scholarly journals The Turkish adaptation and psychometric properties of the Geriatric Anxiety Scale

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Faika Sanal Karahan ◽  
Erdal Hamarta ◽  
Ali Yavuz Karahan

The purpose of the present study is to translate and adapt the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS), a 30-item self-report measure of anxiety among older adults, into Turkish and examine its basic psychometric properties. We tested the translated GAS in a sample of community-dwelling older adults in Konya, Turkey (N=100; Mage=71.4 years, SD=6.5; range=65-88) without a history of mental disorder and sufficient cognitive abilities. To assess the convergent validity, Turkish versions of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were administered. The mean GAS total score was 13.33 (SD=11.86). Due to low item-total correlations (<0.30), two items (items 2 and 3) were removed from the Turkish version of the GAS. The internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha) was excellent for the total score (0.91) and acceptable for the subscales (somatic = 0.71; cognitive = 0.85; affective = 0.84). Regarding the convergent validity, the GAS total score was significantly and positively correlated with the total scores of the BAI (r=0.87, P<0.05) and GDS (r=0.57, P<0.05), with large effect sizes. Implications: The newly translated Turkish version of the GAS has promising utility in an older adult Turkish sample. Future studies of this measure are warranted.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Faika Sanal Karahan ◽  
Erdal Hamarta ◽  
Ali Yavuz Karahan

The purpose of the present study is to translate and adapt the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS), a 30-item self-report measure of anxiety among older adults, into Turkish and examine its basic psychometric properties. We tested the translated GAS in a sample of community-dwelling older adults in Konya, Turkey (N=100; Mage=71.4 years, SD=6.5; range=65-88) without a history of mental disorder and sufficient cognitive abilities. To assess the convergent validity, Turkish versions of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were administered. The mean GAS total score was 13.33 (SD=11.86). Due to low item-total correlations (<0.30), two items (items 2 and 3) were removed from the Turkish version of the GAS. The internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) was excellent for the total score (0.91) and acceptable for the subscales (somatic = 0.71; cognitive = 0.85; affective = 0.84). Regarding the convergent validity, the GAS total score was significantly and positively correlated with the total scores of the BAI (r=0.87, P<0.05) and GDS (r=0.57, P<0.05), with large effect sizes. Implications: The newly translated Turkish version of the GAS has promising utility in an older adult Turkish sample. Future studies of this measure are warranted.


2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 2009-2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine E. Gould ◽  
Lindsay A. Gerolimatos ◽  
Caroline M. Ciliberti ◽  
Barry A. Edelstein ◽  
Merideth D. Smith

ABSTRACTBackground: The assessment of social anxiety in late life has been examined in few studies (e.g. Gretarsdottir et al., 2004; Ciliberti et al., 2011). The present study describes the creation and initial psychometric evaluation of a new, content valid measure of social anxiety for older adults, the Older Adult Social-Evaluative Situations Questionnaire (OASES).Methods: Psychometric properties of the OASES were evaluated in a community dwelling sample of older adults (N = 137; 70.8% female). Convergent validity was established by examining the relation between the OASES and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Discriminant validity was established by examining the relation between the OASES and measures of depression (Geriatric Depression Scale, GDS), perceived health status (Short Form Health Survey, SF-12), and demographic variables. The validity analyses of the OASES were based on a smaller sample with n values ranging from 98 to 137 depending on missing data on each questionnaire.Results: Internal consistency, measured by Cronbach's α, for the OASES total score was 0.96. All items on the OASES were endorsed by participants. Convergent validity was demonstrated by medium to large correlations with the SPAI, LSAS, and BAI. Support for discriminant validity was evidenced by small to medium correlations between the OASES and GDS, SF-12, and demographic variables.Conclusions: Evidence in support of convergent and discriminant validity of the OASES is discussed. Although the results from the present study suggest that this measure may assess anxiety in and avoidance of social situations salient to older adults, future studies are needed to further examine the psychometric properties of the OASES and replicate these results in both clinical and more diverse samples of older adults.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S877-S878
Author(s):  
Manuel Herrera Legon ◽  
Daniel Paulson

