Background: Aging perceptions have been found to be major contributors to health in old age. To quantitatively explore aging perceptions among elderly Turkish migrants, valid and reliable Turkish-language instruments are needed. The objective of the current study was to examine the construct validity and reliability of the Turkish-language version of the seven-dimension Aging Perceptions Questionnaire Short version (APQ-S) in a sample of community-dwelling elderly Turkish migrants in the Netherlands. Methods: A questionnaire including the Turkish-language APQ-S was administered to 438 community-dwelling Turkish migrants aged 65-99 years who resided in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The APQ-S includes 21 items in seven dimensions (timeline chronic and cyclical, consequence positive and negative, control positive and negative, and emotional representations). The questionnaire also contained items measuring well-being, physical and mental health-related quality of life, and number of chronic conditions. Results: The latent factor model of the Turkish APQ-S was found to have an acceptable fit (root mean square error of approximation = .06; standardized root mean square residual = .07; comparative fit index = .90). Each indicator loaded significantly on its corresponding latent factor, and standardized factor loadings > .40 supported the convergent validity of the Turkish APQ-S dimensions. The APQ-S was also found to have acceptable construct validity in terms of its inter-factor structure and its expected associations with various health measures and age, gender, educational level, and marital status. Contrary to expectations, income level was not associated with any APQ-S dimension. With the exception of timeline cyclical (α = .56), each APQ-S dimension had acceptable reliability, with Cronbach's alpha values ranging from.75 (timeline chronic) to.88 (control positive). Most APQ-S dimension scores differed significantly between elderly Turkish migrants and a general population of elderly Rotterdam residents, with Turkish elders having more negative and less positive aging perceptions. Conclusion: The Turkish-language version of the APQ-S is a psychometrically valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of aging perceptions among elderly Turkish migrants. Further research is needed to gain insight into aging perceptions and their health and sociodemographic correlates in this population. © 2017 The Author(s).

Apq-s Turkish migrant Aging perception Validity Reliability

Netherlands perception publication population Cronbach alpha coefficient mental health human wellbeing validation study Translations aging validation process controlled study Aged instrument validation language resident marriage quality of life Surveys and Questionnaires Humans migrant human tissue psychology model male female Aged, 80 and over very elderly construct validity reproducibility Reproducibility of Results questionnaire Psychometrics psychometry gender migration human experiment Turkey expectation Transients and Migrants devices Turkish citizen convergent validity