A Single-Item Measure of (Non)Essentialist Beliefs About Aging

Abstract: Change is an inherent part of aging, often understood in terms of whether it is primarily determined by biological factors (i.e., genetic inheritance) or shaped by human experiences and adaptability. Essentialist beliefs about aging have been shown to play a crucial role in shaping developmental outcomes and have been previously assessed using multi-item scales. This paper introduces a single-item visual analog scale for assessing these (non)essentialist beliefs about aging ([N]EBA-SIS). Three studies ( N 1 = 320, 18 – 82 years, N 2 = 164, 54 – 75 years, and N 3 = 98, 67 – 96 years) provide converging evidence for the validity (convergent, discriminant, and test-retest) of the (N)EBA-SIS across various contexts and populations (healthy adults, geriatric patients). Results demonstrate that the (N)EBA-SIS has strong reliability and validity, including robust test-retest reliability over a 4-month period.