Reliability and validity of a Swedish version of Kogan's Old People Scale

Standardized and well-tested instruments are needed in order to study attitudes toward old people. One scale that has been widely used is Kogan's Old People scale. A Swedish version of the scale has been available since 1987. The aim of this study was to test this Swedish version of the scale for reliability and validity, in a sample consisting of students and different health-care professionals. A convenience sample of 319 individuals in western Sweden took part in the study, and data were collected by means of a questionnaire that included the scale. Reliability was assessed as homogeneity and validity as construct validity. All but 4 of the 34 items were found to have significant item-total correlations. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total scale was 0.79. Some evidence of construct validity was found in a three-factor solution, which explained 30% of the variances. Strong evidence of construct validity was shown in the scale's capability to differentiate between individuals who rather preferred to work with old people (p < 0.005) than with young clients. Convergent validity, as a form of construct validity, was also supported for the scale.