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Measuring active ageing among older adults in Singapore

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2015

EMILY Z. K. LIM  and
CLAIRE L. THOMPSON
EMILY Z. K. LIM
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, James Cook University (Australia), Singapore Campus.
CLAIRE L. THOMPSON*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, James Cook University (Australia), Singapore Campus.
*
Address for correspondence: Claire Thompson, JCU Singapore, 600 Upper Thomson Road, Singapore574421 E-mail: claire.thompson@jcu.edu.au
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Abstract

Active Ageing is conceptualised to measure the extent to which older people remain actively engaged with life. However, there is no evidence that the concept of Active Ageing is actually associated with the activity levels of older persons. Influences of age, ethnicity and spirituality on Active Ageing are also unexplored. Using the Active Ageing Index (AAI), this study examines whether the level of Active Ageing predicted the actual activity level of 120 Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay and Indians ethnicities, aged 55–64 years old or 65 years and above. Spirituality, measured by the Spirituality Index of Well-Being, was added to the AAI, to see if the predictive power of AAI improved. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that the AAI alone (controlling for age) did not significantly predict the activity level of older persons. The predictive power of the AAI improved significantly with spirituality included. Two-way between-groups Analysis of Variance revealed main effects of age and ethnicity, with higher AAI in those aged 55–64 and in Indian-Singaporeans. These findings suggest that the theoretical construct of Active Ageing needs further examination to identify the domains that distinguish it from chronological age, and support broadening the construct by including spirituality in Active Ageing.

Keywords

Active Ageingspiritualityactivity levelActive Ageing Index
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 36 , Issue 9 , October 2016 , pp. 1853 - 1869
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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