Nursing student attitudes towards older people: validity and reliability of the Italian version of the Kogan Attitudes towards OlderudPeople scale

摘要

Aim. This paper reports a study testing the validity and reliability of the Italian version of the Kogan Attitude towards Older People scale.udBackground. Nursing students’ attitudes towards older people can affect theirudpreference for working with them. One of the most common instruments used toudassess these attitudes is the Kogan Attitude towards Older People scale. Previous validation studies performed on college students internationally have demonstrated good reliability and validity. The psychometric properties of the Italian version have not yet been tested.udDesign. A cross-sectional, descriptive study.udMethod. The study was conducted from March–June 2010 with a convenienceudsample of nursing students attending two Italian universities. Reliability was evaluated using internal consistency and item-to-total correlation. Content and constructudvalidity were evaluated using a content validity index and principal factorudanalysis.udResults. A total of 1637 nursing students participated in the study. Two factors were extracted from the factor analysis: prejudice describing a negative disposition and appreciation indicating a favourable feeling and opinion towards older people.udConclusion. The Kogan Attitude towards Older People scale applied to Italianudnursing students exhibited good internal consistency. The two-dimensional construct of the scale was congruent with some, but not all, results of previous studies due to methodological differences among the studies. Based on the study findings,udthe scale can be recommended for future research studies in Italy including use as pre/post-test measurement associated with nursing education programmes.