African-American, Anglo-American, and Anglo-Canadian Grade 4 Children's Concepts of Old People and of Extended Family

Abstract

A cross-national study of 104 fourth grade children's concepts of old people and extended family was conducted in Canada and the United States, using the Children's Attitudes Toward the Elderly Scale (CATE), and a modified version of the Gilby and Pederson (1982) Family Concept Interview. Both Anglo-American and African-American children were included in the U.S. sample. Results indicated that Anglo-American and Anglo-Canadian children were significantly more similar in their attitudes toward the elderly and their concepts of family than African-American and Anglo-American children. In comparison with the other two cultural groups, Anglo-American children were significantly more likely to include extended family members in their concept of who is family; Anglo-Canadian children had a significantly higher level of age discrimination ability; and African-American children showed a trend toward more positive attitudes toward older people. Overall findings of negative attitudes toward old people were consistent with earlier studies. The implications of children's ageist attitudes for increasingly aging Western societies are noted, particularly given impoverished children's potential need for extrafamilial social supports.

Impact of an Intergenerational Program on 4th Graders' Attitudes Toward Elders andSchool Behaviors

“…These scores were similar to or slightly higher than attitude scores found in previous studies of comparably aged children (Jantz, Seefeldt, Galper & Serock, 1980). Although previous study findings suggest a difference between Caucasian and African-American children's attitudes toward older persons (Slaughter-Defoe, Kuehne & Staker, 1992), no such difference was found in the attitudes of the children who participated in the current study. There was, however, a difference based upon gender with the boys' attitude scores being significantly more positive than the girls, p < .05.…”

“…The Children's Attitudes Toward the Elderly (CATE) Scale (Jantz, Seefeldt, Galper & Serock, 1980) was developed for use with children three through 11 years old. It has been tested by the researchers for reliability and validity and has been widely used with pre-school and school-aged children of various racial and cultural backgrounds (McGuire, 1993;Seefeldt & Ahn, 1990;Slaughter-Defoe, Kuehne & Staker, 1992). The CATE consists of four independent sub-scales.…”

The Effects of Priming on Children's Attitudes Toward Older Individuals

“…Stereotype research indicates that children's perception of older adults tend to be negative (e.g., Chamberlain et al, 1997;Davidson et al, 1995;Davidson et al, in press;Hummert et al, 1997;Jantz et al, 1977;Mitchell et al, 1995;Seefeldt, 1987Seefeldt, , 1989, although a handful of studies contradict this finding (e.g., Ivester and King, 1977;Nishi-Strattner & Myers, 1983;Slaughter-Defoe et al, 1992). Perhaps one possible explanation for these disparate findings is the procedure used for assessing stereotypes about older individuals or attitudes toward a specific older individual.…”

“…Indeed, by six or seven years of age children develop well-defined attitudes and stereotypes about old age, and these views are often negative (Davidson et al, 1995;Davidson et al, in press;Hummert, Garstka, & Shaner, 1997;Mitchell, Wilson, Revicki, & Parker, 1985). A handful of studies, however, suggest that attitudes toward older individuals are generally positive or not nearly as negative as most research indicates (e.g., Nishi-Strattner & Myers, 1983;Slaughter-Defoe, Kuehne, & Straker, 1992). There is consensus that such judgments have pervasive and far reaching consequences on older individuals.…”

Impact of Contact With Grandparents on Children's and Adolescents’ Views on the Elderly

“…Intergenerational contacts are another important factor potentially impacting youth's views on the elderly. It has been consistently shown that children living in families that promote intergenerational relations and resources are more likely to hold positive views on the elderly (Attar- Schwartz, Tan, & Buchanan, 2009;Gilbert & Ricketts, 2008;Slaughter-Defoe, Kuehne, & Straker, 1992). In several studies, the frequency of intergenerational contacts between children and their grandparents or other elderly persons had a positive effect on the children's views on the elderly (Allan, Johnson, & Emerson, 2014;Burke, 1982;Luo, Zhou, Jin, Newman, & Liang, 2013;Marcoen, 1979).…”