THE AGING SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL - A CONFIRMATORY FACTOR-ANALYSIS

The Aging Semantic Differential (ASD), which is used to measure attitudes and quantify bias and negative stereotypes toward older people, is a 32-item scale published more than 20 years ago (Rosencranz & McNevin, 1969). Several factor analytic studies failed to replicate the original three-factor structure. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) using 100 third-year medical students compared six-factor models derived from the gerontological literature. A modified version of Holtzman, Beck, and Kerber's (1979) four-factor model proved to be the ''best'' comparative fit based upon a consensus of fit indices.