Comparison of Aging Anxiety and Ageism Attitudes Among Young and Middle Adults

Year 2025, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 48 - 58, 21.03.2025

Zeynep Gümüş Demir , Mahmut Yılmaz

https://doi.org/10.35365/ctjpp.25.1.06

Abstract

Considering the increasing rate of elderly population around the world, it becomes important to better understand the concepts related to aging. The aim of this research is to compare aging anxiety and ageism attitudes among young and middle adults. The sample of the study consists of a total of 526 participants aged 20-39 (n = 263) and 40-60 (n = 263). In the study, the Sociodemographic Information Form, Ageism Attitude Scale (YATÖ) and Aging Anxiety Scale were applied to the participants. The level and direction of the relationship between the scales were examined with the Pearson Correlation method, and independent samples t-Test and ANOVA test were applied to compare the scale scores according to demographic variables. According to the findings of the research, statistically significant differences were detected between aging anxiety and ageism attitudes of young and middle adults due to their age differences. Aging anxiety and fear of aging-related loss have been found to be higher in middle adults. It has been observed that ageist attitudes are higher in young adults. It was found that there are significant differences in the aging anxiety and ageism attitudes of young and middle adults according to sociodemographic characteristics. It was determined that male participants had higher anxiety about aging than female participants, married participants had higher positive discrimination attitudes towards the elderly, and single participants had a higher fear of aging. It is thought that the current study will contribute to the literature by presenting data from different age groups, which are seen to be relatively less researched on the subject.

Keywords

Old age, aging anxiety, ageism

Genç ve Orta Yetişkinler Arasında Yaşlanma Kaygısı ve Yaşlı Ayrımcılığı Tutumlarının Karşılaştırılması

Abstract

Dünya genelinde giderek artan yaşlı nüfus oranı düşünüldüğünde yaşlanmayla ilgili kavramların daha iyi anlaşılması önem kazanmaktadır. Bu araştırmanın amacı genç ve orta yetişkinler arasında yaşlanma kaygısı ve yaşlı ayrımcılığı tutumlarının karşılaştırılmasını yapmaktır. Çalışmanın örneklemini 20-39 yaş (n=263) ve 40-60 yaştan (n=263) oluşan toplam 526 katılımcı oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmada katılımcılara Sosyodemografik Bilgi Formu, Yaşlı Ayrımcılığı Tutum Ölçeği (YATÖ) ve Yaşlanmaya Yönelik Anksiyete Ölçeği uygulanmıştır. Pearson Korelasyon yöntemi ile ölçekler arasındaki ilişki düzeyi ve yönü incelenip, demografik değişkenlere göre ölçek puanlarını karşılaştırmak amacıyla Bağımsız Örneklemler t-Testi ve ANOVA testi uygulanmıştır. Araştırmadan elde edilen bulgulara göre, genç ve orta yetişkinlerin yaş farklılıkları nedeniyle yaşlanma kaygısı ve yaşlı ayrımcılığı tutumları arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılıklar tespit edilmiştir. Yaşlanma kaygısı ve yaşlanma ile ilişkili kayıp korkusunun orta yetişkinlerde daha yüksek olduğu bulgulanmıştır. Yaşlı ayrımcılığı tutumunun genç yetişkinlerde daha yüksek olduğu gözlemlenmiştir. Genç ve orta yetişkinlerin yaşlanma kaygısı ve yaşlı ayrımcılığı tutumlarında sosyodemografik özelliklere göre anlamlı farklıklar olduğu bulunmuştur. Erkek katılımcılarda yaşlanma kaygısının kadın katılımcılardan daha yüksek olduğu, evli katılımcıların yaşlılara yönelik olumlu ayrımcılık tutumlarının daha yüksek olduğu, bekâr olan katılımcıların yaşlanma korkusunun daha yüksek olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Mevcut çalışmanın konuyla ilgili nispeten daha az araştırıldığı görülen farklı yaş gruplarına ait veriler sunuyor olmasının alanyazına katkı sunacağı düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

