APQ items | Strongly disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly agree | Reason for exclusion |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Timeline-chronic | ||||||
1. I am conscious of getting older all the time | 14% | 25% | 25% | 31% | 5% | Excluded due to overlap with Item 4 (r = 0.67, MI = 425.6, EPC = 0.33) |
2. I am always aware of my age | 13% | 28% | 20% | 34% | 5% | Excluded due to overlap with Item 1 (r = 0.73, MI = 294, EPC = 0.33) |
3. I always classify myself as old | 30% | 43% | 15% | 10% | 2% | Retained |
4. I am always aware of the fact that I am getting older | 12% | 24% | 18% | 42% | 4% | Retained |
5. I feel my age in everything that I do | 25% | 45% | 16% | 12% | 2% | Retained |
Consequences-positive | ||||||
6. As I get older I get wiser | 3% | 10% | 23% | 52% | 12% | Retained |
7. As I get older I continue to grow as a person | 2% | 5% | 19% | 60% | 14% | Retained |
8. As I get older I appreciate things more | 2% | 3% | 9% | 65% | 21% | Retained |
Control-positive | ||||||
10. The quality of my social life in later years depends on me | 2% | 5% | 10% | 66% | 17% | Retained |
11. The quality of my relationships with others in later life depends on me | 2% | 4% | 10% | 68% | 17% | Retained |
12. Whether I continue living life to the full depends on me | 2% | 4% | 8% | 67% | 20% | Retained |
14. As I get older there is much that I can do to maintain my independence | 2% | 4% | 10% | 67% | 17% | Excluded due to overlap with Item 12 (r = 0.56, MI = 174.495, EPC = 0.19) |
15. Whether getting older has positive sides to it depends on me | 1% | 3% | 10% | 68% | 18% | Excluded due to overlap with Item 14 (r = 0.73, MI = 1328.86, EPC = 0.51) |
Consequences-negative | ||||||
16. Getting older restricts the things that I can do | 5% | 47% | 18% | 24% | 7% | Excluded due to overlap with item 19 (r = 0.70; MI = 170.4; EPC = 0.20) |
17. Getting older makes me less independent | 3% | 26% | 18% | 42% | 10% | Retained |
18. Getting older makes everything a lot harder for me | 3% | 23% | 24% | 41% | 9% | Excluded due to overlap with item 17 (r = 0.77; MI = 107.25, EPC = 0.22) |
19. As I get older I can take part in fewer activities | 4% | 42% | 19% | 30% | 6% | Retained |
20. As I get older I do not cope well with problems that arise | 3% | 23% | 19% | 45% | 10% | Retained |
Control-negative | ||||||
21. Slowing down with age is not something that I can control | 5% | 52% | 17% | 22% | 4% | Retained |
22. How mobile I am in later life is not up to me | 5% | 31% | 15% | 42% | 8% | Excluded due to overlap with Item 24 (r = 0.61, MI = 828.570, EPC = 0.4) |
23. I have no control over whether I lose vitality or zest for life as I age | 3% | 23% | 15% | 50% | 10% | Excluded due to overlap with item 24 (r = 0.80, MI = 128.06, EPC = 0.45) |
24. I have no control over the effects which getting older has on my social life | 3% | 22% | 15% | 51% | 9% | Retained |
Timeline-cyclical | ||||||
27. I go through cycles in which my experience of ageing gets better and worse | 9% | 30% | 32% | 27% | 2% | Excluded due to dropped dimension |
28. My awareness of getting older comes and goes in cycles | 8% | 27% | 23% | 40% | 2% | Excluded due to overlap with Item 27 (r = 0.88, MI = 1181.31 , EPC = 0.5) |
30. I go through phases of feeling old | 15% | 39% | 19% | 26% | 2% | Excluded due to dropped dimension |
31. My awareness of getting older changes a great deal from day to day | 14% | 43% | 22% | 20% | 2% | Excluded due to dropped dimension |
32. I go through phases of viewing myself as being old | 18% | 43% | 17% | 20% | 2% | Excluded at Step 2 due to overlap with several items, e.g. item 30 (r = 0.77, MI = 61.87, EPC = 1.7) |
Emotional representations | ||||||
9. I get depressed when I think about how ageing might affect the things that I can do | 18% | 39% | 21% | 18% | 4% | Retained |
13. I get depressed when I think about the effect getting older might have on my social life | 19% | 45% | 21% | 12% | 3% | Excluded due to overlap with item 9 (r = 0.69, MI = 355.849, EPC = 0.28) |
25. I get depressed when I think about getting older | 20% | 51% | 17% | 10% | 2% | Excluded due to conceptual overlap with item 9, weak empirical overlap |
26. I worry about the effects that getting older may have on my relationships with others | 16% | 52% | 17% | 13% | 2% | Retained |
29. I feel angry when I think about getting older | 25% | 55% | 14% | 5% | 2% | Retained |