EXPLORING THE BENEFITS OF FREQUENT AND POSITIVE INTERGENERATIONAL CONTACT ON YOUNG ADULTS' BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS TOWARD OLDER ADULTS: THE MODERATING ROLE OF OPTIMISM AND AGING ATTITUDES

Year 2023, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 47 - 74, 30.09.2023

Ryan Wise , Bilge Kilci

Abstract

This study examined the moderating effects of future anxiety and aging attitudes on the relationship between intergenerational contact and behavioral intentions of young adults towards older adults in Turkey in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes in February 2023. Participants included 201 young adults with a mean age of 20.98 (SD=1.94). The study supported Hypothesis 1, indicating that young adults with more frequent and positive contact with older adults demonstrated greater behavioral intentions towards older adults. Hypothesis 2 was supported only for contact frequency, suggesting that aging attitudes moderated the effects of contact frequency on behavioral intentions. Hypothesis 3 was supported only for contact frequency, indicating that future anxiety moderates the relationship between contact frequency and behavioral intentions. Specifically, individuals with lower levels of future anxiety and frequent intergenerational contact demonstrated stronger behavioral intentions towards older adults than those with higher future anxiety and infrequent contact. These findings hold practical implications for developing policies and programs that can enhance intergenerational solidarity and caregiving in Turkey and elsewhere, addressing the critical need for support for older adults in the wake of adverse living situations.

Keywords

Intergenerational relationships, contact quality, contact frequency, behavioral intentions, future anxiety

