Page 113 - IJPS-11-1

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Measuring active aging: Development of a active

aging measurement tool

1
2
Sara Marsillas *, Antonio Rial , and Jesús Varela 2
1 Matia Institute of Gerontology, Madrid, Spain
2 Department of Social Psychology, Basic Psychology and Methodology, Faculty of Psychology,
University of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain

Abstract

In recent years, various debates have emerged in the literature regarding the
conceptualization of active aging. However, there is a lack of tools to assess active
aging at the individual level. The aim of this paper is to develop a measurement tool
and procedure for assessing active aging focused on an individual level, encompassing
different elements of people’s lives, and providing an individual quantitative result
for each person. To achieve this aim, a representative sample of 404 community-
dwelling older adults (aged ≥ 60 years) from Galicia, Spain, was interviewed using
a structured survey guided by a questionnaire. The tool is based on an empirically
validated model of active aging, which comprises two broad categories (health and
participation) as well as a measurement tool. The results presented demonstrate
how a region in Spain is actively aging. The discussion highlights the potential of this
tool, which integrates different approximations of the concept and underscores its
*Corresponding author: importance in people’s lives.
Sara Marsillas
(sara.marsillas@matia.eus)
Keywords: Active aging; Model; Index; Measurement; Individual level
Citation: Marsillas, S., Rial, A.
& Varela, J. (2025). Measuring
active aging: Development of a
active aging measurement tool.
International Journal of Population 1. Introduction
Studies, 11(1): 107-119.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.428 1.1. Origin of the concept of active aging
Received: January 13, 2023 The construct of active aging is framed as a concept belonging to the new paradigm
of aging, which focuses more on a positive approach to studying older ages and aging
Accepted: November 2, 2023
(Foster & Walker, 2021). Successful aging theory is usually considered the origin
Published Online: February 27, of this new paradigm (Rowe & Kahn, 1987; 1997), whose roots can be traced to the
2024
sociogerontological literature of the fifties, such as the activity theory (Havighurst, 1953;
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). 1963). The concept of successful aging has received criticism, but it has influenced the
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the perspective in which older age has been conceived and researched in the past decades
Creative Commons Attribution (Foster & Walker, 2021). Some other concepts have been defined afterward, focusing
License, permitting distribution, on positive aging as an alternative to expected dependence and passivity in older
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is ages, such as productive aging or healthy aging (Foster & Walker, 2015). These share
properly cited. some commonalities, namely, the use of gerontological knowledge to build a positive
conception of older age and aging and the challenge to negative stereotypes of advanced
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with stages of life (Lassen & Moreira, 2014).
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Compared to healthy aging or productive aging, which focused on one unique
affiliations. element, either health or social productivity, active aging was formulated to transmit

Volume 11 Issue 1 (2025) 107 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.428