The progressive aging of society, caused by profound demographic changes, brings with it the necessity of confronting the subject of biases against the elderly. Ageism, in fact, can influence society’s attitudes regarding this population, in addition to impacting the self-perception of elderly people. This, in turn, has consequences for positive outcomes during the aging process. The current research aims to investigate the simultaneous relationships between knowledge, age, anxiety about aging, and stereotypes toward the elderly, as well as their predictive roles with respect to ageism. A self-report questionnaire was administered to 886 participants, with an average age of 35.8 years (Standard Deviation—SD = 14.2), predominantly female (64.8%). Descriptive and correlational analyses were performed, along with structural equation modeling. Based on the analyses conducted, anxiety about aging and knowledge are antecedents for stereotypes, which in turn, together with the other variables, influence ageism. Increased education about the aging process could help reduce anxiety and stereotypes against the aging among those who are most responsible for prejudice against the elderly. Knowledge of the antecedents of prejudice toward the elderly is fundamental to promoting positive attitudes toward them.
Ageism in an aging society: The role of knowledge, anxiety about aging, and stereotypes in young people and adults / Donizzetti, Anna Rosa. - In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH. - ISSN 1660-4601. - 16:8(2019), pp. 1329.1-1329.11. [10.3390/ijerph16081329]
Ageism in an aging society: The role of knowledge, anxiety about aging, and stereotypes in young people and adults
Donizzetti, Anna Rosa
2019
Abstract
The progressive aging of society, caused by profound demographic changes, brings with it the necessity of confronting the subject of biases against the elderly. Ageism, in fact, can influence society’s attitudes regarding this population, in addition to impacting the self-perception of elderly people. This, in turn, has consequences for positive outcomes during the aging process. The current research aims to investigate the simultaneous relationships between knowledge, age, anxiety about aging, and stereotypes toward the elderly, as well as their predictive roles with respect to ageism. A self-report questionnaire was administered to 886 participants, with an average age of 35.8 years (Standard Deviation—SD = 14.2), predominantly female (64.8%). Descriptive and correlational analyses were performed, along with structural equation modeling. Based on the analyses conducted, anxiety about aging and knowledge are antecedents for stereotypes, which in turn, together with the other variables, influence ageism. Increased education about the aging process could help reduce anxiety and stereotypes against the aging among those who are most responsible for prejudice against the elderly. Knowledge of the antecedents of prejudice toward the elderly is fundamental to promoting positive attitudes toward them.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
ijerph-16-01329.pdf
accesso aperto
Tipologia:
Documento in Post-print
Licenza:
Dominio pubblico
Dimensione
630.9 kB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
630.9 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.