Journal
GERONTOLOGIST
Volume 59, Issue 4, Pages 738-748Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/geront/gny083
Keywords
Confirmatory factor analysis; Healthy aging; Operationalization; Validity
Categories
Funding
- German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (KND) [01GI0102, 01GI0420, 01GI0422, 01GI0423, 01GI0429, 01GI0431, 01GI0433, 01GI0434]
- German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (KNDD) [01GI0710, 01GI0711, 01GI0712, 01GI0713, 01GI0714, 01GI0715, 01GI0716]
- German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Health Service Research Initiative) [01GY1322A, 01GY1322B, 01GY1322C, 01GY1322D, 01GY1322E, 01GY1322F, 01GY1322G]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background and Objectives: We examined the validity of 5 successful aging (SA) operationalizations that assessed different facets of the SA construct (cognitive and physical health and disability; well-being; social engagement). Research Design and Methods: A total of 2,478 participants (mean age = 82.5 years, standard deviation [SD] = 3.47) were studied. We used confirmatory factor analysis to investigate the relationships between facets and to determine the convergent validity as well as short-term (1.5 years) and long-term (4.5 years) predictive validity of the 5 SA operationalizations for measures of quality of life (QoL) and objective health outcomes. Results: A general SA operationalization that included all SA facets but also allowed differences between them showed the best model fit and construct validity. A biomedical operationalization of SA that excluded either the well-being or the social engagement facet showed lower convergent and predictive validity for subjective measures (e.g., QoL) but higher associations with objective measures (e.g., health). A purely psychosocial SA operationalization that excluded the physiological facet did not allow good prediction of objective health outcomes. Discussion and Implications: Our results suggest that a well-balanced SA operationalization should include measures assessing health, disability, well-being, and social engagement.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available