1. Introduction
Since Rothbaum et al. proposed a two-process model of perceived control over 40 years ago, researchers have studied how primary and secondary control correlate with well-being across both age and culture [
1]. In primary control, people attempt to influence the immediate environment, outside themselves. Secondary control is directed inward, as people attempt to accommodate themselves to external realities. One important theory of primary and secondary control proposes that people optimize primary and secondary control processes depending on their age, situation, and cultural context. Specifically, as people age, secondary control is theorized to become dominant over primary control [
2,
3]. In addition, researchers have theorized that culture shapes people’s control preferences, with independent cultures emphasizing primary control and interdependent cultures emphasizing secondary control [
4,
5].
1.1. Measuring Primary and Secondary Control
For testing the aging hypothesis, one of the most widely used, theoretically derived measures of primary and secondary control is the Optimization in Primary and Secondary Control (OPS) scale [
6]. The OPS scale consists of five factors: Optimization, Selective Primary Control, Compensatory Primary Control, Selective Secondary Control, and Compensatory Secondary Control [
6].
In one study [
7], Hasse et al. tested three self-report measures—the control scales of the OPS, Tenaciousness, and Flexibility (TenFlex) [
8], and Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC) [
9]—together. They confirmed that three meta-factors exist: meta-regulation, goal engagement, and goal disengagement. The researchers also established that all three factors increase with age and are all associated with well-being.
However, few studies of the factor structure of the OPS scale itself have been conducted, and fewer have been performed using cross-cultural samples. The original study on scale development [
6] did not provide information on the factor loadings of each factor’s corresponding items because parceling scores were used. In that study, each of the five factors in the OPS scale was constructed by three parceling scores, in which several item scores were aggregated [
6]. Specifically, Heckhausen et al. divided 12 items of the Optimization factor into three parcels, each of which consisted of four items, and created three parceling scores by computing simple means of each set of four items [
6]. Parceling scores were used in that case, because the maximum likelihood (ML) method cannot estimate the appropriate parameter values with ordinal data (the OPS response scales are ordinal). ML can, however, estimate appropriate parameter values when parceling scores are used, because parceling scores are considered continuous [
10]. Given the increasing availability of methods for ordinal response scales, we can now analyze ordinal indicators directly with weighted least square estimation with robust standard errors and a mean- and variance-adjusted test statistic (WLSMV). In doing so, we can estimate the factor loadings of each item on its corresponding factors, something which the parceling method previously obscured.
1.2. Research Questions
The present study had four main research questions. First, we asked if we could establish factorial invariance of the five-factor OPS model across two cultures (Japan and the US) in a sample of older adults who were heterosexual married couples. If the original five-factor model did not fit the data, we planned to propose a more appropriate model of the OPS scale.
Second, we tested whether we could confirm factorial invariance among the four subsamples (Japanese men, Japanese women, US men, and US women).
Third, we examined gender and cultural differences among the factor scores.
Fourth, we examined associations of the factor scores with subjective well-being, including examining whether gender and culture moderated these associations. In this study, subjective well-being was operationalized according to Diener’s three-part definition, which measures satisfaction with life, positive affect, and negative affect [
11].
4. Discussion
This study examined the factorial invariance of the OPS scale in older couples in Japan and the US. We documented several interesting findings. First, using ordinal CFA on each item of the OPS scale instead of the parceling method, we proposed a six-factor model with one residual error correlation (the factor of Compensatory Primary Control) that was subdivided into Support Seeking and Alternative Strategy factors. This model fits the data better than the original five-factor model. In addition, each item has high factor loadings on its corresponding factor. Even though two pairs of factors were highly correlated with each other, the discrimination among these factors was statistically confirmed. This model also showed the best statistical fit compared with models with fewer factors.
Second, the factorial invariance of the six-factor model was confirmed among older couples in Japan and the US. Again, using ordinal CFA, we find that the overall framework in the OPS scale proposed by Heckhausen et al. [
6] is generally maintained in the two different cultures, with the exception that the Compensatory Primary Control factor can be subdivided into two factors: Alternative Strategy and Support Seeking. This can lay the groundwork for further cross-cultural research.
Third, there were several gender differences in levels of control strategies in both countries. Selective Primary Control, Alternative Strategy (one of the two new factors), and Selective Secondary Control were higher in husbands than in wives, but Support Seeking (the other new factor) was higher in wives than in husbands. The finding seems consistent with traditional gender roles in which men are more likely to use agentic skills and abilities (Selective Primary Control and Alternative Strategy) and maintain motivation for a selected goal (Selective Secondary Control). In turn, women are encouraged to maintain social interactions, so they may be more likely to seek support from others. This pattern of results also complements other work which finds that in both the US and Japan, women are more likely to seek social support from others [
22].
Fourth, we found that although the associations of control strategies with SWB were positive across the two cultures, there was one cultural difference. The association of Compensatory Secondary Control with SWB was significantly stronger in the US than in Japan. One aspect of this control strategy involves self-justification because, after failure, people remind themselves of their own effort or their own past accomplishments. Using this self-enhancing strategy may be more elaborated and approved in an individualistic cultural context (the US), more than in a collectivist cultural context (Japan). This pattern aligns with past research, in which college-aged Americans were more likely than Japanese to use self-esteem-enhancing strategies [
23]. Our results suggest, then, that such cultural differences extend to older adults. Future research can replicate this finding in a new sample of older adults, and a broader range of self-enhancement measures.
One strength of this study was that it tested older adults in two cultures. While much research on the OPS has compared older, middle-aged, and younger adults, very little has tested cultural differences in the OPS.
There were several limitations in this study. First, the samples provided by vendors in both countries were not random samples of their respective populations. They were biased to include older adults who are willing to seek out paid surveys.
Second, the US sample is almost entirely White, so any conclusions are limited to this subgroup. In American culture, White American contexts are probably the most likely to foreground individualism and independence. Therefore, if anything, our primarily White American sample was biased to find more, rather than less, cultural differences when compared with Japan. In this context, it is notable that we actually found few differences between this White American sample and a Japanese sample.
A third limitation is that although we confirmed the factorial invariance of a six-factor model in older couples in Japan and the US, the factor structure should be reconfirmed before assuming it would apply to additional cultures. In particular, careful attention should be paid to the highly correlated factors.
We did find several positive associations, all of which are consistent with the argument that both primary and secondary control strategies are associated with well-being in both the US and Japan. However, a limitation is that our cross-sectional design did not allow us to determine the causal direction between control strategies and SWB.
In conclusion, we provide a modified six-factor model of the OPS scale, which fits the data better than the original five-factor model. This six-factor model will enable future researchers to examine cross-cultural differences in, and well-being correlates of, these well-known primary and secondary control scales.