Beyond Digital Access: Development and Validation of a Digital Engagement Scale for Older Adults in the United States

Digital inclusion in later life is often measured through access, general internet use, or self-rated digital skill, yet these indicators do not show what older adults actually do online. This study develops and validates a behaviourally grounded Digital Engagement Scale (DES) for older adults. Using modern-device activity items included in the 2022 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) Leave-Behind Questionnaire, this study examines whether these existing behavioural items support a multidimensional structure of digital engagement among adults aged 51 and older and offers a theory-guided interpretation of the resulting dimensions. Data came from a complete-case sample of 3,306 respondents, randomly split for exploratory factor analysis (n = 1,653) and confirmatory factor analysis (n = 1,653). Thirty-one ordered-categorical digital-activity items were evaluated using polychoric correlations and robust diagonally weighted least-squares estimation; reliability, convergent validity, HTMT discriminant validity, known-groups validity, and measurement invariance were assessed. A 14-item, three-factor structure emerged, capturing Informational, Social-Communication, and Transactional engagement. In the hold-out confirmatory sample, this three-factor model demonstrated excellent fit (CFI = .963, TLI = .955, RMSEA = .056, SRMR = .053), substantially outperforming a unidimensional alternative. Standardized loadings ranged from .53 to .86, with robust domain reliability (ω = .84-.85; CR = .83-.84) and strong convergent validity (AVE > .50). Threshold-, loading-, and residual-constrained invariance models demonstrated negligible deterioration in practical fit across gender, age, education, race/ethnicity, and income. Known-groups validity was supported: higher engagement was associated with lower age and higher socioeconomic status and was modestly higher among women. The DES provides a concise, population-based instrument for distinguishing domain-specific digital engagement and for studying the practices, inequalities, and policy implications of digital inclusion in later life.</p>