Altruistic Attitudes Among Older Adults: Examining Construct Validity and Measurement Invariance of a New Scale

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-27-2020

Publication Title

Innovation in Aging

Volume

5

Issue

1

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Scholarly research has established the role of altruism in facilitating human cooperation and prosocial behaviors and highlighted its contribution to psychological well-being. Given the health significance of altruistic attitudes and orientations, we developed a valid and reliable measure of this construct that is suitable for use with older adults. Research Design and Methods: Based on data from a long-term panel study on adaptation to frailty among older adults (n = 366; mean age = 86 years), we used confirmatory factor analysis to perform construct validation of a five-item Elderly Care Research Center Altruism Scale among older adults (e.g., “Seeing others prosper makes me happy”). Moreover, we examined the invariance of the scale’s factor structure across time and gender using nested models. Results: Composite reliability (coefficient omega = 0.78), factor loadings... (See full abstract in article).

Keywords

Altruistic love; Compassion; Kindness; Longitudinal invariance; Psychometrics

Disciplines

Geriatric Nursing | Gerontology

Language

English

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