Measurement of Aging Anxiety: Development of the Anxiety About Aging Scale
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1993
Department
Psychology
Abstract
This research is based on the premise that aging anxiety is an important mediating factor in attitudes and behavior toward elderly individuals as well as a mediating factor in adjustment to one's own aging processes. The combined concern and anticipation of losses centered around the aging process constitute aging anxiety. This article proposes a multidimensional aging anxiety model, develops a measurement of this model, and assesses the factorial validity of the model. The original eighty-four item Anxiety about Aging Scale (AAS) was developed to assess four dimensions of aging and three types of fears. A principal components analysis of data collected from 312 adult volunteers revealed the presence of four interpretable factors: 1) Fear of Old People, 2) Psychological Concerns, 3) Physical Appearance, and 4) Fear of Loss. Items were eliminated to strengthen this factor structure and resulted in the retention of twenty items. Men were significantly more anxious about aging than were women on the AAS. Correlates of the four factors and implications for further research are discussed.
Publication Title
International Journal of Aging & Human Development
Volume
37
Issue
4
First Page
247
Last Page
259
Recommended Citation
Lasher, K. P.,
Faulkender, P. J.
(1993). Measurement of Aging Anxiety: Development of the Anxiety About Aging Scale. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 37(4), 247-259.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/6699