Abstract
This intervention study explored the effects of a newly developed intergenerational encounter program on cross-generational age stereotyping (CGAS). Based on a biographical-narrative approach, participants (secondary school students and nursing home residents) were invited to share ideas about existential questions of life (e.g., about one’s core experiences, future plans, and personal values). Therefore, the dyadic Life Story Interview (LSI) had been translated into a group format (the Life Story Encounter Program, LSEP), consisting of 10 90-min sessions. Analyses verified that LSEP participants of both generations showed more favorable CGAS immediately after, but also 3 months after the program end. Such change in CGAS was absent in a control group (no LSEP participation). The LSEP-driven short- and long-term effects on CGAS could be partially explained by two program benefits, the feeling of comfort with and the experience of learning from the other generation.
Highlights
Developing and maintaining a positive image of people of different age groups is vitally important to society as well as to the individual
We explored whether and to what extent participating in a newly developed intergenerational program with a focus on individual life stories and existential life issues had an impact on cross-generational age stereotyping (CGAS)
The Life Story Encounter Program (LSEP), that provides adolescents and older people the opportunity to address existential questions of life (e.g., “Who am I?,” “Where do I come from?,” and “What do I live for?”) on the basis of biographical memories
Summary
Developing and maintaining a positive image of people of different age groups is vitally important to society as well as to the individual. Older individuals with a positive image of younger people have more intergenerational contact; they receive more support from the young and engage more in generative behavior, which is closely associated with the experience of meaning and happiness (Cheng, 2009; Hofer et al, 2014). Against this backdrop and considering constant increase in life expectancy and fundamental changes in family structure (e.g., smaller family sizes, larger geographic distances between parents and their adult children, and professionalization of support arrangements), it is not surprising that there is growing interest in and public promotion of intergenerational programs (for an overview, see Kaplan and Sánchez, 2014).
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