Subjective views of couple's joint aging: Development of a new scale.

Abstract

Subjective views of aging (VoA) play a crucial role in shaping individuals' physical, mental, and overall well-being. While past research has primarily focused on individual perspectives, recent literature suggests the development of VoA within interpersonal relationships. This study introduces a new scale, the Views of Couple Joint Aging (VoCJA), examining VoA related to the aging process within couple partnerships. The development process involved the construction of an initial pool of 39 items and testing them on a sample of 359 Israeli midlife adults, aged 40-60, (M = 48.17, SD = 5.95). The sample was randomly split into two subsamples, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to identify the most representative items to be retained and the factor structure. Fourteen items were retained, loading onto two factors: Positive and Negative Views of Couple Joint Aging (PVoCJA and NVoCJA). PVoCJA and NVoCJA were not significantly correlated, suggesting independent formations. Higher levels of PVoCJA were associated with greater aging anxiety and relationship satisfaction. Higher levels of NVoCJA were also associated with greater aging anxiety, more negative attitudes to aging and relational uncertainty, older subjective age, and lower levels of relational satisfaction. The article introduces a new concept, proposing that individuals not only hold views about their own aging process but also have perceptions about their future aging as a couple. It also discusses the development and validation of a scale (VoCJA) designed to assess adults' perceptions regarding aging within their current couple unit. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).