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 VoCAPnE 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.