Self-Reported Ageism Across the Lifespan: Role of Aging Knowledge

Abstract

The authors examined the prevalence of self-reported ageist behaviors in a lifespan sample ranging in age from 13 to 91 years. Participants completed the Relating to Older People Evaluation (Cherry & Palmore). Results indicated that adolescents and young adults reported fewer ageist behaviors overall than did middle-aged and older adults. Positive ageist behaviors were more frequent than negative ageist behaviors for people of all ages. Women endorsed positive ageism items more often than men, although men and women did not differ in frequency of negative ageist behaviors. Follow-up analyses on participants' responses to two knowledge of aging measures, the Facts on Aging Quiz and the Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire, showed that knowledge of aging was significantly correlated with negative ageist behaviors, after controlling for age and gender. Implications of these findings for current views of ageism (positive and negative) are discussed.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; age-associated memory impairment; ageist behaviors; facts on aging; positive ageism.