Modification and Validation of the Chinese Short-Form Aging Perception Questionnaire: A Psychometric Analysis

Background/Objectives: A reasonable assessment of the self-perception of aging (SPA) is of great significance to the health outcomes of older adults. This study aimed to develop the Modified Aging Perception Questionnaire (M-APQ) and to verify its psychometric properties. Methods: A multi-method study was conducted. In phase I, a qualitative study was conducted to supplement items to form the draft M-APQ. In phase II, three rounds of cognitive interviews were conducted to revise ambiguous items and form the prefinal M-APQ. In phase III, items were selected using Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) to form the final M-APQ. In phase IV, the psychometric properties of the final version of M-APQ were validated. Results: Three items were added in Phase I. Six items were revised in Phase II. Eleven items were removed in phase III, leaving twenty-four items in the final version of M-APQ. In phase IV, the M-APQ showed good construct validity and convergent validity. The known-group validity analysis indicated significant differences in the M-APQ dimension scores on different self-rated health statuses. The Cronbach's α for M-APQ and each dimension ranged from 0.798 to 0.888, and the intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.704 to 0.883. The IRT analysis showed that item discrimination parameters ranged from 1.746 to 3.630, and difficulty parameters increased sequentially. Conclusions: The 24-item M-APQ includes seven dimensions and is a valid tool for assessing the self-perception of aging (SPA) among community-dwelling older adults.