VALIDATION of the Reactions to Ageing Questionnaire: Assessing Similarities Across Several Countries

Abstract

With the increasing numbers of older adults, factors impacting the effectiveness of provision of health care must be addressed. The literature suggests attitudes, particularly those of nurses, impact health service provision. This article reports the outcome of a multicountry validation study of the Reactions to Ageing Questionnaire (RAQ). The RAQ measures attitudes toward personal aging and has been used in Australia for 5 years. This study was designed to determine whether the psychometric characteristics and norms of the RAQ identified for Australian nurses also apply to nursing samples in Sweden and the United Kingdom. Findings indicate the internal structure of the RAQ extends outside Australia, with similar factors appearing across the three countries. Ranges and standard deviations indicate the instrument is able to discriminate between respondents within each country. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were consistent across countries and fell in the moderately high range. The findings indicate the RAQ has many potential applications in attitude assessment and in providing direction for training designed to address attitudinal factors that may impact the effectiveness of nursing practice for older adults.

An International Survey on Attitudes of Renal Nurses Towards Older People

“…The study used the KOAP scale, an instrument which could be considered to be outdated (McLafferty & Morrison 2004). Another limit is that the scale, like other instruments such as the Aging Semantic Differential Scale, the Maxwell‐Sullivan Attitude Scale (Lovell 2006) and the Reactions to Ageing Questionnaire (Gething et al . 2004), is not specific for nursing and does not consider the context in which nurses are taking care of older people (McLafferty 2007).…”

Using the Internet to Facilitate Positive Attitudes of College Students Toward Aging and Working with Older Adults

“…Unfortunately, the research literature indicates that undergraduate nursing students continue to believe these myths, which may significantly influence career choices (Moyle, 2003;Gething et al, 2004;Wells et al, 2004).…”

Interest in Long-Term Care Among Health Services Administration Students

“…The survey included the Reactions to Aging Questionnaire (RAQ; Gething, 1994), which assesses ageism through attitudes toward one's personal aging. This instrument has been well validated in international samples (Gething, 1994;Gething et al, 2004) and has previously been used to examine interest in working with older adults among postgraduate psychologists (Koder & Helmes, 2008). The RAQ includes 27 items assessed on a 6-point Likert-type scale.…”