The Development and Validation of the Age-Based Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire
Open Access
- 30 April 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in The Gerontologist
- Vol. 49 (3), 303-316
- https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnp035
Abstract
Purpose: There is much evidence suggesting that older adults are often negatively affected by aging stereotypes; however, no method to identify individual differences in vulnerability to these effects has yet been developed. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid questionnaire to measure individual differences in the tendency to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and intensely react to age-based rejection among older adults: the Age-Based Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ-Age). Design and Methods: A pilot sample of older adults was asked to identify situations in which negative outcomes related to being an older adult might occur. From these responses, 58 scenarios representing 8 domains and themes were identified. Thirty initial items were created from this pool of scenarios, and this 30-item RSQ-Age underwent intensive testing and refinement to create the final 15-item RSQ-Age. The 15-item RSQ-Age was assessed for internal and test–retest reliability, as well as construct validity. Results: Results revealed that the RSQ-Age has good internal (α = .91) and test–retest, r(72) = .74, p < .01, reliability and is a valid measure of age-based rejection sensitivity (RS). Construct validity was supported by correlations with personal RS, age-based stigma consciousness, self-consciousness, awareness of ageism, and self-esteem. Implications: The RSQ-Age is a useful measure for researchers and health care workers interested in the relationships between expectancy, perceptions, and reactions to age-based stigma and subsequent cognitive, behavioral, and health-related consequences.Keywords
This publication has 38 references indexed in Scilit:
- Stigma Consciousness at WorkBasic and Applied Social Psychology, 2005
- How Feelings of Stereotype Threat Influence Older Adults' Memory PerformanceExperimental Aging Research, 2005
- Rejection Sensitivity and Depressive Symptoms in WomenPersonality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2001
- The effects of stereotype activation on behavior: A review of possible mechanisms.Psychological Bulletin, 2001
- AGE AND FORGETFULNESS: CAN STEREOTYPES BE MODIFIED?Educational Gerontology, 1999
- The self-fulfilling prophecy in close relationships: Rejection sensitivity and rejection by romantic partners.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1998
- The invisible generation: Portrayals of the elderly on prime‐time televisionCommunication Reports, 1995
- An empirical study of ageism: From polemics to scientific utilityAustralian Psychologist, 1993
- Attitudes toward Aging Portrayed by Birthday CardsInternational Journal of Aging & Human Development, 1981
- Public and private self-consciousness: Assessment and theory.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1975