References

• Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
• Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckmann (Eds.), Action control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 11–39). Springer-Verlag.
• Aronson, K. M., Stefanile, C., Matera, C., Nerini, A., Grisolaghi, J., Romani, G., Massai, F., Antonelli, P., Ferraresi, L., & Brown, R. (2016). Telling tales in school: Extended contact interventions in the classroom. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 46(4), 229–241. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12358
• Aşiret, G., Kaymaz, T. T., Çopur, E., & Akyar, I. (2017). Ageism attitude towards elderly: Young perspective. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 10 (2), 819–827.
• Ayalon, L., Chasteen, A., Diehl, M., Levy, B., Neupert, S. D., Rothermund, K., Tesch-Römer, C., & Wahl, H. W. (2020). Aging in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: Avoiding ageism and fostering intergenerational solidarity. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 76(2), e49–e52. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa051
• Aydoğmuş, M. E. (2021). Adaptation of the Aging Semantic Differential Scale into Turkish. Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 24(2), 255–263.
• Barnett, M. D., & Adams, C. M. (2018). Ageism and aging anxiety among young adults: Relationships with contact, knowledge, fear of death, and optimism. Educational Gerontology, 44(11), 693-700.
• Bengtson, V. L., & Roberts, R. E. (1991). Intergenerational solidarity in ag-ing families: An example of formal theory construction. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53(4), 856–870. https://doi.org/10.2307/352993
• Bousfield, C., & Hutchison, P. (2010). Contact, anxiety, and young people’s attitudes and behavioral intentions towards the elderly. Educational Gerontology, 36(6), 451–466. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601270903324362
• Cadieux, J., Chasteen, A. L., & Packer, D. J. (2019). Intergenerational con-tact predicts attitudes toward older adults through inclusion of the outgroup in the self. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 74(4), 575–584. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx176
• Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. (n.d.). Consumer prices. Retrieved April 30, 2023, from https://www.tcmb.gov.tr/wps/wcm/connect/EN/TCMB+EN/Main+Menu/Statistics/Inflation+Data/Consumer+Prices
• Chase, C. A. (2010). An intergenerational e-mail pal project on attitudes of college students toward older adults. Educational Gerontology, 37(1), 27-37.
• Cohen, J. (1977). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (Rev. ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
• Cramm, J. M., & Nieboer, A. P. (2017). Positive ageing perceptions among migrant Turkish and native Dutch older people: A matter of culture or resources? BMC Geriatrics, 17(1), 159. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-017-0549-6
• de Vries, L. P., van de Weijer, M. P., Pelt, D. H., Ligthart, L., Willemsen, G., Boomsma, D. I., ... & Bartels, M. (2021). Gene-by-Crisis Interaction for Optimism and Meaning in Life: The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Behavior Genetics, 1-13.
• Drury, L., Hutchison, P., & Abrams, D. (2016). Direct and extended inter-generational contact and young people’s attitudes towards older adults. The British Journal of Social Psychology, 55(3), 522–543. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12146
• Durbin, K. A., Barber, S. J., Brown, M., & Mather, M. (2019). Optimism for the future in younger and older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 74(4), 565-574.
• Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A.-G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behav-ior Research Methods, 41(4), 1149–1160. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.41.4.1149
• Fowler, C., & Harwood, J. (2021). Does perceived normativity of intergen-erational contact enhance the effects of imagined intergenerational contact? Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 24(7), 1151–1179.
• Fung, H. H., Carstensen, L. L., & Lutz, A. M. (1999). Influence of time on social preferences: implications for life-span development. Psychology and Aging, 14(4), 595.
• Han, H., & Ryu, K. (2009). The roles of the physical environment, price per-ception, and customer satisfaction in determining customer loyalty in the family res-taurant industry. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 33(4), 487–510. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348009344212
• Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. PROCESS macro for SPSS (Ver-sion 3.5). Retrieved from https://www.processmacro.org/download.html
• Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing cultures: The Hofstede model in con-text. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1), 2307–0919. https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1014 Kaniel, R., Massey, C., & Robinson, D. T. (2010). Optimism and economic crisis. Available at SSRN 1579050.
• Kiliç, D., & Adibelli, D. (2011). The validity and reliability of Kogan’s atti-tude towards old people scale in the Turkish society. Health, 3(9), 602–608. https://doi.org/10.4236/health.2011.39101
• Küçükgüçlü, Ö., Mert, H., & Akpınar, B. (2011). Reliability and validity of Turkish version of attitudes toward old people scale. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20(21–22), 3196–3203. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03764.x
• Kwong, A. N., & Yan, E. (2021). How do face-to-face, extended and vicari-ous intergenerational contacts impact on young people’s attitude and prosocial be-haviour toward older people? Ageing International, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-021-09437-7
• Kwong, A. N., & Yan, E. C. (2023). The role of quality of face-to-face in-tergenerational contact in reducing ageism: The perspectives of young people. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 21(1), 136-151.
• Levy, B. R. (2017). Age-stereotype paradox: Opportunity for social change. The Gerontologist, 57(suppl_2), S118–S126. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnx059
• Levy, B. (2009). Stereotype embodiment: A psychosocial approach to age-ing. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(6), 332–336. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.14678721.2009.01662.x
• Liu, D., Xi, J., Hall, B. J., Fu, M., Zhang, B., Guo, J., & Feng, X. (2020). Attitudes toward aging, social support and depression among older adults: Differ-ence by urban and rural areas in China. Journal of Affective Disorders, 274, 85-92.
• Löckenhoff, C. E., & Carstensen, L. L. (2004). Socioemotional selectivity theory, aging, and health: The increasingly delicate balance between regulating emotions and making tough choices. Journal of Personality, 72(6), 1395-1424.
• Lytle, A., Apriceno, M., Macdonald, J., Monahan, C., & Levy, S. R. (2020). Pre-pandemic ageism toward older adults predicts behavioral intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sci-ences and Social Sciences, gbaa210. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa210
• Lytle, A., & Levy, S. R. (2019). Reducing ageism: Education about aging and extended contact with older adults. The Gerontologist, 59(3), 580–588. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnx177
• Lytle, A., Nowacek, N., & Levy, S. R. (2020). Instapals: Reducing ageism by facilitating intergenerational contact and providing aging education. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 41(3), 308-319.
