Views of cognitive aging in midlife and older age: development of a new scale

Introduction Perceptions, beliefs, expectations, and attitudes about aging and one's own aging (i.e., subjective views of aging VoA) play a crucial role in shaping individuals' health and well-being outcomes, including cognitive functioning in older adulthood. However, no existing questionnaire specifically assesses VoA focusing on perceptions and beliefs about age-related cognitive changes with aging. We aimed to develop and validate the Views of Cognitive Aging (VoCA) questionnaire, comprising two sections assessing generalized (VoCA-G) and personal (VoCA-P) views of cognitive aging, and to examine its associations with VoA measures and cognitive functioning. Methods A total of 727 participants (50–84 years old) completed the VoCA, assessing generalized and personal views of cognitive aging. They also completed generalized (Non Essentialist Beliefs about Aging) and personal VoA (felt age, Attitudes Toward Own Aging, Awareness of Age-Related Change, and Aging Perceptions Questionnaire) measures. Attention, working memory, and processing speed tasks were administered to examine cognitive functioning. Results For each VoCA section, factor analyses showed a two-factor structure representing nonessentialist (-nE; malleable) views (VoCA-GnE, VoCA-PnE) and essentialist (-E; fixed) views (VoCA-GE, VoCA-PE). The VoCA showed good reliability and validity with VoA measures. Moreover, VoCA-GnE and VoCA-PnE were positively correlated with working memory, attention, and processing speed whereas VoCA-GE and VoCA-PE were negatively correlated with these cognitive measures. Conclusions The VoCA, a novel reliable instrument, assesses generalized and personal essentialist and nonessentialist views about cognitive aging. It enables capturing middle-aged and older adults' VoA related to cognitive changes and supporting identification of those at risk for cognitive complaints as well as guiding interventions to promote successful aging.