Abstract The psychometric properties of the Short Depression- Happiness Scale (SDHS) were analyzed in a sample of 216 Spanish elderly people with an average age of 73.89 (SD = 6.49). An exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were developed in order to identify the factorial solution and the best model fit. Just on factor was identified. Regarding reliability and validity, internal consistency index was .757 and the correlation between the Short Depression-Happiness Scale (SDHS) and measures of others construct, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD) (CESD), were significance. The practical implications of the scale and the index values obtained are discussed.

Resumen Se analizaron las propiedades psicométricas de la Short Depression-Happiness Scale (SDHS) en una muestra de 216 mayores con una edad promedio de 73.89 (DT = 6.49). Se realizó un análisis factorial exploratorio y confirmatorio para identificar la estructura factorial y el mejor ajuste del modelo. La solución estaba compuesta de un único factor. Con respecto a la fiabilidad y validez, el índice de consistencia interna fue de .757 y la correlación entre la Escala Breve de depresión-felicidad y las medidas de otros constructos, entre otros, el Cuestionario de Salud General (GHQ) y el Centro de Escala de Depresión de Estudios Epidemiológicos (CESD) fueron significantes. Se discuten las implicaciones prácticas de la escala y los valores de los índices obtenidos.

Abstract The main purpose of this study is to analyse the psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) in a 363 retirees students sample from several Portuguese universities. The 70% were female (253) and 30% were male (110) with an average age of 67 years (SD = 7.59) and a range from 48 to 90 years. R Commander was used for Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Amos 18.0 module for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). One factor solution was the best-fitting model. The internal consistency of the SWLS was .777. Correlational analysis showed negative relationships with loneliness (UCLA Scale) and symptoms of depression (GDS-15), supporting concurrent validity. The SWLS can be used with confidence in future research among elderly students to measure their life satisfaction. Some limitations of the results and its applications in other samples are discussed.

Resumen El objetivo principal de este estudio ha sido analizar las propiedades psicométricas de la escala de Satisfacción con la Vida (SWLS) en una muestra de 363 estudiantes jubilados pertenecientes a varias universidades portuguesas. El 70% de los participantes eran mujeres frente a un 30% de hombres, con una media de edad de 67 años (SD = 7.59) y un rango de edad comprendido entre 48 y 90 años. Se realizó un Análisis Factorial Exploratorio con R Commander y un Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio con Amos 18.0. El modelo que obtuvo un mejor ajuste estaba compuesto por un único factor. El índice de consistencia interna de la escala en su conjunto fue de .777. En cuanto a la validez concurrente, los análisis correlacionales mostraron una correlación negativa y significativa con la escala de soledad de UCLA y con la de depresión (GDS-15). El SWLS es una escala aplicable en futuras investigaciones sobre población mayor para medir su satisfacción con la vida. Algunas limitaciones y resultados de sus aplicaciones en otras muestras son discutidos.

In this work we describe an instrument based on the use of a factor analysis technique in order to measure the quality of education within a Postgraduate degree offered by a public Spanish university. We showed that the instrument has satisfactory psychometric properties (reliability and validity). Regarding the factorial solution, three main dimensions have been determined, namely: importance given to the subject; educational resources and knowledge of the subject (previous and posterior). It is important to remark that these three dimensions were consistently detected in all the factorial analyses performed (total sample and separate academic years). These three dimensions should be considered as fundamental when designing an instrument to evaluate educational quality. These findings may be taken as a basis for the design of future strategies for the evaluation of educational quality on other type of degrees within the higher education area.

En este trabajo se describe un instrumento basado en el uso de una técnica de análisis factorial con el fin de medir la calidad de la educación a través de una muestra de estudiantes de postgrado de una universidad pública española. El instrumento tiene unas aceptables propiedades psicométricas (fiabilidad y validez). En cuanto a la solución factorial, tres dimensiones principales se han determinado: la importancia dada a la materia; recursos educativos y conocimiento de la materia (anterior y posterior). Es importante destacar que estas tres dimensiones se han detectado consistentemente en todo el análisis factorial: muestra total y cursos separados. Estas tres dimensiones deben ser consideradas como aspectos fundamentales en el diseño de un instrumento para evaluar la calidad educativa. Estos hallazgos pueden ser tomados como base para el diseño de estrategias futuras para la evaluación de la calidad educativa en otro tipo de estudios dentro del área de la educación superior.

Background and Objectives: Lifespan is getting longer at a global level. More people, therefore, live past 65 years of age. Ageing favors frailty, a condition that makes the body more susceptible to diseases. We present updated information of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA), and particularly, the Cognitive Decline (CD) group in Action Group 3 (A3), focused in the prevention of frailty and functional decline. Moreover, details of one of the commitments in CD, which deals with the specificities of women in frailty and ageing (Chronic Ailment Reduction after Menopause, CARMEN), will be presented as well. Objectives of EIPAHA are to increase life expectancy of European citizens in two years by 2020 and to improve their quality of life. Methods: We revised literature and the web of the European Commission in what refers to EIP on AHA, A3 action group, and CD. Furthermore, we have summarized the main aspects of the CARMEN commitment. Results: We have sketched the main traits of the selected targets. A series of measures has been taken for favoring prevention of frailty and for health promotion of elderly people; this will help to increase the Europeans average healthy lifespan by two years under conditions of improved quality of life. Conclusions: A new awareness of the need for prevention of frailty and cognitive decline is extending. Early diagnosis of frailty and functional decline are considered as effective measures against age-related comorbidities.

Successful resilience is a variable often related to an optimal aging process. However, literature is rather limited when dealing with assessment instruments for the elderly in the Spanish language. The objective of this work is to validate the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (Sinclair & Wallston, 2004), a four item likert scale, in the Spanish elderly. For this propose, the scale was administrated to a sample of 991 elderly Spanish participants, and the data set analysed in terms of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency and criterion validity. The scale demonstrated good psychometric properties. Furthermore, the homogeneity indices were higher than the recently literature, reinforcing the dimensional structure of the scale. These results have shown higher reliability from previous Spanish versions. Therefore, the Brief Resilient Coping Scale is a valuable assessment instrument that could be very useful in the assessing of resilience in the Spanish-speaking elderly.

La resiliencia exitosa es una variable a menudo relacionada con un proceso óptimo envejecimiento. Sin embargo, la literatura es más bien limitada en relación a instrumentos de evaluación para los adultos mayores en el idioma español. El objetivo de este trabajo es validar la escala breve de resiliencia BRCS (Sinclair & Wallston, 2004), una escala de cuatro punto Likert, en personas mayores españolas. Para ello, la escala se administró a una muestra de 991 adultos mayores españoles, y fue analizada en términos de análisis factorial exploratorio y confirmatorio, consistencia interna y validez de criterio. La escala demostró buenas propiedades psicométricas. Además, los índices de homogeneidad fueron más altos que los mostrados en la literatura recientemente, reforzando la estructura dimensional de la escala. Estos resultados han mostrado una mayor fiabilidad frente a las anteriores versiones españolas anteriores. Por lo tanto, el BRCS es un instrumento de evaluación que podría ser muy útil en la evaluación de la resiliencia de los adultos mayores de habla española.

Este estudo buscou investigar a influência de características sociodemográficas no desempenho de idosos em duas tarefas de fluência verbal, além de fornecer dados normativos de referência nessas tarefas, conforme níveis de educação, para a população brasileira de idosos saudáveis. A amostra inicial incluiu 521 idosos com idade a partir 60 anos, participantes do Programa Estratégia Saúde na Família. Foram excluídos os participantes que tinham pontuações sugestivas de declínio cognitivo no Mini Exame do Estado Mental, de sintomas depressivos na Escala de Depressão Geriátrica e com autorrelato de doenças neurológicas ou de distúrbios psiquiátricos. A amostra final foi composta por 218 participantes que responderam à tarefa de fluência verbal fonêmica (letras F, A e S) e 265 que responderam à tarefa semântica (animais). O desempenho em ambas as tarefas foi associado à idade e aos anos de ensino formal, mas não ao sexo. Ainda, a variável escolaridade mostrou ter um impacto maior no desempenho de fluência verbal do que a idade em ambas as modalidades de evocação. Os resultados desse estudo sugerem a importância de oferecer dados normativos de idosos brasileiros, adequados à idade e à escolaridade, em tarefas de fluência verbal.

This study aims to investigate the influence of sociodemographic characteristics on the performance of older people on two tasks of verbal fluency and provide normative data for a Brazilian population of healthy elderly individuals with different educational levels. The initial sample included 521 individuals aged from 60 years, participating in the Program Family Health Strategy. Participants who had scores suggestive of cognitive decline on the Mini-Mental State Examination, depressive symptoms in Geriatric Depression Scale and self-reported neurological or psychiatric disorders were excluded. The final sample consisted of 218 participants in phonemic verbal fluency task (letters F, A and S) and 265 participants for semantic verbal fluency task (animals). The performance in both tests was associated with age and education, but not with sex. Still, the education variable was shown to have a greater impact on scores in phonemic and semantic tests than age in both forms of evocation. The results of this study suggest the importance of providing normative data for elderly Brazilians appropriate to age and education on verbal fluency tasks.

OBJECTIVES: Successful aging is a multidimensional concept that can be evaluated from objective and subjective components, such as physical, psychological and social functioning. This study aimed to compare the performance on variables related to successful aging in elderly institutionalized and non-institutionalized. METHODS: We conducted a design of two independent groups, institutionalized (N = 242) and non-institutionalized (N = 607), all aged over 65 years, evaluating their activities of daily living (ADL) and psychological well being. RESULTS: The Barthel index showed significant differences, being the mean of the institutionalized group lower than the mean of the non- institutionalized group. Regarding well-being, MANOVA showed differences between groups for all the scales. In subsequent ANOVA's, the variable personal growth showed the greatest differences and the percentage of explained variance. There were significant correlations between age and the Barthel Index, and the following scales Ryff's psychological well-being: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, environmental mastery and purpose in life. CONCLUSIONS: The institutionalized group has significantly lower scores in ADL and psychological well-being, and therefore living in nursing homes acts as a moderating variable that can worsen the situation. Additionally, age clearly affects the well-being of the institutionalized group, strengthening the need for generating strategies that improve the adaptation of the elderly.

OBJETIVO: El envejecimiento con éxito es un concepto multidimensional que se puede evaluar a partir de componentes objetivos y subjetivos como el funcionamiento físico, psicológico y social. El objetivo de este trabajo es comparar el funcionamiento en variables relacionadas con el envejecimiento exitoso en ancianos institucionalizados y no institucionalizados. MÉTODO: Se realizó un diseño de dos grupos independientes, institucionalizados (N=242) y no institucionalizados (N=607), todos de más de 65 años, evaluándose sus actividades de la vida diaria (AVD) y el bienestar psicológico. RESULTADOS: El Índice de Barthel mostró diferencias significativas, siendo inferior la media de los institucionalizados que la de los no institucionalizados. En relación al bienestar, el MANOVA mostró diferencias entre grupos para todas las escalas. En los posteriores ANOVA's la variable crecimiento personal mostró las mayores diferencias y porcentaje de varianza explicada. Se obtuvieron correlaciones significativas de la edad con el Índice de Barthel, y con las siguientes escalas de bienestar psicológico de Ryff: autoaceptación, relaciones positivas con otros, dominio del ambiente y propósito en la vida. CONCLUSIONES: Los institucionalizados muestran puntuaciones significativamente inferiores en AVD y en bienestar psicológico, actuando como variable moderadora, que puede empeorar su situación. La edad afecta de forma más clara al bienestar de los institucionalizados, reafirmándose la necesidad de generar estrategias que mejoren la adaptación de las personas.

Psychological and physical dimensions of life quality were analyzed, and their interrelationships tested. Physical dimension of life quality was measured with Barthel's index of daily life activities. Psychological dimension of life quality was measured with Ryff's scales of well-being, plus Life Satisfaction Index form A. A sample of 176 retired people was interviewed. All participants lived in Valencia province (Spain). Pearson's correlations and hierarchical multiple regressions were estimated to analyze the relationships among physical activity, well-being and life satisfaction. Positive relations were found among Barthel's index, life satisfaction and environmental mastery.There were negative relationships between Barthel's index and positive relationships with others, a factor of well-being. Overall, subjective well-being factors were more related to physical activity than either life satisfaction or other well-being factors.

De las dimensiones de la calidad de vida -psicológicas, físicas y sociales-, se analizaron las relaciones entre las dos primeras. Como medida de ABVD se utilizó el Índice de Barthel y, para el bienestar, la LSI-A y las Escalas de Ryff. Se aplicaron a una muestra de 176 jubilados de la provincia de Valencia. Se realizaron correlaciones de Pearson y regresiones jerárquicas, encontrándose relaciones positivas entre el Índice de Barthel y el dominio del ambiente y la satisfacción general, y negativas con el factor relaciones positivas con otros. Además, las variables predictoras del Índice de Barthel son las propias del bienestar subjetivo.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse who are the people giving psychological and instrumental support to the elderly, as well as potential differences among these caregivers according to age and/or sex of the elderly. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Manheim interview for social support was used to gather the opinions of 101 elder people (>65 years) living in Valencia (Spain), from January to May, 2006. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found on both psychological and instrumental support depending on age and sex of the interviewed elderly. CONCLUSIONS: With respect to sex differences old men seek for support mainly from their partners, while son and daughters are the main source of support for old women. With respect to age, there are changes in the figures giving support as age increases. Partners are the main figure to give support within the 65-75 years, but its importance decreases with age, while sons and daughters became more important as age of the elderly increases.

OBJETIVO: Reconocer quiénes son las figuras suministradoras de apoyo, psicológico e instrumental, en la vejez, así como precisar si existen diferencias en función de la edad y el sexo. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se utilizó la entrevista Manheim de apoyo social y se recogieron las opiniones de 101 personas mayores (>65 años) de la provincia de Valencia (España), entre enero y mayo de 2006. RESULTADOS: Se han encontrado diferencias estadísticamente significativas en el apoyo psicológico y el instrumental y tanto en relación con la edad como con el sexo del entrevistado. CONCLUSIONES: Respecto del género, los datos muestran que los hombres reciben más apoyo de sus parejas, mientras que las mujeres tienden a priorizar a los hijos como suministradores de apoyo. Acerca de la edad, las parejas son más importantes en la primera de las franjas de edad consideradas (65-75 años) y a medida que la edad aumenta los hijos las reemplazan.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse who are the people giving psychological and instrumental support to the elderly, as well as potential differences among these caregivers according to age and/or sex of the elderly. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Manheim interview for social support was used to gather the opinions of 101 elder people (>65 years) living in Valencia (Spain), from January to May, 2006. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found on both psychological and instrumental support depending on age and sex of the interviewed elderly. CONCLUSIONS: With respect to sex differences old men seek for support mainly from their partners, while son and daughters are the main source of support for old women. With respect to age, there are changes in the figures giving support as age increases. Partners are the main figure to give support within the 65-75 years, but its importance decreases with age, while sons and daughters became more important as age of the elderly increases.

OBJETIVO: Reconocer quiénes son las figuras suministradoras de apoyo, psicológico e instrumental, en la vejez, así como precisar si existen diferencias en función de la edad y el sexo. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se utilizó la entrevista Manheim de apoyo social y se recogieron las opiniones de 101 personas mayores (>65 años) de la provincia de Valencia (España), entre enero y mayo de 2006. RESULTADOS: Se han encontrado diferencias estadísticamente significativas en el apoyo psicológico y el instrumental y tanto en relación con la edad como con el sexo del entrevistado. CONCLUSIONES: Respecto del género, los datos muestran que los hombres reciben más apoyo de sus parejas, mientras que las mujeres tienden a priorizar a los hijos como suministradores de apoyo. Acerca de la edad, las parejas son más importantes en la primera de las franjas de edad consideradas (65-75 años) y a medida que la edad aumenta los hijos las reemplazan.