DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE MIGRATION IMPACT ON ELDERLY PARENTS SCALE (MIEPS)

Abstract

Background: A specific scale is essential for reporting the wide spectrum of feelings among the geriatric population through comparative studies. The ‘Migration Impact on Elderly Parents Scale’ measures the physical, emotional, financial and social effects of migration among left-behind senior parents. This scale assesses the psychological factors affecting elderly people whose children have migrated either outside the country or within. This helps to identify their special requirements and hence guides healthcare services, support programs and policies for minimizing adverse consequences.

Methods: Scale development followed a structured, multi-stage psychometric process consisting of construct definition, item generation, and refinement. An initial 31-item pool was created from literature review, cognitive interviewing, expert consultation, and focus group discussions. Subsequent content validation by a six-member expert panel using the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and kappa statistics yielded a 25-item scale. A pilot study with 60 elderly parents established reliability and validity using test–retest agreement, Cronbach’s alpha, Pearson correlations, and criterion measures. Construct validity was evaluated via Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA).

Results: The scale demonstrated strong reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.78) and high test–retest consistency (96% agreement). EFA revealed a five-factor solution—emotional, social, physical, financial, and communication well-being accounted for 89.6% of total variance, with factor loadings exceeding 0.80. CFA confirmed excellent model fit (χ²/df = 2.01, CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.92, RMSEA = 0.042). Criterion validity correlations supported convergent and discriminant validity across domains.

Conclusion: Pretesting the scale has helped improve comprehension and specificity. Face and content validity were evaluated by subject matter experts. Critical feedback and expert opinions helped develop and further refined this scale. This tool is important because it captures the various facets of emotions and challenges of the geriatric population whose children have migrated. This will subsequently enable us to lend targeted support and interventions to this growing vulnerable group.