Yaşlılık, yaşlanma kaygısı, yaşlı ayrımcılığı

References

• Allan, L. J., Johnson, J. A., & Emerson, S. D. (2014). The role of individual difference variables in ageism. Personality and Individual Differences, 59, 32–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.10.027
• American Psychological Association. (2012). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). American Psychological Association.
• Awang, H., Nik Osman, N. A., Mansor, N., Ab Rashid, N. F., & Lih Yoong, T. (2020). Factors associated with how long people would like to live. International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 40(4), 345–352. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272684X19896733
• Ayalon, L. (2018). Loneliness and anxiety about aging in adult day care centers and continuing care retirement communities. Innovation in Aging, 2(2), igy021. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igy021
• Ayalon, L., & Tesch-Römer, C. (Eds.). (2018). Contemporary perspectives on ageism. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73820-8
• Babaoğlu, E. (2024). Klinik ve evde bakımda uygulanabilecek yaşlı bakım modelleri. Kıbrıs Türk Psikiyatri ve Psikoloji Dergisi, 6(1), 76–83. https://doi.org/10.35365/ctjpp.24.3.09
• Baser, G., & Cingil, D. (2018). Attitudes toward the older persons and ageism attitudes of healthcare assistants working in nursing homes. Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 21(3), 446–455. https://doi.org/10.31086/tjgeri.2018344060
• Berger, E. D. (2009). Managing age discrimination: An examination of the techniques used when seeking employment. The Gerontologist, 49(3), 317–332. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnp031
• Bergman, Y. S., & Segel-Karpas, D. (2021). Aging anxiety, loneliness, and depressive symptoms among middle-aged adults: The moderating role of ageism. Journal of Affective Disorders, 290, 89–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.04.077
• Bergman, Y. S., Bodner, E., & Shrira, A. (2018). Subjective nearness to death and end-of-life anxieties: The moderating role of ageism. Aging & Mental Health, 22(5), 678–685. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2017.1286459
• Bodner, E. (2009). On the origins of ageism among older and younger adults. International Psychogeriatrics, 21(6), 1003–1014. https://doi.org/10.1017/S104161020999055X
• Bodner, E., & Cohen-Fridel, S. (2014). The paths leading from attachment to ageism: A structural equation model approach. Death Studies, 38(7), 423–429. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2013.766654
• Bodner, E., Shrira, A., Bergman, Y. S., Cohen-Fridel, S., & Grossman, E. S. (2015). The interaction between aging and death anxieties predicts ageism. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 15–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.05.022
• Bowen, C. E., & Skirbekk, V. (2017). Old age expectations are related to how long people want to live. Ageing & Society, 37, 1898–1923. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X16000726
• Bratt, C., Abrams, D., Swift, H. J., Vauclair, C. M., & Marques, S. (2018). Perceived age discrimination across age in Europe: From an ageing society to a society for all ages. Developmental Psychology, 54(1), 167–180. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000398
• Butler, R. N. (1969). Directions in psychiatric treatment of the elderly: Role of perspective of the life cycle. The Gerontologist, 9(2), 134–138.
• Cadieux, J., Chasteen, A. L., & Packer, D. J. (2019). Intergenerational contact predicts attitudes toward older adults through inclusion of the outgroup in the self. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 74(4), 575–584. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx176
• Cavazzotto, T. G., de Lima Stavinski, N. G., Queiroga, M. R., da Silva, M. P., Cyrino, E. S., Serassuelo Junior, H., & Vieira, E. R. (2022). Age- and sex-related associations between marital status, physical activity, and TV time. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(1), 502. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010502
• Chang, E. S., Kannoth, S., Levy, S., Wang, S. Y., Lee, J. E., & Levy, B. R. (2020). Global reach of ageism on older persons’ health: A systematic review. PLOS ONE, 15(1), e0220857. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220857
• Chasteen, A. L., Horhota, M., & Crumley-Branyon, J. (2021). Overlooked and underestimated: Experiences of ageism in young, middle-aged, and older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 76(7), 1323–1328. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa043
• DeJong, K., & Love, B. J. (2015). Youth oppression as a technology of colonialism: Conceptual frameworks and possibilities for social justice education praxis. Equity & Excellence in Education, 48(3), 489–508. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2015.1057086
• Greenblatt-Kimron, L., Kestler-Peleg, M., Even-Zohar, A., & Lavenda, O. (2021). Death anxiety and loneliness among older adults: Role of parental self-efficacy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(18), 9857. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189857
• Guarente, L. P., Simic, P., & Rogers, K. (2024). Aging. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/aging-life-process
• Gümüş Demir, Z., & Yılmaz, M. (2023). Yaşlılarla psikoterapi. Eğiten Kitap.
• Hahs-Vaughn, D. L., & Lomax, R. G. (2020). An introduction to statistical concepts. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315624358
• Harris, L. A., & Dollinger, S. M. C. (2003). Individual differences in personality traits and anxiety about aging. Personality and Individual Differences, 34(2), 187–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00019-3
