Older adults' desire for physical competence

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Psychometrics
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Understanding older adults' motivation for physical activity is crucial for promoting healthy aging.
• Existing measures may not fully capture the psychological drivers behind the pursuit of physical competence in later life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and psychometrically evaluate a new 16-item scale measuring the desire for physical competence (DPC) in older adults.
• To provide initial evidence for the reliability and validity of the DPC scale.

Main Methods:

• 157 older adults (aged 60-95) completed the DPC scale and other measures (demographics, health, social desirability, desire for control, body/life satisfaction).
• Exploratory factor analysis and Rasch modeling were used for scale development and evaluation.
• Test-retest reliability was assessed in an additional sample of 30 older adults.

Main Results:

• A single-dimension Rasch model demonstrated good fit to the DPC data.
• The DPC scale showed significant correlations with age, desire for control, body satisfaction, and SF-36 scores in expected directions.
• Older adults with arthritis reported lower DPC scores; the measure was not influenced by social desirability.
• Excellent test-retest reliability (>0.90) was observed.

Conclusions:

• The DPC scale is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing the incentive value of physical competence in older adults.
• The DPC can enhance social cognitive models of physical activity and disablement processes in aging populations.