Dimensions of stereotypical attitudes among older adults: Analysis of two countries

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Aim: Much research on attitudes towards older adults has used younger adults as participants and identified a range of negative attitudes towards older persons. Comparatively little literature has explored the attitudes of older adults themselves towards their own age cohort.Methods: The present study explicitly compared attitudes towards other older adults from samples of 195 older adults inAustralia and 172 olderCanadians. Attitudinal measures included theAgingAttitudesQuestionnaire (assesses older adults' attitudes toward other older adults),FraboniScale ofAgeism (assesses younger adults' attitudes toward older adults) and theReactions toAgingQuestionnaire (assesses attitudes toward one's own aging), as well as a scale measuring knowledge of aging, theFacts onAgingQuiz, adapted forAustralia andCanada. Responses on the three attitudinal measures were subjected to principal components analysis.Results: Two components emerged in both samples, one defined by theReactions toAgingQuestionnaire andAgingAttitudesQuestionnaire scales and the second by theFraboniScale ofAgeism scales. Regression analyses to ascertain prediction of scores on theFacts onAgingQuiz, adapted forAustralia andFacts onAgingQuiz, adapted forCanada showed that only theAgingAttitudesQuestionnaire scale forPhysicalChanges predicted scores on theFacts onAgingQuiz, adapted forAustralia and no attitudes predictedFacts onAgingQuiz, adapted forCanada scores.Conclusions: It appears that older adults distinguish between their own aging and aging in others. Knowledge of aging appears to be predicted only by attitudes toward physical changes. Given increasing proportions of older adults in the population, as well as increasing access to aging information available to older cohorts, continued research on how older adults view themselves and the aging process is important, and will almost certainly continue to evolve over time.Geriatr Gerontol Int 2016; 16: 1226–1230.
Funding Information
  • JCU-S Royalties Funding

This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit: