Development and Validation of Engagement Aging Scale for Older Adults

The disengagement theory of aging (Cumming & Henry, 1961) proposes that as people grow older, their social interactions and involvement in society are reduced resulting in a gradual disengagement from roles and relationships. The present research argues that all older adults are not disengaged rather some of them remain engaged in their roles either willingly or forcefully. However, there is no instrument for measuring their engagement, therefore, the present research developed and validated a measure of engagement of older adults in their roles and responsibilities in two studies. In study 1, items of the Engagement Aging Scale (EAS) were developed while keeping in view the disengagement theory (Cumming & Henry, 1961) and findings of interviews and focus group discussions. The exploratory factor analysis of the EAS in a purposive sample of 200 occupationally retired older adults suggested two factors of engagement namely forced engagement and engagement by choice. In Study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis of EAS confirmed its factor structure in a purposive sample of 500 older adults. The results showed that higher levels of forced engagement were associated with increased depression, while higher levels of engagement by choice were linked to lower depression. Neither of the engagement subscales showed a significant relationship with the assimilation identity style, demonstrating the convergent and discriminant validity of the measures, respectively. These findings suggest that the EAS is a reliable and valid measure of engagement that could be used in future research to explore the nomological network of engagement among the elderly.