Age Discrimination: Effects and Suggestions for Solutions

Öz

Age discrimination is generally age-oriented attitudes developed against older individuals. It refers to stereotypes, prejudices and attitudes in society. These attitudes are often negative. Age-related discrimination attitudes are internalized from childhood. Discriminatory attitudes can weaken older individuals’ motivation for life. It can pose a significant challenge to healthy aging. It is known that negative attitudes negatively affect older individuals physically, socially and spiritually. Increasing awareness of this issue can reduce discrimination. There should be courses related to old age in the education curriculum. In addition, all institutions should pay attention to this issue. The discriminatory attitudes faced by the elderly can lead to negative results in the individual and social areas. The joint and planned action of institutions can prevent age discrimination.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Age discrimination
• elderly person
• discriminatory attitudes

Yaş Ayrımcılığı: Etkiler ve Çözüm Önerileri

Öz

Yaş ayrımcılığı genellikle yaşlı bireylere karşı geliştirilen yaş odaklı tutumlardır. Toplum içerisindeki kalıp yargılar, önyargılar ve tutumları ifade etmektedir. Bu tutumlar çoğu zaman olumsuzdur. Yaş ile ilgili ayrımcılık tutumları çocukluktan itibaren içselleştirilmektedir. Ayrımcı tutumlar, yaşlı bireylerin yaşama dair motivasyonlarını zayıflatabilir. Sağlıklı yaşlanma için büyük bir zorluk oluşturabilir. Olumsuz tutumların yaşlı bireylerin fiziksel, sosyal ve ruhsal olarak olumsuz etkilediği bilinmektedir. Bu konuda farkındalığın arttırılması ayrımcılığı azaltabilir. Eğitim müfredatı içerisinde yaşlılık ile ilgili derslerin olması gerekmektedir. Ayrıca tüm kurumların bu konuda hassasiyet göstermesi gerekmektedir. Yaşlıların karşılaştığı ayrımcı tutumlar bireysel ve toplumsal alanda olumsuz sonuçlar ortaya çıkarabilmektedir. Kurumların ortak ve planlı hareket etmesi ile yaş ayrımcılığının önüne geçilebilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Yaş ayrımcılığı
• yaşlı birey
• ayrımcı tutumlar

Kaynakça

1. Ageing. https://www.who.int/health-topics/ageing#tab=tab_1 (Access Date: 9 January2023).
2. İstatistiklerle Yaşlılar, 2021. https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Istatistiklerle- Yaslilar-2021-45636 (Erişim Tarihi: 9 Ocak 2023).
3. Ageism. https://www.who.int/health-topics/ageism#tab=tab_3 (Access Date: 9 January 2023).
4. Butler RN. Age-Ism: Another form of bigotry. The Gerontologist, 1969; 9, 243–246. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/9.4_Part_1.243
5. Levy BR. Stereotype embodiment: A psychosocial approach to ageing. Curr. Direct. Psychol. Sci. 2009;18:332–336. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01662.x.
6. Levy BR. Mind matters: Cognitive and physical effects of aging self-stereotypes. J. Gerontol. Ser. B Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci. 2003;58:203–2011. doi: 10.1093/geronb/58.4.P203.
7. Levy BR, Banaji MR. Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice Against Older Persons.
8. Cambridge, MA, USA, MIT Press, 2002, 49–75.

