 | 1.90 | .81 | |||
APQ-S | .50***
| .54***
| .12***
| - | 3.38 (.83) | 1.50 | 4.10 | .79 | |||
5. Emotional representations
| |||||||||||
APQ (2007) | .53***
| .65***
| -.14***
| .44***
| - | 2.40 (.74) | 2.80 | .10 | .74 | ||
APQ | .44***
| .71***
| .10**
| .56***
| - | 2.59 (.84) | 1.30 | 3.30 | .86 | ||
APQ-S | .33***
| .66***
| .07*
| .46***
| - | 2.46 (.85) | 7.00 | 1.20 | .79 | ||
6. Control positive
| |||||||||||
APQ (2007) | -.34***
| -.24***
| .28***
| -.32***
| -.37***
| - | 3.80 (.54) | .20 | 2.20 | .80 | |
APQ | .06 | -.06*
| .28***
| .03 | -.06*
| - | 3.76 (.64) | 2.60 | .90 | .78 | |
APQ-S | .04 | -.06*
| .27***
| .01 | -.06 | - | 3.71 (.70) | .70 | 5.40 | .69 | |
7. Control negative
| |||||||||||
APQ (2007) | -.41***
| -.32***
| .06**
| -.53***
| -.38***
| .26***
| - | 2.65 (.71) | 1.60 | .20 | .73 |
APQ | -.44***
| -.38***
| -.15***
| -.55***
| -.44***
| -.08**
| - | 2.56 (.74) | 1.00 | 3.40 | .76 |
APQ-S | -.37***
| -.32***
| -.17***
| -.47***
| -.33***
| -.12***
| - | 2.43 (.77) | 6.60 | 1.10 | .76 |
APQ & APQ-S
| .96***
| .96***
| 1.00***
| .94***
| .94***
| .95***
| .95***
| - | - |
Construct validity
Inter-factor correlations
Stepwise regression analyses
Wellbeing
|
Physical functioning
| |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Variables
|
Model I
|
Model II
|
Model III
|
Model I
|
Model II
|
Model III
|
(I) Socio-demographic variables
| ||||||
Age | -.07*
| .05 | .05 | -.32***
| -.17***
| -.17***
|
Female | .08*
| .06*
| .06*
| -.07*
| -.10***
| -.10***
|
Low income | -.02 | .01 | .01 | -.10***
| .07**
| -.07**
|
Low education | -.08**
| -.04 | -.05 | -.13***
| -.10***
| -.11***
|
Single/widow | -.09**
| -.08**
| -.09**
| -.04 | -.02 | -.03 |
(II) APQ dimensions
| ||||||
Timeline chronic | .02 | .08 | -.11*
| -.00 | ||
Timeline cyclical | -.22**
| -.37***
| -.20**
| -.30**
| ||
Consequence positive | .22***
| .19***
| .06 | .03 | ||
Consequence negative | -.33***
| -.31***
| -.40***
| -.44***
| ||
Emotional representations | -.03 | .11 | .13*
| .20*
| ||
Control positive | .19***
| .23***
| .10**
| .11***
| ||
Control negative | -.12*
| -.08 | -.06 | -.05 | ||
R
2
| .02 | .31 | .34 | .16 | .33 | .36 |
APQ-S development and evaluation
Item reduction analysis
APQ comparison, reliability, and validity
Group differences
Timeline chronic
|
Timeline cyclical
|
Consequence positive
|
Consequence negative
|
Emotional representations
|
Control positive
|
Control negative
| |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wellbeing
| -.16***
| -.36***
| .21***
| -.33***
| -.29***
| .27***
| .10***
|
Physical functioning
| -.34***
| -.40***
| -.01 | -.49***
| -.29***
| .12***
| .25***
|
Age
| .31***
| .18***
| .02 | .32***
| .09**
| -.04 | -.22***
|
Gender
| |||||||
Female | 3.28 (.92)**
| 2.87 (.90) | 3.45 (.74)**
| 3.39 (.85) | 2.49 (.87) | 3.70 (.71) | 2.37 (.76)***
|
Male | 3.44 (.91)**
| 2.81 (.86) | 3.33 (.78)**
| 3.37 (.81) | 2.41 (.83) | 3.73 (.69) | 2.51 (.79)***
|
αFemale
| .81 | .77 | .74 | .80 | .79 | .70 | .76 |
αMale
| .81 | .74 | .75 | .77 | .78 | .68 | .75 |
Income
| |||||||
≤ €1000 | 3.47 (.93) | 2.94 (.88) | 3.41 (.79) | 3.48 (.84) | 2.64 (.97)*
| 3.62 (.71) | 2.42 (.84) |
> €1000 | 3.34 (.92) | 2.83 (.88) | 3.40 (.76) | 3.37 (.83) | 2.44 (.84)*
| 3.72 (.70) | 2.43 (.77) |
α≤ €1000
| .79 | .72 | .70 | .79 | .81 | .71 | .77 |
α> €1000
| .81 | .76 | .75 | .79 | .79 | .69 | .76 |
Education
| |||||||
≤ Elementary | 3.45 (.94)**
| 2.89 (.93) | 3.36 (.81) | 3.45 (.86)*
| 2.58 (.93)***
| 3.68 (.78) | 2.28 (.78)***
|
> Elementary | 3.30 (.90)**
| 2.82 (.86) | 3.42 (.73) | 3.35 (.82)*
| 2.40 (.81)***
| 3.73 (.66) | 2.50 (.76)***
|
α≤ Elementary
| .81 | .75 | .72 | .77 | .79 | .77 | .76 |
α> Elementary
| .81 | .76 | .75 | .80 | .79 | .64 | .75 |
Marital status
| |||||||
Single/widow | 3.38 (.94) | 2.91 (.91)***
| 3.43 (.76) | 3.42 (.86)*
| 2.50 (.89)*
| 3.72 (.73) | 2.36 (.77)***
|
Married/living together | 3.30 (.88) | 2.74 (.83)***
| 3.36 (.75) | 3.32 (.78)*
| 2.39 (.80)*
| 3.69 (.67) | 2.53 (.77)***
|
αSingle/widow
| .82 | .77 | .73 | .80 | .79 | .71 | .74 |
αMarried/living together
| .79 | .73 | .76 | .77 | .78 | .66 | .77 |
Ethnicity
| |||||||
Non-Dutch | 3.33 (.97) | 2.84 (.97) | 3.41 (.86) | 3.25 (.92)*
| 2.48 (.86) | 3.70 (.84) | 2.57 (.88)*
|
Dutch | 3.35 (.91) | 2.84 (.87) | 3.40 (.74) | 3.40 (.82)*
| 2.45 (.85) | 3.71 (.68) | 2.40 (.75)*
|
αNon-Dutch
| .82 | .83 | .81 | .81 | .79 | .75 | .79 |
αDutch
| .81 | .74 | .73 | .79 | .79 | .67 | .75 |
B-APQ comparison
APQ Dimensions
|
1.
|
2.
|
3.
|
4.
|
5.
|
M (SD)
|
α
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Chronic
| - | 3.17 (.94) | .81 | ||||
2. Consequence positive
| .19***
| - | 3.40 (.76) | .74 | |||
3. Consequence & control negative
| .23***
| .08**
| - | 3.02 (.41) | .72 | ||
4. Emotional representations
| .45***
| .12***
| .25***
| - | 2.57 (.84) | .70 | |
5. Control positive
| .05 | .24***
| .04 | -.01 | - | 3.74 (.76) | .79 |
B-APQ & APQ-S
| .93***
| 1.00***
| .55***1
| .92***
| .91***
| - | - |
-.012
|