The Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale: a Revision

The 22-item Philadelphia Geriatric Center (PGC) Morale Scale was subjected to a series of principal component analyses utilizing different item pools and rotating differing numbers of factors. Subjects were 1086 tenants of federally-assisted housing for the elderly and older people living in the community. Results were compared with analyses of the PGC Scale done by Morris and Sherwood. Consideration of factors defined by the analyses suggested three consistently reproduced factors: Agitation, Attitude Toward Own Aging, and Lonely Dissatisfaction, utilizing 17 of the original items. These results were compared with other multi-dimensional measures of morale: the Bradburn Affect Balance Scale, and morale scales reported by Pierce and Clark, and Schooler. In addition to the dimensions derived from the current study related domains of self-rated health, social accessibility, generalized attitude toward aging, and positive affect were suggested as worthy of further exploration as dimensions of morale.