Perception of age stereotypes and self-perception of aging: a comparison of French and Moroccan populations

Abstract

The objective of this study was threefold: (1) assess the general perceptions of age stereotypes among older French and Moroccan adults, (2) analyze discourse associated with these different perceptions, and (3) compare aging self-perception scores of French and Moroccan (rural/urban) older adults and investigate the sociodemographic and health indicators likely to be associated with these self-perceptions. One-to-one structured interviews were conducted with 260 older French adults living in Marseille and 239 older Moroccans (123 living in Marrakech and 116 living in a Berber village). The same questionnaire comprising multiple-choice and short-answer questions was used in both countries. This methodology allowed us to perform quantitative and qualitative analyses. Participants averaged 73 years of age in both samples. The French and Moroccan older adults perceived positive and negative age stereotypes within their societies, but the Moroccan ones more often perceived positive stereotypes toward older adults. Moreover, almost as many Moroccan people living in Marrakech as French people perceived negative stereotypes toward older adults. The qualitative analysis allowed us to demonstrate that some notions associated with the status of older adults are shared in France and Morocco-such as respect is due to older adults-whereas other notions differ between these societies-such as the association between aging and affection/love in Morocco. Finally, this study also tended to show that the Attitudes Toward Own Aging Scale focuses mainly on the mental/physical domain of old age.