Adaptation of the Russian version of the Aging Perceptions Questionnaire (APQ)

The work is devoted to the adaptation of the “Perception of Aging” questionnaire based on the English-language Aging Perceptions Questionnaire (APQ). Modern scientific knowledge has a significant amount of data in the field of psychology of aging, interest in which does not fade, and the aging process is studied from various angles. Researchers more often turn to the problem of constructing a productive old age, the planning of which is recommended to begin at earlier stages of life. The results of modern research indicate that a positive perception of aging is a predictor of quality of life in old age and contributes to various aspects of health in old age. In this regard, the question arises about psychodiagnostic tools that allow us to identify the specifics of the perception of aging. Even though that there are currently studies on this problem, there is no version of the questionnaire that will allow assessing the perception of aging in a Russian sample. This study examined the reliability and construct validity of the English version of the APQ Perceptions of Aging Questionnaire. The study involved 229 people aged 29 to 68 years. Reliability was assessed by calculating Cronbach’s α and showed internal consistency both for the entire questionnaire and across gender groups. To test the convergent validity, the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile questionnaire, the K. Riff Psychological Well- Being Scale, the Australian Healthy Aging Questionnaire, and the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scales were used. As a result of exploratory factor analysis, six scales were identified: “Consequences negative”, “Control positive”, “Emotional representation” and “Unstable image of old age” (Timeline (cyclical)), “Consequences positive”, “Control negative”. Analysis of convergent validity showed the connection of the selected scales with indicators of psychological and physical health. The Perceptions of Aging Questionnaire is a simple and flexible method for assessing the image of aging.

Barker, M., O’Hanlon, A., McGee, H. M., Hickey, A., Conroy, R. M. (2007). Cross-sectional validation of the Aging Perceptions Questionnaire: A multidimensional instrument for assessing self-perceptions of aging. BMC Geriatrics, 7 (9). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2318-7-9

Deshayes, M., Clément-Guillotin, C., Chorin, F., Guérin, O., Zory, R. (2020). “Not performing worse but feeling older” the negative effect of the induction of a negative aging stereotype. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 51. https://doi.org/j.psychsport.2020.101793

Diehl, M., Wettstein, M., Spuling, S. M., Wurm, S. (2021). Age-related change in self-perceptions of aging: Longitudinal trajectories and predictors of change. Psychology and Aging, 36 (3), 344–359. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000585

Ingrand, I., Paccalin, M., Liuu, E., Gil, R., Ingrand, P. (2018). Positive perception of aging is a key predictor of quality-of-life in aging people. PLoS One, 13 (10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204044

Kornadt, A. E., Rothermund, K. (2011). Contexts of aging: Assessing evaluative age stereotypes in different life domains. The Journals of Gerontology: Ser. B, 66B (5), 547–556. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbr036

Levy, B. R., Slade, M. D., Kasl, S. V. (2002). Longitudinal benefit of positive self-perceptions of aging on functional health. The Journals of Gerontology: Ser. B, 57 (5), 409–417. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/57.5.P409

Osin, E. N. (2012). Measuring positive and negative affect: Development of a Russian-language analogue of PANAS. Psikhologiia. Zhurnal Vysshei shkoly ekonomiki,  9 (4), 91–110. (In Russian)

Petrash, M. D., Strizhitskaya, O. Yu., Murtazina, I. R. (2018). Validation of the Questionnaire “Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile” in the Russian Sample. Konsul’tativnaia psikhologiia i psikhoterapiia, 26 (3), 164–190. https://doi.org/10.17759/cpp.2018260309 (In Russian)

Paccalin, M., Ingrand, I., Houeto, J. L., Ingrand, P. (2012). The validation of a french-language version of the aging perceptions questionnaire (APQ) and its extension to a population aged 55 and over. European Geriatric Medicine, 3, S23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurger.2012.07.427

Ramos, L. M. B. C., da Rocha, M., Gomes, I., Schwanke, C. (2012). Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the APQ-Aging Perceptions Questionnaire to Brazilian Portuguese. Revista Brasileira de Geriatria e Gerontologia, 15 (2), 233–242. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1809-98232012000200006

Robertson, D. A., Kenny, R. A. (2016). Negative perceptions of aging modify the association between frailty and cognitive function in older adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 100, 120–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.12.010

Robertson, D. A., Savva, G. M., King-Kallimanis, B. L., Kenny, R. A. (2015). Negative perceptions of aging and decline in walking speed: A self-fulfilling prophecy. PLoS One, 10 (4). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0123260

Sexton, E., King-Kallimanis, B. L., Morgan, K., McGee, H. (2014). Development of the Brief Ageing Perceptions Questionnaire (B-APQ): A confirmatory factor analysis approach to item reduction. BMC Geriatrics, 14 (44). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2318-14-44

Slotman, A., Cramm, J. M., Nieboer, A. P. (2015). Validation of the Dutch Aging Perceptions Questionnaire and development of a short version. Health Qual Life Outcomes, 13 (54). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-015-0248-y

Slotman, A., Cramm, J. M., Nieboer, A. P. (2017). Validation of the Aging Perceptions Questionnaire Short on a sample of community-dwelling Turkish elderly migrants. Health Qual Life Outcomes, 15 (42). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-017-0619-7

Stephan, Ya., Sutin, A. R., Terracciano, A. (2022). Subjective aging and objectively assessed hearing function: A prospective study of older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Ser. B, 77 (9), 1637–1644. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbac018

Tully-Wilson, C., Bojack, R., Millear, P. M., Stallman, H. M., Allen, A., Mason, J. (2021). Self-Perceptions of ageing: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. Psychology and Aging, 36 (7), 773–789. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000638

Westerhof, G. J., Nehrkorn-Bailey, A. M., Tseng, H. Yu., Brothers, A., Siebert, J. S., Wurm, S., Wahl, H. W., Diehl, M. (2023). Longitudinal effects of subjective aging on health and longevity: An updated meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging, 38 (3), 147–166. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000737

Witzel, D. D., Turner, S. G., Hooker, K. (2022). Self-Perceptions of Aging Moderate Associations of Within- and Between-Persons Perceived Stress and Physical Health Symptoms. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. 77 (4), 641–651. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbab228

Wurm, S., Warner, L. M., Ziegelmann, J. P., Wolff, J. K., Schüz, B. (2013). How do negative self-perceptions of aging become a self-fulfilling prophecy? Psychology and Aging, 28 (4), 1088–1097. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032845

Zhukovskaya, L. V., Troshikhina, E. G. (2011). Ryff’s scale of psychological well-being. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal, 32 (2), 82–93. (In Russian)