Abstract Objective: The vascular depression hypothesis posits that cerebrovascular burden confers risk for late-life depression. Though neuroanatomical correlates of vascular depression (prefrontal white matter hyperintensities) are well established, little is known about cognitive correlates; the identification of which may suggest therapeutic targets. Aims of this study are to examine the hypothesis that the relationship between cerebrovascular burden and depressive symptoms is moderated by brooding, a type of rumination. Method: A sample of 52 community-dwelling, stroke-free, individuals over the age of 70, without history of severe mental illness or dementia completed the Ruminative Responses Scale, and provided self-report (cardiac disease, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol) CVB data. The Geriatric Depression Scale was used to assess depressive symptomatology. Results: Results of a bootstrapped model were that self-reported measures of CVB predicted depressive symptomatology. This relationship was significantly moderated by brooding. Among older adults, those who self-reported high CVB and medium to elevated levels of rumination experienced disproportionately more depressive symptomatology. Conclusions: These findings suggest that brooding rumination may be one correlate of the vascular depression syndrome. Future research should examine neuroanatomical correlates of rumination among older adults, and further explore brooding as a therapeutic target for those with late-life depression.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S707-S707
Author(s):  
Julie Lutz ◽  
Aaron Metzger ◽  
Nicholas A Turiano ◽  
Rachael Spalding ◽  
Emma Katz ◽  
...  

Abstract Guidelines for self-report assessment with older adults emphasize the use of shorter Likert-type or agree/disagree response formats to reduce cognitive load (e.g., Yesavage et al., 1983). However, these suggestions are not founded on empirical studies directly comparing younger and older adults’ responses on different scales. Thus, the current study tested differential responding on varying Likert-type response scale lengths between younger, middle-aged, and older adults. Participants completed three versions of the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) Neuroticism scale with 3, 5, and 7 Likert-type response scale lengths in counterbalanced orders with other questionnaires between versions. Six multi-group confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) assessed measurement invariance across scale lengths and age groups. Invariance of convergent validity networks was also assessed with multi-group CFAs of the associations between the IPIP and measures of depression, anxiety, anger, worry, and affect. The final sample consisted of 835 adults (327 18-44; 279 45-64; and 229 65 or older) via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Measurement invariance was supported in analyses by age within each scale length and by scale length within each age group, indicating that response patterns across all scale lengths and age groups did not significantly differ. Analyses of convergent validity also supported invariance, suggesting that responses across all scale lengths and age groups reflect the same underlying construct. This study indicates that, among community-dwelling adults, shortened response scale lengths do not yield significantly different or more valid responses for older adults compared to younger adults.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S965-S965
Author(s):  
Jonathan Sober ◽  
John L Woodard ◽  
L Stephen Miller ◽  
Adam Davey ◽  
Peter Martin ◽  
...  

Abstract Adequate assessment of cognitive abilities and functional capacity is essential for a diagnosis of dementia. However, cognition is only moderately related to functional status, and this relationship is poorly understood among centenarians, a group of older adults with high risk for dementia. A bifactor structural equation model can be used to delineate the variance attributed to dementia-specific related cognitive changes (i.e., the latent variable delta) and the variance due to general intelligence (i.e., g’). This study aimed to determine the validity of delta as a marker of cognitive decline among centenarians. It was hypothesized that delta was correlated with cognitive status, functional abilities and, dementia severity. Overall, 244 community dwelling centenarians (Mage = 100.58, 84.8% female) were recruited through the Georgia Centenarian Study, a population-based study of octogenarians and centenarians from northern Georgia. Older adults were administered measures of cognition and a self-report measure of functional abilities. Latent variable scores (i.e., g’ and delta) were modeled and correlated with standard global cognitive screening measures (i.e., MMSE) and measures of dementia severity. Results indicate that delta was significantly correlated with functional ability and cognitive abilities. Consistent with our hypotheses, delta was also significantly related to dementia severity. Overall, estimates of the latent dementia phenotype, delta, were significantly related to cognitive and functional abilities among centenarians, providing validation of delta as a useful index of dementia severity.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1193
Author(s):  
Chia-Hui Lin ◽  
Chieh-Yu Liu ◽  
Jiin-Ru Rong

Screening the frailty level of older adults is essential to avoid morbidity, prevent falls and disability, and maintain quality of life. The Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) is a self-report instrument developed to assess frailty for community-dwelling older adults. The aim of this study was to explore the psychometric properties of the Taiwanese version of TFI (TFI-T). The sample consisted of 210 elderly participants living in the community. The scale was implemented to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) test for validity. The models were evaluated through sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve, and receiving operating characteristic (ROC) curve. CFA was performed to evaluate construct validity, and the TFI-T has a goodness of fit with the three-factor structure of the TFI. Totally, the 15 items of TFI-T have acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.78), and test–retest reliability (r = 0.88, p < 0.001). The criterion-related validity was examined, the TFI-T correlation with the Kihon Checklist (KCL) score (r = 0.74; p < 0.001). The cutoff of 5.5 based on the Youden index was considered optimal. The area under the ROC curve analysis indicated that the TFI-T has good accuracy in frailty screening. The TFI-T exhibits good reliability and validity and can be used as a sensitive and accurate instrument, which is highly applicable to screen frailty in Taiwan among older adults.


