Social Components of Retirement Anxiety Scale

Abstract

The Social Components of Retirement Anxiety Scale (SCRAS) is a specialized 23-item psychometric instrument designed to assess the social dimensions inherent in retirement anxiety. Developed by Fletcher and Hannson (1991), the scale focuses specifically on fears related to changes in social integration, loss of professional identity, anticipated exhaustion of social support, and the dissolution of work-related friendships following cessation of employment. The scale was rigorously developed across four separate studies, establishing strong evidence for its reliability and validity among workers aged 50 and older.

Keywords

Retirement anxiety, social adjustment, social integration, occupational identity, scale validation, psychometrics, older workers, factor structure.

Authors

W. L. Fletcher, R. O. Hannson

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SCRAS is to provide researchers and practitioners with a reliable and valid tool for quantifying the level of anxiety individuals experience specifically concerning the social changes brought about by retirement. The scale aims to isolate social concerns from financial or health-related worries commonly associated with transition into retirement.

The instrument assists in identifying specific social vulnerabilities—such as the potential loss of work-based social networks or the struggle to maintain a meaningful identity outside of employment—which may require targeted intervention or counseling during pre-retirement planning.

Construct

The SCRAS measures the psychological construct of social retirement anxiety. This construct encompasses an individual’s worry or apprehension regarding the maintenance of social relationships, the replacement of work-based social structures, and the establishment of a new non-work identity. The underlying theoretical assumption is that perceived social disruption and the loss of occupational structure are significant contributors to negative retirement outcomes and associated distress.

The scale items are structured around four core dimensions identified through factor analysis: Social Integration, Social Adjustment/Hardiness, Anticipated Social Exhaustion, and Lost Friendships.

Validity

The validation process for the SCRAS involved multiple studies establishing its psychometric soundness. Studies 1 and 2 collectively established criterion validity, discriminant validity, and construct validity.

These studies demonstrated that the scale accurately correlates with relevant external criteria, such as existing fear-of-retirement items, presented in the data analysis for Studies 2 and 3. Furthermore, the establishment of discriminant validity confirmed that the SCRAS successfully measures social anxiety related to retirement as a distinct construct, separate from generalized anxiety or other related psychological measures.

Reliability

Internal consistency and stability were assessed across the multiple phases of scale development, demonstrating consistently high reliability estimates.

• For Study 1, the initial 30-item pilot scale demonstrated strong reliability (alpha = 0.90).
• For Study 2, the final 23-item scale yielded an alpha coefficient of 0.87, and the Guttman split-half correlation was 0.82.
• For Study 3, the alpha coefficient remained 0.87, with a Guttman split-half correlation of 0.82.
• For Study 4, utilizing a large combined sample for factor analysis, the alpha coefficient was reported at 0.84.

These consistent results across diverse samples confirm the scale’s strong internal consistency and dependability in measuring the intended construct.

Factor Analysis

A comprehensive factor analysis was conducted using a combined sample of 461 participants (from Studies 3 and 4). A principal components factor analysis employing a varimax rotation yielded a robust four-factor structure for the 23-item scale:

• Social Integration: Items 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 20. This factor reflects fundamental concerns about belonging, identity loss tied to occupation, and fears of becoming a burden or feeling lonely post-retirement.
• Social Adjustment/Hardiness: Items 6, 12, 14, 16, 17, and 21. This factor represents the perceived ability or confidence (or lack thereof) to adapt socially, make new friends, and proactively plan for social engagement after retiring.
• Anticipated Social Exhaustion: Items 2, 8, 15, and 19. This factor captures the fear that former colleagues and work acquaintances will cease contact or lose interest in the individual once they leave the workplace.
• Lost Friendships: Items 18, 22, and 23. This factor specifically addresses the perceived difficulty of replacing the close friendships cultivated within the work environment, acknowledging the unique nature of coworker relationships.

Instrument

Test Type: Psychometric self-report instrument

Format: 23 items measured on a five-point Likert scale. The scoring ranges from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. The total score ranges from 23 to 115. Items 6, 12, 16, 17, and 21 are reverse scored. Higher scores indicate greater retirement anxiety.

Language Available: English (Original publication)

Population Group: Workers nearing retirement age or actively planning for retirement.

Age Group: 50 years of age and older.

Population Details: Validation utilized samples from diverse organizational settings, including a restaurant chain, banks, manufacturing companies, a university, city government, hospitals, an oil company, and church groups.

Test Methodology: The scale is administered via self-report. Data analysis involved correlational tests, means, standard deviations, and principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation.

Keywords

Psychological assessment, retirement planning, social support, work identity, factor structure, Guttman split-half, older adults, organizational psychology.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source material

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source material

Correspondence Address: Not specified in source material

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1991

Permissions and Fee: Information regarding current licensing and usage fees must be obtained directly from the authors (W. L. Fletcher and R. O. Hannson) or the publisher of the original journal article, Psychology and Aging.

Reference’s

Fletcher, W. L., and Hannson, R. O. (1991). Assessing the social components of retirement anxiety. Psychology and Aging 6:76–85.

Braithwaite, V. A., et al. (1986). An exploratory study of poor adjustment styles among retirees. Social Science and Medicine 23:493–99.

Cook, J., and Wall, T. D. (1980). New work attitude measures of trust, organizational commitment and personal need non-fulfillment. Journal of Occupational Psychology 53:39–52.

Karp, D. A. (1989). The social construction of retirement among professionals 50–60 years old. Gerontologist 29:750–60.

Russell, D., et al. (1980). The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39:472–80.

Watson, D., et al. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54:1063–70.

Items of the Social Components of Retirement Anxiety Scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. I can’t imagine not working.
2. I am afraid I will lose all of my work friends as a retired person.
3. There really isn’t much for a retired person to do.
4. I am afraid I will be a burden on my family as a retired person.
5. My job has always been a source of my identity. I hate to lose that.
6. Retirement will not bother me because I am sure I can make new friends no matter where I go.
7. I am afraid I will feel lonely after I retire.
8. Many of my colleagues will not have time for me after I retire.
9. After retirement I am not sure I will know how to stay involved.
10. I don’t know what I am going to do without my job.
11. I worry that my family will not support me after I retire.
12. I have lots of friends I can depend on if I need them after I retire.
13. I will probably be sitting around alone after I retire.
14. I am too old to make new friends.
15. I won’t have much in common with my coworkers anymore.
16. Retirement will allow me to do things with friends that I wasn’t able to do while I was working.
17. I have already made plans for what I am going to do as soon as I retire.
18. It will be hard to replace my friends from work.
19. People will never call on me to do things with them after I retire.
20. My family does not want me to retire.
21. Retirement will give me new opportunities to make new friends.
22. Most of my friends have been my coworkers.
23. Keeping up with my friends will be difficult.