Scoping Review on Ageism against Younger Populations.

Vânia De La Fuente-Núñez,Ella Cohn-Schwartz,Liat Ayalon,Senjooti Roy

doi:10.3390/ijerph18083988

Abstract

Systematic efforts have been carried out to study ageism against older populations. Less is known about ageism against younger populations, including how it is defined, how it manifests, its effects, and how it can be addressed. A scoping review was conducted aimed at identifying available evidence on these topics. A comprehensive search strategy was used across thirteen databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, and CINAHL. Records were screened by two independent reviewers. Data extraction was done by one rater and independently reviewed by a second rater. Of the 9270 records identified, 263 were eligible for inclusion. Most of the evidence focused on the manifestation of ageism (86%), followed by a focus on the determinants of ageism (17%), available interventions to address ageism (9%), and the effects of ageism (5%). This study points to the inconsistent terminology used to describe ageism against younger populations and the relatively limited theoretical rationale that guides existing studies. It also highlights key research gaps and points to the strengths of existing research.

Highlights

Ageism, defined as the stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination towards people on the basis of their age [1] can affect any age group
These same issues, have not been adequately or systematically explored in relation to younger age groups, including children, young adults, and middle-aged people [6]. This is concerning given available data from several large scale social surveys showing that younger people, more so than other age groups, report exposure to discrimination based on age [7,8], and elicit more negative feelings than older adults among the public [9]
The possible effect of dual age identification on psychological wellbeing was studied but the findings suggested that it only has an effect on older adults, not having any significant effect on younger or middle-aged adults [263]

Summary

Introduction

Ageism, defined as the stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination towards people on the basis of their age [1] can affect any age group. Most of the existing literature on the topic has focused on ageism as it affects older adults, including several systematic reviews on the determinants, impact, and measurement of ageism and on available strategies to reduce this phenomenon [2,3,4,5]. These same issues, have not been adequately or systematically explored in relation to younger age groups, including children, young adults, and middle-aged people [6]. Past research has stressed how common it is for younger people to have to take on precarious, unstable jobs [10] or unpaid internships [11], and how they tend to be most affected during financial crises [12]

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