NOT ONE AND THE SAME: VARIED EXPERIENCES OF BENEVOLENT AGEISM IN OLDER ADULTHOOD

Abstract

Abstract Prior work has explored benevolent and hostile attitudes toward older adults (Chasteen & Cary, 2015) and their paternalistic, mixed incompetent-warm perceptions within the Stereotype Content Model (SCM; Fiske et al., 2002); however, older adults’ perspectives of these attitudes have not received similar attention. This study assessed older adults’ experiences with benevolent and hostile ageism using an adapted version of the Ambivalent Ageism Scale (AAS; Cary et al., 2017; α=.85) and using a mean split, examined if there are differences among the younger- and older-older adults. Within a sample of older adults (Nf202) that ranged in age from 65–90 (M=71.6), we found that when comparing those aged 65–70 and 71 and above, those who were older (M=1.76, SD=.44) reported more experiences with benevolent ageism than their younger counterparts (M=1.56, SD=.42), t(200)=3.30, p =.001). These groups did not significantly differ in hostile ageism, t(200)= -.05, p = .96. When participants were asked why they have been treated thusly as described by the AAS items, 18% of the participants believed it was due to their age, in comparison to those who attributed it to personality (41%), gender (9%), or unknown factors (11%). Benevolent ageism is clearly not a monolithic experience for older adults as those who are older report more patronization, and not all participants felt age was the defining reason for their treatment. Further work should assess how these experiences are qualitatively different across diverse age groups of older adults, as ageism reduction interventions may need to be tailored appropriately.