A Psychometric Analysis of the Polish Online Version of the Aging Semantic Differential Scale (ASD)

Nursing students will become professionals providing direct care to an aging population in the future. Given that students' attitudes evolve during their studies, an important element of medical education should be addressing the issue of ageism, verifying false beliefs, promoting the subjectivity as well as individuality of older people in the education process. The aim of the study was to analyse the psychometrics of the Polish online version of the Aging Semantic Differential Scale (ASD).

The study was conducted among 384 students of bachelor's and master's degree studies in nursing (94.3%) and other medical disciplines: midwifery and emergency medical services (5.7%). Theoretical validity of the scale was assessed using principal component analysis (PCA) with Oblimin rotation with delta parameter equal to 0 and Kaiser normalization. Discriminant validity of the obtained factors was calculated using the AVE (Average Shared Squared Variance) and MSV (Maximum Shared Squared Variance) parameters. Reliability of the scale was assessed by determining the internal consistency using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient.

A four-factor model was extracted from the analysis. The validity of the analysis was confirmed by the KMO value = 0.88 and a significant statistical result for Bartlett's sphericity test: χ²(171) = 2601.34; p < 0.001. The model explained 56.20% of the variance in total. The reliability level of each factor reached a satisfactory level (α > 0.7). Factor loadings ranged from 0.57-0.81 for the first factor (Independence), 0.50-0.76 for the second factor (Consistency), -0.54 to -0.77 for the third factor (Attitude towards others), and -0.66 to 0.80 for the fourth factor (Charisma).

The study contributes to the cross-cultural validation of the ASD scale. We obtained a shorter version than the original ASD scale through statistical calculations. The shorter version of the ASD scale is easier and faster to administer. The scale can be reliably used by researchers and practitioners in disciplines other than nursing.