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Most research on the portrayal of older adults in the media has found a preponderance of negative imagery. In our own work on soap operas, however, it seemed that older adults were portrayed as more emotionally stable and as physically healthier than the younger characters. We undertook a smallscale exploratory study to determine if this impression was justified.The study covered a two-week period in June-July 1978, including 13 serials. Unlike other kinds of dramatic programs, which as a rule are complete within an individual episode, soap opera episodes continue plot lines to and from past and future episodes. Thus the small sample cannot be considered necessarily representative but only suggestive.Coding for the study was done by 26 university students between 20 and 35 years old, who viewed soap operas broadcast over commercial television stations in Buffalo, New York. Thirteen teams of two coders each watched 10 episodes of a series. Criteria used to identify older persons (55 years or older) included the representation of a character as (a) the eldest of at least three generations, (b) a grandparent, (c) a resident of an institution for the aged, or id) a retired person. Other criteria were the portrayal of any person who physically appeared to be elderly, and the actual birthdate of the actor/actress portraying the character.Of the 365 characters (186 females and 179 males) in the soap operas monitored, 58 (15.9 percent) were judged to be 55 or older. The 58 older characters were also coded for frequency of appearance on an episode by episode basis, and were found to appear a total of 153 times.The group of older characters was subdivided into three age groups: 43 percent were in their fifties, 55 percent were in their sixties, and about 2 percent were in their eighties. Coders did not observe any characters in their seventies. Thirty of the elderly characters (51.7 percent) were male and 28 (48.3 percent) were female. No difference was found in the presentation of older people in traditional (emphasis on character development and interpersonal interaction) or contemporary (emphasis on social issues) types of soap operas.Widows and widowers comprised 24 of the 58 characters; of the others, 19 were married, 4 were divorced, 3 were single, and 2 were separated. In 6 cases, marital status could not be determined.The overall good health of the older characters (92.9 percent were coded as being healthy and only 4 of the 58 were physically impaired) was reflected in their living arrangements. Seventy-five percent lived in their own home, either alone, with their spouses, or with their children.Males overwhelmingly dominated the professional/managerial occupational categories by a ratio of 4 : 1; females accounted for 100 percent of the

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This investigation attempts to analyze how Christian leaders are portrayed on television by calculating their frequency of appearance, identifying the types of behaviors in which they engage, and establishing the dispositional traits of these characters in two contexts. The findings do not suggest that Christian leaclers are presented as pillars of goodness oras cloaked villains. Instead, Christian leaders are infrequently seen, but very often engaged in nonreligjous and frequently unlawful activities. While these predominately white, male and Catholic leaders are sincere and humble, they are not particularly loving, compassionate or caring. When contrasted with nonreli~ous characters, Christian leaders tend not to have personal lives filled with family and friends, and they lack richness in their occupational lives as well. It appears that Christian leaders are little more than a convenient mechanism for moving a story around other more interesting, attractive, ancl nonreli~ous characters.

No abstract