Using children's drawings as implicit measurements in future Alzheimer's research for the detection and alteration of negative stereotyping.

Abstract

Many children have grandparents with dementia. These direct confrontations with decline are reinforced by one-sided, negative portrayal in the media making youngsters internalize harmful images about old age and dementia. It is vital for the well-being of future generations that education and research join forces to clearly map and transform these toxic mental representations in children about old age and dementia. We developed a novel educational trajectory for children regarding healthy ageing and dementia in Belgium and The Netherlands. Participating youngsters (n = 70) made sketches of the elderly before and after the positive interventions. Our innovative research resulted in materials for artistic expositions of children's drawings (n = 560). The visual representations provide a unique insight into the hidden mental landscape of children and can thus function as a starting point for conversation in educational trajectories about positive aging. These deliverables are a source of inspiration for teachers, journalists, researchers, health professionals and the broader public. Children's drawings are one of the most efficient ways to capture young people's mental representations about old age and dementia. Children's drawings are implicit measurements that circumvent social desirability. Children's drawings are an underused instrument in Alzheimer's research to gain insight into the content of destructive stereotyping and the possibilities for change of these mental representations.