Pre-pandemic Ageism Toward Older Adults Predicts Behavioral Intentions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objectives During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, older adults have been disproportionately affected by high rates of health complications and mortality. Reactions toward older adults included a mix of prosocial behaviors and ageist responses, consistent with the history of positive and negative views and treatment of older adults in the United States. Methods In a two-part study ( n = 113, M age = 18.49, SD = 0.50; range 18–19), we examined whether pre-pandemic ageism among undergraduates predicts prosocial behavioral intentions toward older adults both specific to COVID-19 and in general. Results Pre-pandemic ageism toward older adults predicted less intentions to help older adults generally and specific to COVID-19. Whereas viewing older adults as incompetent predicted greater intentions to help specific to COVID-19. Discussion These results reflect the complexity of predicting helping behaviors and suggest that even supportive behaviors toward older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic may be rooted in negative ageist stereotypes. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

We Were All Once Young: Reducing Hostile Ageism From Younger Adults' Perspective

“…However, the stereotype of competence (particularly incompetence) failed to have any effect on reducing hostile ageism in our study, which is contrary to the BIAS map. For example, Lytle et al ( 2020 ) found that younger adults who viewed older adults as incompetent showed more intention to help under COVID-19 circumstances. We suspect that this might be because older adults were barely acknowledged as competent especially under COVID-19 circumstances (Fraser et al, 2020 ; Shahid et al, 2020 ), while our materials were also about patients in the pandemic.…”

Endorsement of stereotypes of older adults, older men, and male leaders predict expected job performance, voting stance, and voting intentions in the 2020 U.S. presidential election

“…Previous research has documented the strong positive association between scarcity of resources (e.g., access to employment) and stereotyping (Leslie et al., 2014). During the COVID‐19 pandemic, the United States faced a record 14.8% unemployment rate (CRS, 2021) as millions of Americans simultaneously competed for employment and COVID‐19 related healthcare services such as access to COVID‐19 testing, mental health services, and COVID‐19 related hospitalization (Carter et al., 2020), all of which could have created a sociopolitical climate with increased stereotyping and prejudice (Lytle et al., 2020; Monahan et al., 2020).…”

What Factors Are Associated With Psychological Vulnerability and Resiliency Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

“…Now only part of the focus of the special collection, six articles address specific vulnerabilities for older adults during the pandemic ( Avidor et al, 2021 ; Igarashi et al, 2021 ; Lin et al, 2021 ; Lytle et al, 2020 ; Pauly et al, 2021 ; Pearman et al, 2021 ). Two articles focused on factors related specifically to age—ageism and subjective age ( Avidor et al, 2021 ; Lytle et al, 2020 )—one examined racial differences in psychological vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Pearman et al, 2021 ), and two studies evaluated factors associated with loneliness ( Lin et al, 2021 ; Pauly et al 2021 ). Regarding the effects of ageism, Lytle et al (2020) found that young adults’ ageism toward older adults (measured prior to the pandemic) predicted their lower intentions to help older adults during the pandemic.…”

“…Two articles focused on factors related specifically to age—ageism and subjective age ( Avidor et al, 2021 ; Lytle et al, 2020 )—one examined racial differences in psychological vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Pearman et al, 2021 ), and two studies evaluated factors associated with loneliness ( Lin et al, 2021 ; Pauly et al 2021 ). Regarding the effects of ageism, Lytle et al (2020) found that young adults’ ageism toward older adults (measured prior to the pandemic) predicted their lower intentions to help older adults during the pandemic. This finding suggests that willingness to engage in supportive behaviors toward older adults during the pandemic may be negatively influenced by preexisting age-related biases.…”