J Korean Acad Nurs.  2019 Feb;49(1):14-25. 10.4040/jkan.2019.49.1.14.

Development of an Aging Anxiety Scale for Middle-Aged Women

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Nursing, Gyeongbuk College of Health, Gimcheon, Korea.
  • 2College of Nursing · Research Institute of Nursing Science, Ajou University, Suwon, Korea. dew218@ajou.ac.kr

Abstract

PURPOSE
This was a methodological study that aimed to develop a measurement scale for aging anxiety among middle-aged women.
METHODS
In this study, construct factors were extracted, and a conceptual framework was established through an extensive literature review and in-depth interviews with middle-aged women. Under the conceptual framework, 44 preliminary items were constructed, and a preliminary scale of 25 items was completed after two rounds of expert validation and item review. For this study, data were collected from 201 women aged 40~59 years, and the construct validity and reliability of the preliminary scale were verified.
RESULTS
To verify the construct validity, exploratory factor analysis was conducted. Four factors containing 19 items were extracted. Concurrent validity of the developed scale was verified with Pearson's correlation analysis. The final scale comprised 4 factors ("Social valueless", "Physical weakness", "Concern about changes in appearance", and "Expectations of old age") and 19 items. The Cronbach's α value was .91.
CONCLUSION
The scale for measuring aging anxiety in middle-aged women developed in this study validly reflected the peculiarities of aging anxiety in middle-aged women, who experience many physical, emotional, and social changes. The scale can be said to reflect the cultural background, as it reflected real experiences gained through in-depth interviews with middle-aged women.

Keyword

Aging; Anxiety; Validation Studies; Women

MeSH Terms

Aging*
Anxiety*
Female
Humans
Methods
Reproducibility of Results
Social Change

Reference

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