Psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Fraboni scale of ageism: evidence from medical students sample

BACKGROUND: The increasing of older adults has led to enormous demand for medical care. However, as a group with unique needs and characteristics, older adults are often discriminated against in the medical field. In this paper, we aimed to translate the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA) into Chinese and examine its construct validity, content validity, and reliability in Chinese mainland medical students. In order to evaluate the prevalence of ageism in Chinese medical students and prompt medical college to adopt necessary teaching methods to mitigate ageism in medical students. METHODS: By Brislin’s translation guidelines, FSA was translated to Chinese. The convenient sampling method was used to select samples for this survey, including 1,974 students from two medical schools in central and north China. Construct validity was verified by the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The content validity index (CVI) was used to assess content validity. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to estimate reliability. RESULTS: The alpha coefficients for FSA (Chinese version) was 0.81 and ICC was 0.87. The CVI was 0.93. Three factors were identified by exploratory factor analysis explaining 34.84% of the total variance and a three-factor model was confirmed to fit by confirmatory factor analysis. CONCLUSIONS: FSA (Chinese version) is a reliable and valid scale for measuring discrimination degree against older adults in Chinese medical students.