Ageism - Where Do You Stand?
Written by Jill Sawers LPC, LCADC, ACS, April 2024
As a qualified member of the baby boomer generation (I know what you are thinking, “you must be old”, and that is the point but only if you thought that, of course), I’d like to share my personal perspective while referencing professional research on the subject.
You may have noticed American culture tends to view aging as something to stop or at least interrupt; I mean, appear to interrupt, or worse ignored. But if you think about it, who benefits from that? Yes, indeed we know the answer.
My personal experience with aging is: “it’s for others, not me.” What? That is, it was for old people until I found myself noticing I was the recipient of gross generalizations from random and not so random people on who I am and how I must be living my life at this stage in time. So now I am interested in why we in the USA tend to do this. To be fair we generalize about old people, teenagers, the terrible twos, etc. But for right now, let’s look at how “old people” are disadvantaged by this. What is old? I believe the definition is unique to the individual and not the point. The question is are we discriminating? Do we knowingly accept the stereotypes? If so, what is the harm and why do we do it?
According to the World Health Organization, ageism refers to stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) toward each other or oneself based on age. Ageism can reduce older people’s quality of life, increase social isolation, and loneliness. Ageism can exist in our own minds about ourselves, and others and it can be years until we are confronted by it.
In 2020, the APA adopted a new Resolution on Ageism- the APA recognized age as a risk factor for discrimination and encouraged more emphasis in psychology training. Manfred Diehl, PhD professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Colorado State University who studies healthy aging asked, “what can we do as individuals and as a society to promote a more positive aging?”
I think we need to take notice of the way we think and speak about older people. Instead of generalizing about old people and using the term “old people” let’s make a commitment to stop it right now. Let’s change the reference from “old people” to “those who are aging” after all does that not include everyone? We need to remember “those who are aging” does not define anyone specifically so we need to get to the point. Who exactly are we talking about? Drop the stereotypes!
Bodner, E., et al., in Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism, Springer 2018 stated, “many psychotherapists exhibit a preference against working with older patients, assume less favorable prognoses for older clients, and believe depression is a natural consequence of older age.” The good news is we at Therapy Resources of Morris County are aware of this. We are actively promoting accuracy and a sophisticated understanding of the bias that exists.
Becca Levy PhD professor of epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health and of psychology at Yale University wrote in her book, “Breaking the Age Code: How your beliefs about Aging Determine How Long and Well You Live”:
“People who take in more negative beliefs tend to show worse physical, cognitive, and mental health. Those who are exposed to or develop more positive age beliefs tend to show benefits in physical, cognitive, and mental health”.
Those who have more negative feelings about getting older are more likely to experience higher levels of stress which is linked to the development of diseases. Also, people who feel fatalistic about getting older may be less likely to engage in healthy behaviors such as staying active or taking prescribed medications.
Positive beliefs about aging protect against dementia even among those with a high-risk gene.
Karl, Pillemer, PhD a sociologist and professor of psychology and gerontology at Cornell University found increased intergenerational contact can dispel negative views on aging especially when their contact is with those who are active and engaged.
At the same time conversation, awareness, and a proactive intention to identify issues related to ageism can reduce the harmful effects that come from discrimination in our society. If I had known of my own fears about what it meant to be older, if I had more exposure and understanding, if I recognized that I generalized/felt prejudice/discriminated against persons with “age” or those with physical signs of aging I’d be a lot more sophisticated and prepared for the truth. Like any prejudice fear is at the root and there is nothing to fear here.
We need to ask, “what am I afraid of and how does this belief benefit me (and hurt others)? If we cannot accept, we live-we age-we die, then we should get some help on accepting this as a simple or not so simple truth.
Resources:
American Psychological Association. (2023, March 1). Ageism is one of the last socially acceptable prejudices. psychologists are working to change that. Monitor on Psychology. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/03/cover-new-concept-of-aging
Ferrer RA, Klein WMP, Avishai A, Jones K, Villegas M, Sheeran P (2018) When does risk perception predict protection motivation for health threats? A person-by-situation analysis. PLoS ONE 13(3): e0191994. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191994
School of Nursing Hartford Center of Gerontological Excellence. OHSU. (n.d.). https://www.ohsu.edu/school-of-nursing/hartford-center-gerontological-excellence/ageism
