Ageism in Belgium and Burundi: a comparative analysis

Abstract

BackgroundRecent cross-cultural comparisons between Asian and Western cultures have shown that ageism arises more from the lack of availability of social and economic resources for older adults than from the culture itself. We tested this assumption by conducting a survey among people living in a least developed country compared with those living in a developed country.Participants and methodsTwenty-seven Belgians living in Belgium, 29 Burundians living in Belgium, and 32 Burundians living in Burundi were included in this study. Their attitudes toward older adults were assessed using several self-reported measures.ResultsStatistical analyses confirmed that older people are more negatively perceived by Burundians living in Burundi than by Burundians and Belgians living in Belgium, whose attitudes did not differ from each other.ConclusionConsistent with our hypothesis, our results suggest that the level of development of a country and more particularly the lack of government spending on older people (pension and health care systems) may contribute to their younger counterparts perceiving them more negatively.

The Arabic version of the Kogan Attitudes toward Older People Scale among Saudi nursing students: a psychometric analysis

“…In this study, students living in rural areas had more positive attitudes towards aging than students living in urban areas. This result is similar to previous research conducted among older adults in China, Japan, Korea and in the European region 41,42. Previous research reported that urbanization offers an option for older adults to be placed in a nursing home 43.…”

“…Placing the elderly in home care causes a transition from daily recognition to limited recognition and possible isolation. 46 One study reported that urbanized nursing homes might predict more negative attitudes 41. The individual feels resentment toward older adults who demand support without contribution to the family.…”

Una mirada contextual al edadismo

“…Múltiples estudios han encontrado que la internalización de esta imagen negativa sobre la vejez puede afectar a la autoestima, la confianza interpersonal, la estabilidad emocional y alterar el comportamiento (Marquet et al, 2016). Así mismo, puede influir en las estrategias de afrontamiento que emplean (Barranquero y Ausín, 2019;González et al, 2023), afectar al rendimiento en tareas de razonamiento lógico y memoria operativa (Levy, 2003;Swift et al, 2013) e incrementar el riesgo Análisis y Modificación de Conducta, 2024, vol.…”