9. Levy BR, Zonderman AB, Slade MD, et al. Negative age stereotypes held earlier in life predict cardiovascular events in later life. Psychological Science. 2009; 20(3), 296–298. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02298.x
10. Marques S, Lima ML, Abrams D, et al. Will to live in older people’s medical decisions: Immediate and delayed effects of aging stereotypes. J. Appl. Soc. Psychol. 2014;44:399– 408. doi: 10.1111/jasp.12231
11. Naegele L, De Tavernier W, Hess M. Work Environment and the Origin of Ageism; pp. 73–90. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-319-73820-8_5.pdf (Access: 7 December 2022).
12. Levy BR, Slade M, Chang E-S, et al. Ageism amplifies cost and prevalence of health conditions. Gerontologist. 2018;60:174–181. doi: 10.1093/geront/gny131.
13. Chang ES, Kannoth S, Levy S, et al. Global reach of ageism on older persons’ health: A systematic review. PLoS One. 2020;15(1):e0220857. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0220857
14. Lamont RS, Swift HJ, Abrams D. A review and metaanalysis of age-based stereotype threat: Negative stereotypes, not facts, do the damage. Psychol. Aging. 2015;30:180– 193. doi: 10.1037/a0038586.
15. Cohen S, Janicki-Deverts D, Miller GE. Psychological stress and disease. JAMA. 2007;298:1685–1687. doi: 10.1001/jama.298.14.1685.
16. Levy BR, Ryall AL, Pilver CE, et al. Influence of African American elders’ age stereotypes on their cardiovascular response to stress. Anxiety Stress Coping. 2008;21:85–93. doi:10.1080/10615800701727793.
17. Tully-Wilson C, Bojack R, Millear PM, et al. Self-perceptions of aging: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. Psychol Aging. 2021;36(7):773-789. doi:10.1037/pag0000638.
18. Steverink N, Westerhof GJ, Bode C, et al. The personal experience of aging, individual resources, and subjective well-being. J. Gerontol. B Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci. 2001;56:364– 373. doi: 10.1093/ geronb/56.6.P364.
19. Levy BR, Slade MD, Kunkel SR, et al. Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 2002;83:261–270. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.83.2.261.
20. North MS, Fiske ST. Modern attitudes toward older adults in the aging world: A cross- cultural metaanalysis. Psychological Bulletin, 2015;141(5), 993–1021. doi:10.1037/a0039469
21. Rudolph CW, Zacher H. Intergenerational perceptions and conflicts in multi-age and multigenerational work environments. Finkelstein LM, Truxillo DM, Fraccaroli F, Kanfer R, (Eds.), SIOP organizational frontiers series on age in the workplace, 1st Edition, New York and London, Routledge, 2015, 253–282.
22. Hagestad GO, Uhlenberg P. The social separation of old and young: A root of ageism. Journal of Social Issues, 2005; 61(2), 343–360. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2005.00409.x
23. Moor C, Zimprich D, Schmitt M, et al. Personality, aging self-perceptions, and subjective health: A mediation model. The International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 2006;63, 241–257. https:// doi.org/10.2190/akry-um4k-pb1v-pbhf
24. Robertson DA, King-Kallimanis BL, Kenny RA. Negative perceptions of aging predict longitudinal decline in cognitive function. Psychology and Aging, 2016; 31(1), 71– 81. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000061
25. Allan LJ, Johnson J. Undergraduate attitudes toward the elderly: The role of knowledge, contact, and aging anxiety. Educational Gerontology, 2009;35(1), 1– 14. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601270802299780
26. Boswell SS. Predicting trainee ageism using knowledge, anxiety, compassion, and contact with older adults. Educational Gerontology, 2012;38, 733– 741. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2012.695997
27. Allan LJ, Johnson JA, Emerson SD. The role of individual difference variables in ageism. Personality and Individual Differences, 2014; 59, 32– 37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.10.027
28. Cooney C, Minahan J, Siedlecki KL. Do Feelings and Knowledge About Aging Predict Ageism? Journal of Applied Gerontology. 2021;40(1):28-37. doi:10.1177/0733464819897526
29. Schwartz LK, Simmons JP. Contact quality and attitudes toward the elderly. Educational Gerontology, 2001;27, 127–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601270151075525
30. Stypińska J, Nikander P. Ageism and age discrimination in the labour market: A macrostructural perspective. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/288313603.pdf (Access: 7 December 2022).
