Psychometric properties of the Negative Stereotypes Towards Aging Questionnaire (CENVE) among a sample of Portuguese adults

Abstract

Stereotyped beliefs about old age and the aging process have proven to strongly promote negative behaviors toward the elderly, with unfavorable influences on their mental and physical health. Therefore, it is important to assess negative aging attitudes with brief but reliable and validated measurement instruments. The psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Negative Stereotypes Towards Aging Questionnaire (15 items self-reported) are explored and described in a sample of 302 participants (213 females and 89 males) between the ages of 18 and 59 years old. Confirmatory Factor Analysis shows a one-factor structure, similar to the Spanish version. The internal reliability and mean inter-item correlation showed satisfactory psychometric proprieties. Factorial ANOVA reveals that differences in agism beliefs are mainly related to educational level, with lower negative stereotypes in more educated adults. No differences were found concerning gender. This instrument may be a useful tool to assess negative stereotypes toward old age and the aging process.

Are Older Adults’ Leisure Patterns Consistent with the Active Ageing Model? The Influence of the Ageist Stereotypes

“…In other words, they become a self-fulfilling prophecy: the very fact that you are in a group subject to certain forms of stereotyping seems to contribute to reinforce the presence of these behaviours. Thus, for example, among the most common stereotypes applied to older adults there is the idea that older people have no sexual activity or that this is much lower, erroneously considering this stage of life as practically asexual (Cerquera et al, 2012;Lucas-Matheu, 2013); that they are not physically active (Emile et al, 2014); that they tend to get progressively isolated from others (Nunes et al, 2018); that they lack social networks (Cornwell et al, 2008); or that they share uniform traits (North and Fiske, 2013). An example of older adults' diversity is the so-called generation of 'woofs', which currently represents the paradigm of active and satisfactory ageing (Moreno Toledo et al, 2014), challenging the widespread image of old age as decay and fragility.…”

“…However, free time is a requirement for leisure; only the pleasant, self-servicing, and autonomous experience of that free time makes it leisure (Cuenca, 2009). However, the use of free time may be affected by stereotypes towards ageing, which include assumptions and generalisations that prescribe how older people should behave (Lucas-Matheu, 2013;Emile et al, 2014;Dionigi, 2015;Nunes et al, 2018).…”

“…More and more studies indicate that the participation of older people in leisure activities plays a fundamental role for active ageing, increasing the chances of social integration and with important benefits in physical, mental health and quality of life (Eriksson Sörman et al, 2014;Fernández-Mayoralas et al, 2015;Alonso-Sánchez, 2017;Ryu and Heo, 2018). However, ageist attitudes can condition leisure patterns, negatively affecting active ageing (Cornwell et al, 2008;Cerquera et al, 2012;Lucas-Matheu, 2013;North and Fiske, 2013;Emile et al, 2014;Nunes et al, 2018).…”

Attitudes toward aging and older adults in Arab culture

“…Moreover, Kruse and Schmitt [33] found more positive age stereotypes in people living in rural compared to urban areas. An influence of educational level was also found, with less negative stereotypes of aging in adults with a higher education [45]. All of this indicates that more attention needs to be steered toward the role of sociodemographic variables in cross-cultural research on attitudes toward aging.…”

Attitudes of children towards the elderly - children between of 3 and 10 years old

“…No entanto, vários estudos demostram que existem diferentes níveis de compreensão a respeito da visão real das crianças em relação aos idosos. As diferenças entre medidas, configurações e procedimentos permanecem uma barreira na de resultados [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] . As atitudes podem apresentar componentes cognitivos e emocionalmente positivos e negativos 13 e, portanto, as atitudes em relação aos idosos são complexas e podem incorporar pressupostos positivos e negativos na mesma pessoa 15 .…”