Development and validation of a scale to assess the belief that ‘age causes illness’
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14832929 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tara L Stewart (University of Manitoba, corresponding author), Matthew E Schumann (0000-0003-2665-4451, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic), Joelle C Ruthig (0000-0002-9128-8534, University of North Dakota) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 1143-1155 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychology & Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0887-0446 • E-ISSN: 1476-8321 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/08870446.2023.2300037 |
| PMID | 38189349 |
| OpenAlex | W4390673333 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 54 |
Objectives Self-directed ageism is the application of stereotypic age-related beliefs to oneself, and is known to negatively impact health-related motivation (Levy, Citation2003; Citation2022). This study focused on the specific self-directed stereotype that ‘age causes illness’ and aimed to develop and test a multi-item measure to assess this implicit, limiting belief.Methods and Measures Survey data was collected from N = 347 adults in southeastern Idaho (ages 45–65 years old, 60% female). A variety of measures were used to assess the discriminant, convergent and predictive validity of the Age Causes Illness scale including: socio-demographics (age, sex, education), psychosocial resources (personality, optimism, social support, depressive symptoms), health/aging expectations, and indicators of physical health.Results The seven-item Age Causes Illness scale is reliable and shows an expected pattern of discriminant and convergent correlations with relevant socio-demographic, psychosocial, and aging-related measures. The belief that ‘age causes illness,’ as assessed with this new scale, is related to both objective and subjective indicators of physical health.Conclusions The Age Causes Illness scale is a brief screening tool, potentially applicable in behavioral health settings as an initial step toward discussion of the implicit, and often unchallenged, belief that age alone determines the onset, progression, and offset of illness
Discriminant validity · Health care · Optimism · Predictive validity · Psychiatry · Psychometrics · Psychosocial · Sociology of health and illness · Aging and Gerontology Research · Clinical Psychology · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Psychology · Social Psychology
The Treatment of Missing Data
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Development of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scales
The illness perception questionnaire
The Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R)
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Successful Aging
Screening for Depression in Well Older Adults
Constructing validity
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Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed‐Mode Surveys
Objective Tests as Instruments of Psychological Theory
Mind Matters
Senior moments
Attitudes Toward Younger and Older Adults
Research Note
Mortality and the attribution of health problems to aging among older adults
Ageism
This Old Stereotype
The Effects of Response Rate Changes on the Index of Consumer Sentiment
The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support
Consequences of Reducing Nonresponse in a National Telephone Survey
Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem)
Stereotype Embodiment
"Attributing heart attack and stroke to "Old Age
| Highly cited | No |
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