• McGuinn, K.K., & Mosher-Ashley, P.M. (2002) Children's fears about per-sonal aging. Educational Gerontology, 28 (7), 561–575, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03601270290099769
• Neikrug, S. M. (1998). The value of gerontological knowledge for elders: A study of the relationship between knowledge on aging and worry about the future. Educational Gerontology: An International Quarterly, 24(3), 287-296.
• Nishi‐Strattner, M., & Myers, J. E. (1983). Attitudes toward the elderly: An intergenerational examination. Educational Gerontology: An International Quarter-ly, 9(5–6), 389–397. https://doi.org/10.1080/0380127830090503
• Okur, E., Akbal, Y., Yagci Sentürk, A., Daştan, B., & Kuralay, Ç. (2023). The willingness of elderly care program students to care for older adults and the associated factors: a multi-centered research. Educational Gerontology, 49(4), 333-344.
• Özdemir Ocaklı, B., & Yalçın, B. (2021). Perception of intergenerational conflict in Turkey: A macro level analysis of determinants. OPUS– International Journal of Society Researches, 17(33), 67–94. https://doi.org/10.26466/opus.818458 [Google Scholar]
• Prior, K., & Sargent-Cox, K. A. (2014). Students’ expectations of ageing: An evaluation of the impact of imagined intergenerational contact and the mediating role of ageing anxiety. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 55(November), 99–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2014.06.001
• Rosencranz, H. A., & McNevin, T. E. (1969). A factor analysis of attitudes toward the aged. The Gerontologist, 9(1), 55–59. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/9.1.55
• Saleh Manige, H., Papi, S., Sahaf, R., Abbasi Asl, M., Ramshini, M., Rassa-fiani, M., & Bodaghi, A. M. (2020). Predicting the perception of aging based on optimism in the elderly people. Iranian Journal of Ageing, 14(4), 450-461.
• Schwarz, L. K., & Simmons, J. P. (2001). Contact quality and attitudes to-wards the elderly. Educational Gerontology, 27(2), 127–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601270151075525
• Sheeran, P., & Webb, T. L. (2016). The intention–behavior gap. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 10(9), 503–518. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12265
• Sörensen, S., Hirsch, J. K., & Lyness, J. M. (2014). Optimism and planning for future care needs among older adults. GeroPsych. https://doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000099
• Sun, Q., Lou, V. W., Dai, A., To, C., & Wong, S. Y. (2019). The effective-ness of the young–old link and growth intergenerational program in reducing age stereotypes. Research on Social Work Practice, 29(5), 519-528.
• Sunar, D., & Fisek, G. (2005). Contemporary Turkish families. In U. Gielen & J. Roopnarine (Eds.), Families in global perspective (pp. 169–183). Allyn & Ba-con/Pearson.
• Tang, J., & Martins, J. T. (2021). Intergenerational workplace knowledge sharing: Challenges and new directions. Journal of Documentation, 77(3), 722–742. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-08-2020-0129
• Taylor, A. C., Robila, M., & Lee, H. S. (2005). Distance, contact, and inter-generational relationships: Grandparents and adult grandchildren from an interna-tional perspective. Journal of Adult Development, 12(1), 33–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-005-1280-7
• Telek, A., Özgüzel, C., & Korkmaz, S. S. (2021). Türkiye’de işgücündeki yaşlılar ve güvencesizlik [Labor and the security of the elderly in Turkey]. İstanbul Politik Araştırmalar Enstitüsü.
• Trumbo, C., Lueck, M., Marlatt, H., & Peek, L. (2011). The effect of prox-imity to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on subsequent hurricane outlook and optimis-tic bias. Risk Analysis: An International Journal, 31(12), 1907-1918. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2011.01633.x
• Türgay, A. S., Şahin, S., Aykar, F. Ş., Sari, D., Badir, A., & Özer, Z. C. (2015). Attitudes of Turkish nursing students toward elderly people. European Geriatric Medicine, 6(3), 267–270.
• TurkStat. (2021, September 1). Labor force statistics (2014 and after). Em-ployment, unemployment, and wages. https://data.tuik.gov.tr/ [Google Scholar]
• Turner, R. N., Crisp, R. J., & Lambert, E. (2007). Imagining intergroup con-tact can improve intergroup attitudes. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 10(4), 427–441. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430207081533
• Turner, R. N., & Crisp, R. J. (2010). Imagining intergroup contact reduces implicit prejudice. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49(1), 129–142. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466609X419901
• Turner, R. N., Hewstone, M., Voci, A., & Vonofakou, C. (2008). A test of the extended intergroup contact hypothesis: The mediating role of intergroup anxie-ty, perceived ingroup and outgroup norms, and inclusion of the outgroup in the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(4), 843–860. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0011434
• Turner, S. G., & Hooker, K. (2022). Are thoughts about the future associated with perceptions in the present?: Optimism, possible selves, and self-perceptions of aging. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 94(2), 123-137.
• Turner, R. N., & West, K. (2012). Behavioural consequences of imagining intergroup contact with stigmatized outgroups. Group Processes & Intergroup Re-lations, 15(2), 193–202. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430211418699
• Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Does changing behavioral intentions en-gender behavior change? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psycholog-ical Bulletin, 132(2), 249–268. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.2.249
• Wise, R., & Önol, A. (2021). Intergenerational relationships and aging anxie-ty among emerging adults in Turkey. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 19(2), 196–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2020.1730293
• Wise, R. (2010). Intergenerational relationship characteristics and grandchil-dren’s perceptions of grandparent goal influence. Journal of Intergenerational Re-lationships, 8(1), 54–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770903520668
• Wright, S. C., Aron, A., McLaughlin-Volpe, T., & Ropp, S. A. (1997). The extended contact effect: Knowledge across-group friendships and prejudice. Jour-nal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(1), 73–90. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.73.1.73
• Yaghoobzadeh, A., Navab, E., Mirlashari, J., Nasrabadi, A. N., Goudarzian, A. H., Allen, K. A., & Pourmollamirza, A. (2020). Factors moderating the influ-ence of intergenerational contact on ageism: A systematic review. Journal of Psy-chosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 58(8), 48–55. https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20200624-01
• Yoshii, H., Saito, H., Kikuchi, S., Ueno, T., & Sato, K. (2014). Report on maternal anxiety 16 months after the great East Japan earthquake disaster: anxiety over radioactivity. Global Journal of Health Science, 6(6), 1. https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v6n6p1
• Zaleski, Z., Sobol-Kwapinska, M., Przepiorka, A., & Meisner, M. (2019). Development and validation of the Dark Future scale. Time & Society, 28(1), 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X16678257
• Zhou, S., Page-Gould, E., Aron, A., Moyer, A., & Hewstone, M. (2019). The extended contact hypothesis: A meta-analysis on 20 years of research. Person-ality and Social Psychology Review, 23(2), 132-160.