Confirmatory factor structure and measurement invariance of the Memory Compensation Questionnaire.

Recent research with the Memory Compensation Questionnaire (MCQ) has examined changes, functions, and correlates of compensatory strategy use in older adults. The twofold aim of this study was to test (a) the hypothesized structure of the MCQ and (b) structural equivalence across age, gender, and time. The 7-scale MCQ was designed to measure 5 compensatory mechanisms and 2 general aspects of compensatory awareness. The authors assembled a 3-wave (6-year) sample (N = 521; age = 55-85 years) from the Victoria Longitudinal Study. The results of structural equation modeling supported (a) the a priori structure of the MCQ and (b) the inference of measurement invariance across the 3 dimensions. Accordingly, the MCQ is available for measuring self-reported efforts to compensate for everyday memory losses.