• Hawkley, L. C., & Capitanio, J. P. (2015). Perceived social isolation, evolutionary fitness, and health outcomes: A lifespan approach. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 370(1669), 20140114. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2014.0114
• Hurd Clarke, L., & Korotchenko, A. (2016). ‘I know it exists … but I haven’t experienced it personally’: Older Canadian men’s perceptions of ageism as a distant social problem. Ageing & Society, 36(8), 1757–1773. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X15000689
• Jones, R. S., & Peters, C. M. (Eds.). (2005). The Cambridge handbook of age and ageing. Cambridge University Press.
• Kalaycı, I. (2021). The Anxiety About Aging Scale: A validity and reliability study with Turkish menopausal women. Turkish Studies-Social, 16(5), 1785–1798. https://doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.52527
• Kang, H., & Kim, H. (2022). Ageism and psychological well-being among older adults: A systematic review. Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine, 8, 23337214221087023. https://doi.org/10.1177/23337214221087023
• Kiliç, S. (2016). Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient. Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 6(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.5455/jmood.20160307122823
• Lasher, K. P., & Faulkender, P. J. (1993). Measurement of aging anxiety: Development of the anxiety about aging scale. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 37(4), 247–259. https://doi.org/10.2190/1U69-9AU2-V6LH-9Y1L
• Lev, S., Wurm, S., & Ayalon, L. (2018). Origins of ageism at the individual level. In International perspectives on aging (Vol. 19, pp. 51–72). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73820-8
• Levy, B. (1996). Improving memory in old age through implicit self-stereotyping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(6), 1092. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.71.6.1092
• Levy, S. R., & Macdonald, J. L. (2016). Progress on understanding ageism. Journal of Social Issues, 72(1), 5–25. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12153
• Lynch, S. M. (2000). Measurement and prediction of aging anxiety. Research on Aging, 22(5), 533–558. https://doi.org/10.1177/016402750022500
• Malinauskaite, I., Slapikas, R., Courvoisier, D., Mach, F., & Gencer, B. (2017). The fear of dying and occurrence of posttraumatic stress symptoms after an acute coronary syndrome: A prospective observational study. Journal of Health Psychology, 22(2), 208–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105315600233
• Marques, S., Mariano, J., Mendonça, J., De Tavernier, W., Hess, M., Naegele, L., & Martins, D. (2020). Determinants of ageism against older adults: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7), 2560. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072560
• Nosek, B. A., Banaji, M. R., & Greenwald, A. G. (2002). Harvesting implicit group attitudes and beliefs from a demonstration web site. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 6(1), 101–115. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2699.6.1.101
• Officer, A., & de la Fuente-Núñez, V. (2018). A global campaign to combat ageism. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 96(4), 295. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.17.202424
• Officer, A., Thiyagarajan, J. A., Schneiders, M. L., Nash, P., & de la Fuente-Núñez, V. (2020). Ageism, healthy life expectancy, and population ageing: How are they related? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(9), 3159. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17093159
• Pietilä, I., Ojala, H., King, N., & Calasanti, T. (2013). Aging male bodies, health, and the reproduction of age relations. Journal of Aging Studies, 27(3), 243–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2013.04.001
• Pinquart, M., & Sorensen, S. (2001). Gender differences in self-concept and psychological well-being in old age: A meta-analysis. Journal of Gerontology, 56B(4), P123–P195. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/56.4.P195
• Binstock, R. H., George, L. K., & Johnson, J. E. (Eds.). (2011). Handbook of aging and the social sciences. Academic Press.
• Rupprecht, F. S., Martin, K., & Lang, F. R. (2022). Aging-related fears and their associations with ideal life expectancy. European Journal of Ageing, 19, 587–597. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-021-00661-3
• Saxena, R., & Shukla, A. (2016). Gender and age-related differences in anxiety about aging. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 3(4). https://doi.org/10.25215/0304.097
• Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (1991). A terror management theory of social behavior: The psychological functions of self-esteem and cultural worldviews. In Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 24, pp. 93–159). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60328-7
• Soysal, G. (2023). Türkiye’de toplumsal yaşlanma ve çalışma hayatı: Özellikler, sorunlar ve bir uygulama (Doctoral dissertation, Bursa Uludağ University, Turkey).
• Spitzer, N., Segel-Karpas, D., & Palgi, Y. (2022). Close social relationships and loneliness: The role of subjective age. International Psychogeriatrics, 34(7), 651–655. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610219001790
• Vefikuluçay Yılmaz, D., & Terzioğlu, F. (2011). Development and psychometric evaluation of Ageism Attitude Scale among university students. Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 4(3), 259–268. World Health Organization. (2021). Global report on ageism. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240016866
• World Health Organization. (2014). Global status report on noncommunicable diseases 2014. World Health Organization.
• Zelazo, P. D., & Carlson, S. M. (Eds.). (2015). The Oxford handbook of developmental psychology, Vol. 1: Body and mind. Oxford University Press.