31. Officer A, Schneiders ML, Wu D, et al. Valuing older people: time for a global campaign to combat ageism. Bull World Health Organ. 2016;94(10):710–710A.
32. Kornadt AE, Rothermund K. Internalization of age stereotypes into the self-concept via future self-views: A general model and domain-specific differences. Psychology and Aging, 2012; 27(1), 164–172. doi:10.1037/a0025110
33. Kornadt AE, Voss P, Rothermund K. Age stereotypes and self-views revisited: Patterns of internalization and projection processes across the life span. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 2017;72(4), 582–592. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbv099
34. Bodner E, Palgi Y, Wyman F. Ageism in mental health assessment and treatment of older adults. Ayalon L, Tesch-Römer C. (Eds.), Contemporary perspectives on ageism: Vol. 19, International perspectives on aging, Cham, Springer, 2018, 241–262. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73820-8_15
35. Fialova D, Kummer I, Držaić M, et al. Ageism in medication use in older patients. In L. Ayalon & C. Tesch-Römer (Eds.), Contemporary perspectives on ageism: Vol. 19. International perspectives on aging (pp. 213–240). Springer. 2018.
36. Brockmann H. Why is less money spent on health care for the elderly than for the rest of the population? Health care rationing in German hospitals. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 2002; 55(4), 593–608. doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(01)00190-3
37. Emanuel EJ, Persad G, Upshur R, et al. Fair allocation of scarce medical resources in the time of COVID-19. The New England Journal of Medicine, 2020; 382(21), 2049–2055. doi:10.1056/NEJMsb2005114
38. Meisner BA. A meta-analysis of positive and negative age stereotype priming effects on behavior among older adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2012;67(1):13–17.
39. Bryant C, Bei B, Gilson K, et al. The relationship between attitudes to aging and physical and mental health in older adults. Int Psychogeriatr. 2012;24(10):1674–1683.
40. Wurm S, Benyamini Y. Optimism buffers the detrimental effect of negative self- perceptions of ageing on physical and mental health. Psychol Health. 2014;29(7):832– 848.
41. Bodner E, Palgi Y, Wyman MF. Ageism in mental health assessment and treatment of older adults. In: Ayalon L, Tesch-Römer C, editors. Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism. Vol 19. Cham, Switzerland: Springer; 2018. pp. 241–262.
42. Wyman MF, Shiovitz-Ezra S, Bengel J. Ageism in the health care system: providers, patients, and systems. In: Ayalon L, Tesch-Römer C, editors. Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism. Vol 19. Cham, Switzerland: Springer; 2018. pp. 193–212.
43. Kang H, Kim H. Ageism and Psychological Well- Being Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review. Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2022;8:23337214221087023. doi:10.1177/23337214221087023
44. Nicholson C, Meyer J, Flatley M, et al. Living on the margin: Understanding the experience of living and dying with frailty in old age. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 2012. 75(8), 1426–1432. doi:10.1016/j. socscimed.2012.06.011
45. Griffin B, Bayl-Smith P, Hesketh B. The longitudinal effects of perceived age discrimination on the job satisfaction and work withdrawal of older employees. Work, Aging and Retirement, 2016; 2(4), 415–427. doi:10.1093/workar/waw014
46. Levy BR, Zonderman AB, Slade MD, et al. Memory shaped by age stereotypes over time. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 2012; 67(4), 432–436.
47. Levy BR, Ferrucci L, Zonderman AB, et al. A culture–brain link: Negative age stereotypes predict Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers. Psychology and Aging, 2016; 31(1), 82–88. doi:10.1037/pag0000062
48. Bayl-Smith PH, Griffin B. Age discrimination in the workplace: Identifying as a late- career worker and its relationship with engagement and intended retirement age. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2014;44(9), 588–599.
49. Schermuly CC, Deller J, Büsch V. A research note on age discrimination and the desire to retire: The mediating effect of psychological empowerment. Research on Aging, 2014; 36(3), 382–393. doi:10.1177/0164027513508288
50. Kornadt AE, Kessler EM, Wurm S, et al. Views on ageing: A lifespan perspective. European Journal of Ageing, 2020; 17(4), 387–401. doi:10.1007/s10433-019-00535-9
