The development and validation of the Threat of Dementia Scale

Cheston, Richard; Dodd, Emily; Christopher, Gary; White, Paul; Wildschut, Tim; Sedikides, Constantine

Abstract

Dementia represents a substantial threat to the self. However, to date, there is no reliable way to measure how threatened people feel by dementia. This article reports on two online studies. In Study 1, 248 participants rated statements about dementia according to their threat to well-being. In Study 2, 99 participants (all students at the University of the West of England) completed the emerging scale (the Threat of Dementia Scale or ToDS). We validated this by examining its associations with conceptually related measures, including the revised Fraboni Scale of Ageism and the Fear of Alzheimer’s Disease Scale. Study 1 yielded 13 statements that were highly intercorrelated and comprised a single factor. In Study 2, the ToDS demonstrated good construct validity and acceptable test–retest reliability. Higher levels of distancing predicted lower scores on the ToDS. The ToDS is a reliable and valid instrument that is the first statistically validated method of examining the extent to which dementia threatens well-being.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 28, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Sep 25, 2020
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jul 28, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 28, 2020
• Journal: International Journal of Aging and Human Development
• Print ISSN: 0091-4150
• Electronic ISSN: 1541-3535
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 94
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 496-514
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0091415020957388
• Keywords: dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, identity, scales, threat
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/6433039