Cultural Adaptations to the Measurement of Attitudes to Ageing: Psychometric Assessment of the Malay Reactions to Ageing Questionnaire

The aims of this study were to culturally-adapt the Reactions to Ageing Questionnaire (RAQ) for a non-Western (Malay) population, and explore attitudes to ageing in relation to age, gender and education. Eight new culturally-relevant items were generated by asking Malay-speaking participants about their reactions to ageing. A Malay version of the extended 35-item RAQ was then administered to 911 Malaysian participants aged 18-60 years. Exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors. Three of the factors were similar to those identified in the original RAQ, whilst ‘Family and Religion’ emerged as a new factor. More negative attitudes to ageing were observed in younger and women respondents. There were no effects of education. This culturally-adapted RAQ exhibits robust psychometric properties, and could be used to assess attitudes to ageing in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries. Moreover, we have identified a “core set” of RAQ items with that could be applicable worldwide.