Development and Validation of a Revised Ambivalent Ageism Scale for Use in the Health Care Sector: The AAShc

Background and objectives: The aim of this study was to adapt and validate the Ambivalent Ageism Scale (AAS) among paramedical students for use in the health care sector.

Research design and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the following paramedical students: physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and nursing students. A total of 6 items were added based on the literature and the scale was evaluated by students and professors with experience working with older adults. The following psychometric properties were evaluated: internal consistency, concurrent validity, structural validity (exploratory factor analysis), and reliability.

Results: A total of 265 students participated: 19.2% physiotherapy students, 27.5% occupational therapy students, 50.6% nursing students, and 2.6% other paramedical students. The concurrent validity study showed a significant correlation between AAShc (Ambivalent Ageism Scale in the health care sector) and UCLA-GAS-F (French version of the University of California, Los Angeles Geriatric Attitudes Scale) with r (265) = 0.491 (p < .001). The factor analyses produced an 18-item (α = 0.866) scale composed of 5 factors: Infantilization (5 items, α = 0.766), Control (2 items, α = 0.789), Overaccommodation (2 items, α = 0.829), Unwanted help (2 items, α = 0.656), and Hostile Ageism (7 items, α = 0.717). Finally, the generalizability analysis revealed a G-coefficient of 0.86, a Phi-coefficient of 0.83, and a standard error of measurement of 2.31%.

Discussion and implications: The AAShc appears to be a valid and reliable scale to measure ageism among paramedical students. This scale can be a useful tool to reduce ageism toward older adults in the health care sector.