Development and psychometric evaluation of a measure to assess ageism using a socioecological model: Attitudes and Thoughts Toward Older People Scale (AT-TOPS)

Chen, Y-J, Liu, C-h, Yap, K-Y, Liu, L-F, Yang, Y-C, Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524, Hou, W-L, Huang, CH and Lin, C-Y, 2026. Development and psychometric evaluation of a measure to assess ageism using a socioecological model: Attitudes and Thoughts Toward Older People Scale (AT-TOPS). Current Psychology, 45 (5): 515. ISSN 1046-1310

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Abstract

Ageism, involving stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination against older adults, affects healthcare, employment, and social domains. The present study developed the Attitudes and Thoughts Toward Older People Scale (AT-TOPS) using the socioecological model to assess institutional, interpersonal, and self-directed ageism in the Taiwanese context, with items in Mandarin Chinese. A 1990–2024 literature review of 27 instruments yielded 196 items, refined to 17 items through expert panel and pilot testing. In 2023–2024, 370 adults aged 50+ years completed AT-TOPS, measures of depressive symptoms, quality of life, physical resilience, and Short Physical Performance Battery (N=169). Exploratory factor analysis retained 11 items in a three-factor structure, showing acceptable internal consistency (α/ω=0.82/0.86) but suboptimal test-retest reliability (r=0.49, below the >0.7 threshold). External measures correlated with institutional ageism (r=0.11–0.20, p<0.03) and interpersonal ageism (r=0.05-0.25, p<0.36), albeit relatively weakly, while self-directed ageism showed stronger associations with depressive symptoms (r=0.29, p<0.001) and quality of life (r=0.23, p<0.001). AT-TOPS supports multidimensional ageism assessment, informing targeted interventions.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Current Psychology
Creators:	Chen, Y.-J., Liu, C.-H., Yap, K.-Y., Liu, L.-F., Yang, Y.-C., Griffiths, M.D., Hou, W.-L., Huang, C.H. and Lin, C.-Y.
Publisher:	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date:	March 2026
Volume:	45
Number:	5
ISSN:	1046-1310
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1007/s12144-026-09139-w DOI 2577560 Other
Rights:	This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-026-09139-w
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	20 Mar 2026 10:18
Last Modified:	20 Mar 2026 10:18
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/55448

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