51. Wethington E, Pillemer K, Principi A. Research in social gerontology: social exclusion of aging adults. In: Riva P, Eck J, editors. Social Exclusion. Cham, Switzerland: Springer; 2016. pp. 177–195.
52. Allen JO. Ageism as a risk factor for chronic disease. Gerontologist. 2016;56(4):610– 614.
53. Voss P, Bodner E, Rothermund K. Ageism: the relationship between age stereotypes and age discrimination. In: Ayalon L, Tesch-Römer C, editors. Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism. Vol 19. Cham, Switzerland: Springer; 2018. pp. 11–31
54. Lloyd-Sherlock PG, Ebrahim S, McKee M, et al. Institutional ageism in global health policy. BMJ. 2016;354:i4514.
55. Chávez EM, Calvo JM, Jones JA. Dental homes for older Americans: the Santa Fe group call for removal of the dental exclusion in Medicare. Am J Public Health. 2017;107(suppl 1):S41–S43.
56. Northridge ME, Estrada I, Schrimshaw EW, et al. Racial/ethnic minority older adults’ perspectives on proposed Medicaid reforms’ effects on dental care access. Am J Public Health. 2017;107(suppl 1):S65– S70.
57. Klusmann V, Notthoff N, Beyer AK, et al. The assessment of views on ageing: A review of selfreport measures and innovative extensions. European Journal of Ageing, 2020; 17(4), 403–433. doi:10.1007/ s10433-020-00556-9
58. Martin AE, North MS. Equality for (almost) all: Egalitarian advocacy predicts lower endorsement of sexism and racism, but not ageism. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2022;123(2):373-399. doi:10.1037/pspi0000262
59. Wolff JK, Warner LM, Ziegelmann JP, et al. What do targeting positive views on ageing add to a physical activity intervention in older adults? Results from a randomised controlled trial. Psychol Health. 2014;29(8):915–932.
60. del Carmen Requena M, Swift HJ, Naegele L, et al. Educational methods using intergenerational interaction to fight ageism. In Ayalon L, Tesch-Römer C. (Eds.), Contemporary perspectives on ageism: Vol. 19. International perspectives on aging, Cham, Springer, 2018, 383–402. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73820-8_23
61. Cadieux J, Chasteen AL, Packer DJ. 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, 2019; 74(4), 575–584. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbx176
62. Klusmann V, Evers A, Schwarzer R, et al. Views on aging and emotional benefits of physical activity: Effects of an exercise intervention in older women. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2012; 13(2), 236– 242. doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2011.11.001
63. Staudinger UM. The positive plasticity of adult development: Potential for the 21st century. The American Psychologist, 2020; 75(4), 540–553. doi:10.1037/amp0000612
64. Montepare JM. Introduction to the special issue—Agefriendly universities (AFU): Principles, practices, and opportunities. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 2019; 40(2), 139–141. doi:10.1080/02701960.2019. 1591848
65. Abrams D, Eller AD, Bryant J. An age apart: The effects of intergenerational contact and stereotype threat on performance and intergroup bias. Psychol. Aging. 2006;21: 691–702. doi: 10.1037/0882- 974.21.4.691.
66. Schloegel U, Stegmann S, Van Dick R, et al. Age stereotypes in distributed software development: The impact of culture on age-related performance expectations. Inf. Softw. Technol. 2018;97: 146–162. doi: 10.1016/j.infsof.2018.01.009.
67. Christian J, Turner R, Holt N, et al. Does intergenerational contact reduce Ageism: When and how contact interventions actually work? J. Arts Humanit. 2014;3:1–15.
68. Burnes D, Sheppard C, Henderson CR, et al. Interventions to reduce ageism against older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 2019; 109(8), e1 e9. https:// doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305123
69. Beyer AK, Wolff JK, Freiberger E, et al. Are selfperceptions of ageing modifiable? Examinatio of an exercise programme with vs. without a selfperceptions of ageing- intervention for older adults. Psychology & Health, 2019; 34(6), 661–676. doi:10.1080/08870446.2018.1556273
70. Funderburk B, Damron-Rodriguez J, Storms LL, et al. Endurance of undergraduate attitudes toward older adults. Educational Gerontology, 2006; 32, 447–462. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601270600685651
71. Demir Dikmen R, Baltaci Yildiz EA. Attitudes of aged care technician students towards age discrimination. Journal of Social and Analytical Health, 2022; 2(2), 101–108. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6769543.