The long careers of Picasso, Pope John XXIII, Humboldt, Duke Ellington, Prime Minister Meir, and Ben Franklin, among many others, provide the evidence that old age can be graceful and very productive. The skilled author and gerontologist, Robert Butler, demonstrates that most elderly people are healthier and more creative than either they or their families realize. Disease, decay, boredom, depression, poverty, and despair may be a necessary part of early aging for some but can be eluded by many others for several more valuable decades and especially by those who will ponder and apply the advice in this book. Housing, living expenses, and economic dignity for the elderly are problems about which the author is most angry. Some very personal notes and half the book are concerned with ordinary sustenance and money. The issues are well argued and well supported by general statistical analyses and anecdotes. The author logically develops

Why Survive? Being Old in America

The populations of many nations are aging rapidly. This trend is happening against a background of research indicating that ageism is the most commonly experienced form of prejudice. The present research used intergroup contact theory as a framework to explore young people's attitudes and behavioral intentions towards the elderly. Regression analyses confirmed that quality but not frequency of intergenerational contact was positively associated with young people's attitudes and behavioral intentions towards the elderly. These associations were mediated by intergroup anxiety, whereas aging anxiety did not have a mediational role. Discussion focuses on the importance of the findings for strategies aimed at tackling ageism.

Contact, Anxiety, and Young People's Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions Towards the Elderly

Ageism is a widespread phenomenon and constitutes a significant threat to older people's well-being. Identifying the factors contributing to ageism is critical to inform policies that minimise its societal impact. In this systematic review, we gathered and summarised empirical studies exploring the key determinants of ageism against older people for a period of over forty years (1970-2017). A comprehensive search using fourteen databases identified all published records related to the umbrella concept of "ageism". Reviewers independently screened the final pool to identify all papers focusing on determinants, according to a predefined list of inclusion and exclusion criteria. All relevant information was extracted and summarised following a narrative synthesis approach. A total of 199 papers were included in this review. We identified a total of 14 determinants as robustly associated with ageism. Of these, 13 have an effect on other-directed ageism, and one on self-directed ageism. The quality of contact with older people and the positive or negative presentation of older people to others emerged as the most robust determinants of other-directed ageism; self-directed ageism is mostly determined by older adults' health status. Given the correlational nature of most studies included in this review, inferences on causality should be made cautiously.

Determinants of Ageism against Older Adults: A Systematic Review.

Research suggests that positive intergenerational contact can improve young people's attitudes towards older adults. However, today's age-segregated society may not provide ample opportunities for positive contact between younger and older adults to occur on a regular basis. In three studies, we investigated whether the positive attitudinal outcomes associated with direct contact might also stem from a more indirect form of intergenerational relationship: extended contact. In Study 1 (N = 70), extended contact was associated with more positive attitudes towards older adults even when controlling for direct intergenerational contact (contact frequency and contact quality). In Study 2 (N = 110), the positive effects of direct and extended contact on young people's age-related attitudes were mediated by reductions in intergroup anxiety and ageing anxiety. The mediational effects of intergroup anxiety were replicated in Study 3 (N = 95) and ingroup norms additionally emerged as a mediator of the positive effects of extended contact on young people's attitudes towards older adults. Discussion focuses on the implications for strategies aimed at tackling ageism.

https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/bjso.12146

Direct and extended intergenerational contact and young people's attitudes towards older adults

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.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/8/1329/pdf

Ageism in an Aging Society: The Role of Knowledge, Anxiety about Aging, and Stereotypes in Young People and Adults.

Knowledge, anxiety, and attitudes about the elderly were assessed in 113 university students using the Facts on Aging Quiz, the Anxiety about Aging Scale, and the Fraboni Scale on Ageism. No significant differences in knowledge or anxiety based on age or gender were found in the sample. Female participants in the sample were found to be significantly less ageist than males on average, and this difference was maintained controlling for the levels of the other variables. Previous studies have not consistently found a correlation between either knowledge or contact with the elderly and ageism. This study uses multiple regression and path analysis to investigate the relationship between knowledge, anxiety, ageism, and contact with the elderly. The study finds that knowledge and contact with the elderly do affect ageism, but indirectly, mediated through their effect on anxiety.

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James A. Johnson

Papers

Undergraduate Attitudes Toward the Elderly: The Role of Knowledge, Contact and Aging Anxiety

The role of individual difference variables in ageism