Apathy in Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease: Psychometric Validation of the Apathy Evaluation Scale.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study was to validate the Apathy Evaluation Scale, self-rated version (AES-S), and assess the severity of apathy in a cognitively healthy middle-aged cohort at risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD).

METHOD: Three hundred and sixteen middle-aged adults were selected to represent a subset of the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Clinical Core: the Investigating Memory in People At-risk, Causes and Treatments cohort.

RESULTS: An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with varimax rotation identified 3 subscales: apathy, disinterest, and social withdrawal factors. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the EFA findings. Results indicated acceptable convergent and discriminant validity. The AES-S is a reliable instrument to quantify apathy in cognitively healthy middle-aged individuals at risk for AD.

DISCUSSION: This study demonstrates the AES-S is a psychometrically sound measurement tool for assessing levels of apathy in a cognitively healthy middle-aged cohort at risk for AD.