The purpose of this self-report questionnaire is to record and evaluate the participation of an older adult in activities and events that may be perceived as annoying or non-reinforcing. For this reason, both the frequency and the subjective impact (aversion, rejection) caused by involvement in activities and events perceived as harmful or irritating are assessed.

Brief Description

The Unpleasant Events and Activities Questionnaire for Older Adults was developed in the United States and includes 63 activities and events commonly considered annoying by individuals of advanced age. It is a shortened version of the Unpleasant Events Schedule created by Lewinsohn and Amenson in 1978 (Lewinsohn & Amenson, 1978; Lewinsohn & Talkington, 1979). These activity statements were generated after a detailed recording of events and behaviors evaluated as sources of dissatisfaction by different groups of people.

Sample

The adaptation to the Greek language was based on a study conducted with a sample of 154 older adults from the Open Care Centers for the Elderly (KAPI) of the municipalities of Alimos, Argyroupoli, Glyfada, Elliniko, Ilioupoli, and Kallithea, as well as Friendship Clubs of the Municipality of Athens, aged 60 to 92 years. Initially, the questionnaire was translated from English to Greek and then back-translated to English. It was then culturally adapted to Greek by a team of three bilingual psychologists. The factor structure of the Greek version, as examined in the older adult population, was found to be satisfactory, confirming the findings of similar studies in France (Kleftaras, 1988, 1991, 2000). According to principal component analysis, it includes one general factor. Varimax orthogonal rotation produced factors similar to those found in French studies, highlighting groupings of activity statements with meaningful conceptual content.

Scoring Method

Participants answer each item-activity twice. First, they rate frequency over the past month on a 3-point scale
(0 = never, 1 = a few times [1–6 times], 2 = often [7 or more times]).
Then, they rate subjective displeasure (aversion) caused by the activity using a 3-point scale
(0 = not at all unpleasant, 1 = somewhat unpleasant, 2 = very unpleasant).

Three scores are calculated for each individual: mean frequency, mean subjective aversion, and mean experienced aversion (frequency × aversion scores). Experienced aversion reflects total distress experienced during the past month and is zero if either frequency or aversion scores are zero.

Validity & Reliability

This section refers to a study conducted on the Unpleasant Events Schedule by Lewinsohn, focusing on the shortened version for older adults. According to the results, the questionnaire demonstrates high internal consistency and satisfactory test-retest reliability across different time intervals. It also shows good predictive and construct validity, as it was tested by comparing depressed and non-depressed groups. Furthermore, a study conducted in a French older adult population confirmed its satisfactory quality based on statistical findings and factor groupings.

Key References

Gallagher, D., & Thompson, L. W. (1981). Depression in the elderly: A behavioral treatment manual. University of Southern California: Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center.

Kleftaras, G. (1988). La dépression chez les personnes âgées… Doctoral Dissertation, Université de Paris-X-Nanterre.

Kleftaras, G. (1991). Les événements et les activités agréables et désagréables chez les personnes âgées… Revue Européenne de Psychologie Appliquée, 41(2), 107-112.

Kleftaras, G. (2000). Interpersonal problem-solving…, Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 17(4), 43-63.

Lewinsohn, P. M., & Amenson, C. S. (1978). Some relations between pleasant and unpleasant mood-related events and depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 644-654.

Lewinsohn, P. M., & Talkington, J. (1979). Studies of the measurement of unpleasant events… Applied Psychological Measurement, 3, 83-101.