TITLE:
Development and psychometric properties of the Malaysian elder abuse scale
AUTHORS:
Tengku Aizan Hamid, Yadollah Abolfathi Momtaz, Rahimah Ibrahim, Mariani Mansor, Asnarulkhadi Abu Samah, Nurizan Yahaya, Siti Farra Zillah Abdullah
KEYWORDS:
Elder Abuse; Elderly; Psychometric Properties; Scale Development
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Psychiatry,
Vol.3 No.3,
June
26,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Elder abuse is an emerging issue of serious concern
with life-threatening consequences. This study aimed to develop and assess the
validity and reliability of a new scale to assess elder abuse. A
cross-sectional multistage sampling technique was used to obtain a nationally
representative sample of older Malaysians. The iterative development process
resulted in a 16-item, four-dimension scale. Exploratory factor analysis
yielded a 10-item scale with three factors. The value of Cronbach’s alpha for
total scale and its subscales indicated sufficient internal consistency. Multitrait scaling analysis also showed good convergent and discriminant validity.
Furthermore, predictive validity of the proposed scale was established by demonstrating
a statistically significant association between elder abuse and depression
through multiple logistic regression analysis. The findings from this study
demonstrate an acceptable level of validity and reliability for new scale. This
scale can be used by health and social care workers to identify elder abuse
cases.