Exploratory Analyses of the Latent Structure of Anxiety among Older Adults

Responses to the Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale-Elderly Version (AMAS-E) of 458 older individuals, ranging in age from 60 to 100 years with 5 to 16 years of education, were submitted to an exploratory factor analysis. Using the method of principal axis factoring with promax rotation, a four-factor solution—three anxiety factors and one lie scale factor—was produced. The emergence of a three-factor structure of anxiety (Worry/Stress, Fear of Aging, and Physiological) is consistent with current multidimensional theories of anxiety and lends support to the construct validity of the AMAS-E. Internal consistency data are reported, and implications for interpretation are discussed.