Component | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Item | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
(1) The majority of old people (age 65 or older) are senile (have defective memory, are disoriented, or demented). | 0.507 | ||||||
(2) The majority of old people have no interest in, or capacity for, sexual relations. | 0.474 | 0.342 | |||||
(5) The majority of old people feel miserable most of the time. | 0.889 | ||||||
(7) More than 25% of the aged are living in long-stay institutions (such as nursing homes, mental hospitals, homes for the aged, etc.). | 0.326 | 0.246 | |||||
(8) Older workers usually cannot work as effectively as younger workers. | 0.385 | 0.300 | |||||
(9) The majority of old people are unable to adapt to change. | 0.489 | ||||||
(10) The majority of the aged are healthy enough to do their normal activities without help. | 0.353 | 0.256 | |||||
(13) In general, old people tend to be pretty much alike. | 0.498 | ||||||
(16) The majority of old people are socially isolated. | 0.548 | 0.414 | |||||
(3) The five senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell) all weaken in old age. | 0.264 | ||||||
(4) Lung vital capacity declines in old age. | 0.293 | ||||||
(6) Physical strength declines in old age. | 0.405 | ||||||
(11) Old people usually take longer to learn something new. | 0.486 | ||||||
(14) Older people tend to react more slowly than younger people do. | 0.671 | ||||||
(22) The majority of old people say they are seldom irritated or angry. | 0.519 | ||||||
(24) Life expectancy at age 65 is about the same for men as for women. | 0.146 | ||||||
(25) The majority of persons over 65 have some mental illness severe enough to impair their abilities. | 0.544 | 0.324 | |||||
(26) Cognitive impairment (memory loss, disorientation, or confusion) is an inevitable part of the aging process. | 0.388 | ||||||
(28) There is no treatment (that leads to a cure) for Alzheimer’s disease. | 0.429 | ||||||
(29) Most patients with Alzheimer’s disease act the same way. | 0.252 | ||||||
(30) It is best to avoid talking to demented patients, because it may increase their confusion. | 0.791 | ||||||
(31) Demented patients should not be allowed to talk about their past because it may depress them. | 0.749 | ||||||
(17) Older workers have fewer accidents than younger workers do. | 0.380 | ||||||
(18) At present more than 30% of the population are 65 years or older in Flanders. | 0.316 | ||||||
(19) The majority of medical practitioners give low priority to working with or caring for the aged. | 0.257 | ||||||
(21) The majority of old people is working or would like to have some kind of work to do (including housework, volunteer work, care for grandchildren, etc.). | 0.335 | ||||||
(12) Depression is uncommon in older people. | -0.325 | ||||||
(15) The majority of old people say they are seldom bored. | 0.479 | ||||||
(27) Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of chronic cognitive impairment among the aged. | 0.219 | ||||||
(32) The prevalence of cognitive impairment increases in old age. | 0.746 | ||||||
(33) The elderly have fewer sleep problems than younger persons. | 0.275 | 0.372 | |||||
(34) Mental illnesses are more common (more prevalent) among the elderly with less income and education. | 0.311 | ||||||
(20) The majority of old people have incomes below the poverty line (between €700 and €900 a month). | 0.259 | ||||||
(23) The risk of physical injury (e.g., broken hip or wrist) is the same in older persons as it is in younger persons. | 0.259 | 0.311 | |||||
(35) The majority of nursing home patients suffer from mental illness. | 0.737 | ||||||
(36) Major depression is more prevalent among the elderly than among younger persons. | 0.447 |