2009 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel L. Segal ◽  
Tracy N. Needham ◽  
Frederick L. Coolidge

The attachment patterns of younger and older adults were studied using two-dimensional self-report measures of adult attachment. Community-dwelling younger ( n = 144, M = 22.5 years, SD = 3.6) and older ( n = 106, M = 68.6 years, SD = 8.3) adults completed the Measure of Attachment Qualities (MAQ; Carver, 1997) and the Relationship Style Questionnaire (RSQ; Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994). Although the MAQ and RSQ are believed to be measuring similar constructs, they are derived from different theoretical perspectives. Correlations between the two measures were in the expected directions proving modest evidence for their convergent validity. Regarding cross-sectional results, as was expected, older adults scored lower than younger adults on the ambivalent-worry attachment scale of the MAQ and the preoccupied attachment scale of the RSQ. There were no age differences regarding secure, avoidant, and dismissing attachment. It appears that older adults experience anxious types of attachment less frequently than younger adults. Although these results primarily speak to age differences and possible cohort effects, they also provide some support for socioemotional selectivity theory and its hypothesized improved relationships in later life.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 1121-1133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily S. Bower ◽  
Julie Loebach Wetherell ◽  
C. Caroline Merz ◽  
Andrew J. Petkus ◽  
Vanessa L. Malcarne ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackground:Although fear of falling is prevalent among older adults recovering from hip fracture, current instruments are inadequate due to focus on specific situations and measurement of self-efficacy rather than fear.Methods:The authors revised and tested a form of the Fear of Falling Questionnaire with three groups of older adults: 405 recovering from hip fracture, 89 healthy community dwelling, and 42 with severe fear of falling. Test-retest reliability was evaluated in a subsample of 16 hip fracture patients. Internal consistency was compared across all groups. Construct validity was established through factor analysis, convergent validity with a measure of fall-related self-efficacy, and discriminant validity with measures of depression and affect.Results:A revised two-factor, six-item scale appears to have adequate psychometric properties. Scores were lower in the healthy comparison group relative to the hip fracture and fear of falling groups. Cronbach's α ranged from 0.72–0.83, with test-retest reliability of 0.82. Correlations with a measure of fall-related self-efficacy were moderate for the hip fracture group (0.42) and high with the healthy comparison (0.68) and fear of falling (0.70) groups. Correlations with depression and negative and positive affect were low to moderate.Conclusions:The Fear of Falling Questionnaire – Revised shows promise as a self-report measure of fear of falling, and is one of the first to be tested in older adults recovering from hip fracture. Advantages are that it is global rather than situation-specific and measures fear rather than self-efficacy. Future research on this scale is recommended in other older adult samples for whom fear of falling is relevant.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 882-882
Author(s):  
Emma Katz ◽  
Rachael Spalding ◽  
Barry Edelstein

Abstract Our understanding of older adult depression has been impeded by the paucity of assessment instruments with validity evidence for older adults. Therefore, measures of depression that were initially developed for use with younger adults are commonly used with older adults as well, such as the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale-Revised (CESD-R; Eaton et al., 2004) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001). The CESD-R (Jiang et al., 2019; Van Dam & Earleywine, 2011) and PHQ-9 (Indu et al., 2018; Levis, Benedetti, & Thombs, 2019) have strong psychometric support for their use with young adults, and are two frequently used depression measures. In light of age-related differences in the experience and presentation of depression (e.g., Balsamo, et al., 2015; Fiske, Wetherell, & Gatz, 2009; Hybels, Laderman, & Blazer, 2012; Wuthrich, Johnco & Wetherell, 2015), the present study examined the psychometric properties of these instruments with older adults. Two-hundred-and-seventy-seven older adults (ages 65 and older) completed an online survey including the PHQ-9, CESD-R, and instruments measuring several other constructs with anticipated relations to depression (anxiety, general depression, positive and negative affect, self-esteem, personality traits, and satisfaction with life). The relation between the two depression scales and measures of the other constructs were examined. Both the PHQ-9 and CESD-R evidenced good internal consistency reliability (a = .82 and .83, respectively) and strong correlations in anticipated directions with many of the related constructs. These results support the use of the CESD-R and PHQ-9 with community-dwelling older adults.


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