Evaluation of the Facts on Aging Quizzes I & II.

The Facts on Aging Quizzes (FAQ) I and II (Palmore, 1977, 1981) were designed to assess knowledge and to measure misconceptions regarding the elderly. This study compared results on the FAQ I and II administered to freshmen nursing students. In contrast with Palmore's (1981, 1988) findings, the FAQ I and II were not related (r=.04) and alpha coefficients were low (a=.45 and .32 respectively). However, use of theta coefficients (which make fewer stringent assumptions about items being parallel) resulted in values of .60 and .64 respectively. The factors emerging in this study differed from Palmore's (1977, 1981, 1988) conceptual structure and explained only 45% of the variance. Results from this study suggest that while the FAQ I and II may be useful as a stimulus for discussion, revisions and testing need to be done if they are to be used for research purposes.