title: Normative data and longitudinal invariance of the Life Engagement Test (LET) in a community sample of older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Interest in evaluating purpose in life as an important component of ageing well is growing; however, investigation into the appropriate measurement of this construct is required. The purpose of this paper was to examine the measurement properties of the Life Engagement Test (LET) and to provide normative data for a non-clinical sample of community-dwelling older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  A random sample of 545 adults, aged 55-94 years, completed the LET twice over a 12-month period as part of a larger survey on relocation in later life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Consistent with previous research, participants typically reported high levels of purpose in life. Scores were also observed to vary over the 12-month duration, with, on average, an increase in purpose in life at Time 2. However, tests of longitudinal invariance were inconclusive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Future research is needed to further examine the content validity of the LET, and its factorial invariance over longer measurement intervals, and across different populations including non-residential/aged care settings.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ageing Studies, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia. Elissa.Pearson@UniSA.edu.au
authors.forename: Elissa L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.forename: Tim D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Windsor
authors.forename: Dimity A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Crisp
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Butterworth
authors.forename: Pamela D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Pilkington
authors.forename: Kaarin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Anstey
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires