Ageism: Does it Exist Among Children?

Ageism is stereotyping and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age. Robert Butler first used it in 1969, to express a systematic stereotyping and discrimination against elderly people. Available data appears to confirm that attitudes of children to the old age differ from that o...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mladen Davidovic, Zorana Djordjevic, Predrag Erceg, Nebojsa Despotovic, Dragoslav P. Milosevic
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2007-01-01
Series:The Scientific World Journal
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2007.171
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850170066423775232
author Mladen Davidovic
Zorana Djordjevic
Predrag Erceg
Nebojsa Despotovic
Dragoslav P. Milosevic
author_facet Mladen Davidovic
Zorana Djordjevic
Predrag Erceg
Nebojsa Despotovic
Dragoslav P. Milosevic
author_sort Mladen Davidovic
collection DOAJ
description Ageism is stereotyping and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age. Robert Butler first used it in 1969, to express a systematic stereotyping and discrimination against elderly people. Available data appears to confirm that attitudes of children to the old age differ from that of adults. The study population consisted of 162 subjects (56 school children, 48 nurses and 58 elderly patients). Each subject in the survey was asked to respond to the following three questions: Question #1: “Is the old age unattractive ?”; Question #2: “How old is an old man? Question #3: “What should you do to have a long life (what is good for longevity)? The majority of polled children (33) gave positive statements about ageing in their responses to the first item, while most of the nurses gave condition answers, like: “It is not unattractive if you are healthy”. Elderly subjects made up a group with the majority of negative responses (in percentage), as only 33% of them answered that old age is not unattractive. All three groups of subjects demonstrated a good knowledge of what is considered good for longevity, and had a generally positive health attitude. Our results indicate that majority of children have positive perception and attitude about old age, which leads us to conclusion that ageism is adopted later in life.
format Article
id doaj-art-ad609062bb184901b2d2732243738e10
institution OA Journals
issn 1537-744X
language English
publishDate 2007-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series The Scientific World Journal
spelling doaj-art-ad609062bb184901b2d2732243738e102025-08-20T02:20:34ZengWileyThe Scientific World Journal1537-744X2007-01-0171134113910.1100/tsw.2007.171Ageism: Does it Exist Among Children?Mladen Davidovic0Zorana Djordjevic1Predrag Erceg2Nebojsa Despotovic3Dragoslav P. Milosevic4Gerontology Clinic, “Zvezdara” University Hospital, Dimitrija Tucovica 161, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaGerontology Clinic, “Zvezdara” University Hospital, Dimitrija Tucovica 161, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaGerontology Clinic, “Zvezdara” University Hospital, Dimitrija Tucovica 161, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaGerontology Clinic, “Zvezdara” University Hospital, Dimitrija Tucovica 161, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaGerontology Clinic, “Zvezdara” University Hospital, Dimitrija Tucovica 161, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaAgeism is stereotyping and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age. Robert Butler first used it in 1969, to express a systematic stereotyping and discrimination against elderly people. Available data appears to confirm that attitudes of children to the old age differ from that of adults. The study population consisted of 162 subjects (56 school children, 48 nurses and 58 elderly patients). Each subject in the survey was asked to respond to the following three questions: Question #1: “Is the old age unattractive ?”; Question #2: “How old is an old man? Question #3: “What should you do to have a long life (what is good for longevity)? The majority of polled children (33) gave positive statements about ageing in their responses to the first item, while most of the nurses gave condition answers, like: “It is not unattractive if you are healthy”. Elderly subjects made up a group with the majority of negative responses (in percentage), as only 33% of them answered that old age is not unattractive. All three groups of subjects demonstrated a good knowledge of what is considered good for longevity, and had a generally positive health attitude. Our results indicate that majority of children have positive perception and attitude about old age, which leads us to conclusion that ageism is adopted later in life.http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2007.171
spellingShingle Mladen Davidovic
Zorana Djordjevic
Predrag Erceg
Nebojsa Despotovic
Dragoslav P. Milosevic
Ageism: Does it Exist Among Children?
The Scientific World Journal
title Ageism: Does it Exist Among Children?
title_full Ageism: Does it Exist Among Children?
title_fullStr Ageism: Does it Exist Among Children?
title_full_unstemmed Ageism: Does it Exist Among Children?
title_short Ageism: Does it Exist Among Children?
title_sort ageism does it exist among children
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2007.171
work_keys_str_mv AT mladendavidovic ageismdoesitexistamongchildren
AT zoranadjordjevic ageismdoesitexistamongchildren
AT predragerceg ageismdoesitexistamongchildren
AT nebojsadespotovic ageismdoesitexistamongchildren
AT dragoslavpmilosevic ageismdoesitexistamongchildren