Bhatta Tirth R, Kahana Eva, Lekhak Nirmala, Kahana Boaz, Midlarsky Elizabeth
Department of Sociology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, US.
Department of Sociology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, US.
Innov Aging. 2020 Nov 27;5(1):igaa060. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igaa060. eCollection 2021.
Scholarly research has established the role of altruism in facilitating human cooperation and prosocial behaviors and highlighted its contribution to psychological well-being. Given the health significance of altruistic attitudes and orientations, we developed a valid and reliable measure of this construct that is suitable for use with older adults.
Based on data from a long-term panel study on adaptation to frailty among older adults ( = 366; mean age = 86 years), we used confirmatory factor analysis to perform construct validation of a five-item Elderly Care Research Center Altruism Scale among older adults (e.g., "Seeing others prosper makes me happy"). Moreover, we examined the invariance of the scale's factor structure across time and gender using nested models.
Composite reliability (coefficient omega = 0.78), factor loadings (>0.45 with eigenvalue = 2.84) from exploratory factor analysis, and model fit indices (e.g., comparative fit index = 0.999) from confirmatory factor analysis suggest a single factor, supporting a unidimensional reliable construct of altruistic orientation at baseline. The results provided support for configural, metric, and scalar invariance across time. Findings pertaining to measurement invariance across gender confirmed full configural invariance but only offered support for partial metric, scalar, and residual invariance at baseline. Strong correlations among the altruism scale, salient personality traits, psychological well-being, religiosity, and meaning in life help establish construct validity.
The availability of a reliable and valid measure of altruistic attitudes enables a comprehensive evaluation of altruism's influence on later-life health and well-being.
学术研究已证实利他主义在促进人类合作与亲社会行为中的作用，并强调了其对心理健康的贡献。鉴于利他态度和取向对健康的重要性，我们开发了一种适用于老年人的有效且可靠的该构念测量方法。
基于一项关于老年人衰弱适应的长期面板研究数据（ = 366；平均年龄 = 86岁），我们使用验证性因子分析对老年人中一个包含五个条目的老年护理研究中心利他主义量表进行构念验证（例如，“看到他人成功让我开心”）。此外，我们使用嵌套模型检验了该量表因子结构在时间和性别上的不变性。
组合信度（ω系数 = 0.78）、探索性因子分析的因子载荷（>0.45，特征值 = 2.84）以及验证性因子分析的模型拟合指数（例如，比较拟合指数 = ）表明为单一因子，支持基线时利他取向的单维可靠构念。结果为时间上的构型、度量和标量不变性提供了支持。关于性别间测量不变性的研究结果证实了完全构型不变性，但仅支持基线时部分度量、标量和残差不变性。利他主义量表、显著人格特质、心理健康、宗教信仰和生活意义之间的强相关性有助于确立构念效度。
一种可靠且有效的利他态度测量方法的可得性，使得能够全面评估利他主义对晚年健康和幸福的影响。
