Development of a short form of the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (AAQ)

Objectives: The original 24-item Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (AAQ) is well-established as a measure of attitudes to aging, comprising domains of Psychosocial Loss (PL), Physical Change (PC), and Psychological Growth (PG). This paper presents a new 12-item short form Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (AAQ-SF).

Methods: The original field trial data used to develop the AAQ-24 were used to compare 6-,9- and 12-item versions of AAQ-SF (Sample 1, n = 2,487) and to test the discriminative validity of the selected 12-item AAQ-SF (Sample 2, n = 2,488). Data from a separate study reporting on the AAQ-24 (sample 3, n = 792) verified analyses.

Results: The 12-item AAQ-SF reported adequate internal consistency in both Sample 1 (PL α = .72, PC α = .72, and PG α = .62) and Sample 3 (PL α = .68, PC α = .73, and PG α = .61). The AAQ-SF functioned consistently with the profile of the AAQ-24 in that subscales in both formats of this measure discriminate between respondents on key parameters such as depression, subjective health status, and overall quality of life in Sample 2. Sample 3 also demonstrated the AAQ-SF can detect the differences in attitudes toward aging between individuals experiencing anxiety and depression and those without psychological symptoms. Confirmatory Factor Analysis confirmed the structure of the AAQ-SF mirrors that of the original 24-item AAQ.

Conclusions: The AAQ-SF is a robust measure of attitudes toward aging, which can reduce respondent burden when used within longer questionnaire batteries or longitudinal research.