Development and Validation of the Questionnaire for Adaptive Hyperactivity and Goal Achievement (AHGA)

Goce Kalcev; Giulia Cossu; Antonio Preti; Maria Teresa Littera; Stèphanie Frau; Diego Primavera; Rosanna Zaccheddu; Veronica Matza; Marta Ermellino; Elisa Pintus; Mauro G Carta

doi:10.2174/17450179-v19-e230419-2022-50

Development and Validation of the Questionnaire for Adaptive Hyperactivity and Goal Achievement (AHGA)

Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health. 2023 May 12:19:e174501792303281. doi: 10.2174/17450179-v19-e230419-2022-50. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Innovation Sciences and Technologies at the University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
² Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
³ Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
⁵ Azienda Regionale della Salute (ARES, Sardegna), Medio Campidano, Italy.
⁶ University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.

PMID: 37916197
PMCID: PMC10351347
DOI: 10.2174/17450179-v19-e230419-2022-50

Abstract

Objective: This paper illustrates the preliminary psychometric properties of the Questionnaire for Adaptive Hyperactivity and Goal Achievement (AHGA), aimed at measuring adaptive characteristics of hyperactivity and goal pursuit in older adults.

Methods: The 12-item scale was administered to a sample of 120 subjects (older adults) between February 2022 and June 2022. The reliability of AHGA was measured using Cronbach's alpha, and factor structure was established using parallel analysis (PA) and principal component analysis (PCA). Convergent validity was tested against the Biological Rhythms Interview of Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (BRIAN).

Results: All included subjects have an average age of 74.1±5.1 years. AHGA reliability was good (Cronbach's alpha: 0.713 [95%CI: 0.630 to 0.783]). Factor analysis suggested two main components: goal achievement and hyperactivity, which explained 41% of the variance in the data. The results support the convergent validity of the scale: AHGA measures adaptive characteristics of hyperactivity and goal pursuit, in contrast to BRIAN, which measures pathological characteristics.

Conclusion: The reported findings represent an innovative approach to hyperthymic features by embracing a broader spectrum concept that conceptualizes the potential transition between pathological and adaptive aspects as a continuum.

Keywords: AHGA; Adaptive hyperactivity; Factorial validity; Goal achievement; Older adults; Questionnaire.