Attitudes Toward Aging: A Glance Back at Research Developments Over the Past 75 Years

Self-perception of aging and perceived medical discrimination

BACKGROUND

Individuals who perceive medical discrimination often face adverse consequences. How individuals perceive their own aging experiences may influence perceived medical discrimination due to age by generating expectations that they will receive poor treatment from clinicians, which may be amplified for individuals who also perceive discrimination because of race. This study explored the relationship between self-perceptions of aging (SPA) and perceived medical discrimination due to age, race, and other reasons.

METHODS

We used three waves (2008, 2012, 2016) from the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data. Our sample included 10,188 community-residing individuals aged 51 and over. SPA were measured by two domains: positive SPA and negative SPA. Multinomial logistic regression that adjusted for demographic, health characteristics, and year-fixed effects was conducted to estimate the relationship between SPA and categories of perceived medical discrimination (age, race, age and race, and other).

RESULTS

Approximately 11% of the population perceived discrimination because of age or race in the medical setting from 2008 to 2016. Older adults who had a positive SPA were 15% [Adjusted relative risk ratio (ARR): 0.85, 95% CI: 0.79-0.91], 13% [ARRR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.76-1.00], and 20% [ARRR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.74-0.88] less likely to experience perceived medical discrimination due to age, race, and the intersection of age and race, respectively, than those who did not, holding other factors constant. Those who held a negative SPA were 38% [ARRR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.28-1.48] more likely to report perceived medical discrimination due to age and 12% [ARRR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03-1.21] more likely to report perceived medical discrimination due to other reasons.

CONCLUSIONS

Holding a positive perception of aging may help reduce perceived medical discrimination because of age and race, which may in turn improve communication and lead to timely and appropriate treatment.

Investigation of Variables Affecting Attitudes of Emerging Adults Towards Older Individuals

Similar to other countries, the ratio of the older people in the total population and the number of studies in this field is increasing day by day due to the decrease in the fertility rate and the increase in life expectancy in the Turkish culture. The aim of the present study is to examine whether a number of sociodemographic variables and different sub-dimensions of empathy predict the attitudes toward older adults. A total of 143 undergraduate students, 111 (77.6%) of whom were women, who were in emerging adulthood (M. = 19.76 SD. = 1.37, range 18-24 years) were included in the study. The data was collected using a ‘Demographic Information Form’, ‘The Interpersonal Reactivity Index’, and ‘Kogan’s Attitude Toward Older People Scale’ and hierarchical regression analysis was performed. ‘Willingness to live with the elderly in the future’ (yes; β = 0.42, p < .001, no idea; β = 0.30, p < .001) and ‘being a woman’ (β = -0.19, p = .017) were associated with a more positive attitude toward older people. Moreover, when ''willingness to live with the elderly in the future' and 'being a woman' were controlled in the first step, it was found that high 'empathic concern' positively predicted the attitudes toward older adults (β = .20, p = .038). Partially consistent with the previous studies, these findings indicate that ‘gender’, ‘want to live with an older person in the future’, and ‘empathic concern’ are significantly related to the attitudes toward older adults.

Attitude towards Older People According to Sociodemographic and Educational Variables in Students of a Chilean University

Current evidence suggests that attitude towards older people may be associated with sociodemographic and educational variables; hence, a positive attitude towards older people is key when training new university professionals. However, there is little evidence of this association in Chilean university students. The objective was to analyze students from a Chilean university's attitudes towards older people, according to sociodemographic and educational variables. Analytical and cross-sectional study; 515 students from a Chilean university were consulted online about their attitude towards older people using Kogan's Attitudes towards Old People scale. Additionally, sociodemographic and educational variables were recorded. The average score for positive attitude was 70.8 (±9.7), while the negative attitude score was 68.3 (±11.6). The total score was 139.1 (±16.6). Mostly, university students perceive themselves with a low-level positive attitude (61.2%). Additionally, older university students (26-42 years old); women; Chileans; students of law, speech therapy, and occupational therapy; students in their final years of the programs; and those who had training in older people outside the university have a more positive attitude towards older people. In Conclusion, a profile of sociodemographic and educational characteristics of students with a lower and higher attitude towards older age was investigated. These results are relevant since the way of seeing the aging process could regulate the training of future professionals and consequently generate changes in dealing with older people. Young people's perception of ageing would affect the treatment and incorporation of the older people in society and the adaptation of policies in this age group.

Stressful life events and subjectively rated sleep quality among older adults in China: the roles of positive and negative attitudes towards ageing

Sleep is an integral part of individuals' health and wellbeing. Despite evidence showing that social stressors are important contributors to older adults' sleep problems, how the accumulative stressful life events (SLEs) and ageing attitudes independently and jointly affect sleep quality among older adults in developing countries remains unclear. This study examined the effects of SLEs on subjectively rated sleep quality among older adults in China, and explored the potential mediating and moderating roles of positive and negative ageing attitudes on the above association. Using data from the 2014 China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey, we had complete data for 7,780 older adults aged 60 and older. We employed logistic regression models and the Karlson–Holm–Breen decomposition method. Our findings indicated that SLEs significantly increased the risk of poor sleep quality, especially for those who had experienced two or more SLEs during the past year. Positive ageing attitudes were associated with lower odds of poor sleep quality, whereas negative ageing attitudes were related to higher odds of poor sleep quality. Moreover, the mediation analyses suggested that SLEs were associated with poor sleep quality via negative ageing attitudes. The moderating effects further documented that higher levels of positive ageing attitudes can significantly attenuate the deleterious impact of SLEs on sleep quality. The findings highlight the significance of SLEs for older adults' sleep quality and shed light on the importance of ageing attitudes to improve older adults' sleep in China as well as other low- and middle-income countries, where the social safety nets are still underdeveloped.

Multidimensional Determinants of Well-Being Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults During the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Taiwan

Objectives: Due to the insufficient and inadequate policies on the psychological well-being of the aged population, we aimed to examine the multidimensional determinants of well-being during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Data were collected from face-to-face interviews with1,232 participants aged 50 and older living in Southern Taiwan. We used multivariate logistic regression to examine the associations between demographics, the physical health, mental health, social ties domains, and well-being. Results: We found that (i) in physical health, no dental problems and exercise were related to better well-being; (ii) in mental health, stress and depression decreased well-being, but laughing every day, and a positive attitude toward aging had adverse effects; and (iii) in social ties, subjective social status, family support, and place attachment to the community were positively associated with well-being. Discussion: Our findings highlight the multidimensional needs at the individual and community levels for the Chinese population.