Ann Geriatr Med Res.  2019 Dec;23(4):197-203. 10.4235/agmr.19.0047.

Why Do Older Korean Adults Respond Differently to Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living? A Differential Item Functioning Analysis

• Jang SN
• Kawachi I

• KMID: 2470656
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4235/agmr.19.0047

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Culture-based gender norms regarding who performs daily activities can bias the assessment of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). This study evaluated item-response biases in the activities of daily living (ADL) and IADL among community-living Korean older adults.
METHODS
The subjects included older Korean participants of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing baseline survey (n=4,164). We performed differential item functioning (DIF) analysis of these data using the Mantel-Haenszel method.
RESULTS
We observed different reported levels of disability for eight IADL items among gender, age, and educational level subgroups. After matching for overall functional disability, men were more likely to report limitations in performing various household activities, compared to cognitive activities in women.
CONCLUSIONS
Cross-national comparisons of ADL and IADL disabilities need to consider item response bias stemming from culture-based gender norms regarding who performs different household activities.

Keyword

Activities of daily living; Gender; Item response theory

MeSH Terms

Activities of Daily Living*
Adult*
Bias (Epidemiology)
Family Characteristics
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Methods
Surveys and Questionnaires