Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Apr 17;18(8):4273.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18084273.

The Psychometric Properties of the Meaning of Home and Housing-Related Control Beliefs Scales among 67-70 Year-Olds in Sweden

Yadanuch Boonyaratana  1 , Eva Ekvall Hansson  1 , Marianne Granbom  1 , Steven M Schmidt  1
Affiliations

The Psychometric Properties of the Meaning of Home and Housing-Related Control Beliefs Scales among 67-70 Year-Olds in Sweden

Yadanuch Boonyaratana et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The housing environment is important for health and well-being among older people, and it is important to consider both physical and perceived aspects of housing. Psychometrically sound scales are necessary to assess perceived housing. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of two instruments that measure perceived aspects of housing among a younger cohort of older adults in Sweden.

Methods: A random sample of 371 participants aged 67 to 70 years (mean 67.9 (SD = 0.98)) was used. Participants lived in ordinary housing in the south of Sweden. Data on perceived aspects of housing were collected with the Meaning of Home Questionnaire (MOH) and the Housing-Related Control Beliefs Questionnaire (HCQ). Internal consistency, corrected item-total correlations, floor and ceiling effects, and construct validity were analyzed.

Results: Cronbach's alphas for all four subscales of MOH and two of three subscales of HCQ had acceptable levels (α > 0.50). Some items from both scales had low item-total correlations. All subscales, except for one from HCQ, had good construct validity.

Conclusion: While both instruments had some limitations, all subscales with one exception had adequate psychometric properties. When used in different national contexts, further development may be necessary to achieve conceptual equivalence.

Keywords: aging; housing-related control beliefs; meaning of home; perceived housing; psychometric.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Iwarsson S., Löfqvist C., Oswald F., Slaug B., Schmidt S., Wahl H.W., Tomsone S., Himmelsbach I., Haak M. Synthesizing ENABLE-AGE Research Findings to Suggest Evidence-Based Home and Health Interventions. J. Hous. Elder. 2016;30:330–343. doi: 10.1080/02763893.2016.1198742. - DOI
    1. Haak M., Slaug B., Oswald F., Schmidt S.M., Rimland J.M., Tomsone S., Ladö T., Svensson T., Iwarsson S. Cross-national user priorities for housing provision and accessibility—Findings from the European innovAge project. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2015;12:2670–2686. doi: 10.3390/ijerph120302670. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kylén M., Ekström H., Haak M., Elmståhl S., Iwarsson S. Home and health in the third age—Methodological background and descriptive findings. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2014;11:7060–7080. doi: 10.3390/ijerph110707060. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Granbom M., Nkimbeng M., Roberts L.C., Gitlin L.N., Taylor J.L., Szanton S.L. “So I am stuck, but it’ s OK”: Residential reasoning and housing decision-making of low-income older adults with disabilities in Baltimore, Maryland. Hous. Soc. 2001;48:43–59. doi: 10.1080/08882746.2020.1816782. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Löfqvist C., Granbom M., Himmelsbach I., Iwarsson S., Oswald F., Haak M. Voices on relocation and aging in place in very old age—a complex and ambivalent matter. Gerontologist. 2003;53:919–927. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnt034. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources