VALIDATION OF THE HEALTH-RELATED LIFESTYLE INDEX

Abstract

This research examined sex and age differences in the factorial structure of the health-related lifestyle index for elderly. A multiple indicator structural eqation model including three first-order factors : social, psychological, and pysical exercise and one second-order factor is proposed to account for the dimensionality of the health-related lifestyle index. Analysis of covariance structures was used to assess the factorical invariance of the index. We analysed the factorial invariances by testing hypotheses involving the equivalence constraints of one or more parameter matrices in the samples ; the mele and the famele, the young-old and old-old. Data for research came from the 1996 Otofuke Survey. Sex and age differnces were not found in the factorial structure of the index.