Dataset Information

The Everyday Ageism Scale: Development and Evaluation.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Older adults regularly encounter age-based discrimination and stereotyping in their day-to-day lives. Whether this type of routine ageism negatively affects their health and well-being is unclear, in part due to the absence of validated scales that comprehensively measure this phenomenon and distinguish it from other sources of everyday discrimination.

Methods

This study describes the development of a novel scale, the Everyday Ageism Scale, and its psychometric evaluation using a nationally representative sample of US adults age 50-80 from the December 2019 National Poll on Healthy Aging (N = 2012).

Results

Exploratory factor analysis indicated a 3-factor structure comprised of ageist messages, ageism in interpersonal interactions, and internalized ageism. The ten-item scale was psychometrically sound and demonstrated good internal reliability.

Discussion

Everyday ageism is a multidimensional construct. Preliminary evaluation of the Everyday Ageism Scale suggests its utility in future studies examining the prevalence of everyday ageism and its relationships with health.

SUBMITTER: Allen JO

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10249361 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The Everyday Ageism Scale: Development and Evaluation.

Allen Julie Ober JO Solway Erica E Kirch Matthias M Singer Dianne D Kullgren Jeffrey T JT Malani Preeti N PN

Journal of aging and health 20210811 2

<h4>Objectives</h4>Older adults regularly encounter age-based discrimination and stereotyping in their day-to-day lives. Whether this type of routine ageism negatively affects their health and well-being is unclear, in part due to the absence of validated scales that comprehensively measure this phenomenon and distinguish it from other sources of everyday discrimination.<h4>Methods</h4>This study describes the development of a novel scale, the Everyday Ageism Scale, and its psychometric evaluati ...[more]

PMID: 34376066

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Project description:ImportanceMajor incidents of ageism have been shown to be associated with poorer health and well-being among older adults. Less is known about routine types of age-based discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping that older adults encounter in their day-to-day lives, known as everyday ageism.ObjectiveTo examine the prevalence of everyday ageism, group differences and disparities, and associations of everyday ageism with indicators of poor physical and mental health.Design, setting, and participantsThis cross-sectional study was conducted using survey data from the December 2019 National Poll on Healthy Aging among a nationally representative household sample of US adults ages 50 to 80 years. Data were analyzed from November 2021 through April 2022.ExposuresExperiences of everyday ageism were measured using the newly developed multidimensional Everyday Ageism Scale.Main outcomes and measuresFair or poor physical health, number of chronic health conditions, fair or poor mental health, and depressive symptoms.ResultsAmong 2035 adults ages 50 to 80 years (1047 [54.2%] women; 192 Black [10.9%], 178 Hispanic [11.4%], and 1546 White [71.1%]; mean [SD] age, 62.6 [8.0] years [weighted statistics]), most participants (1915 adults [93.4%]) reported regularly experiencing 1 or more forms of everyday ageism. Internalized ageism was reported by 1664 adults (81.2%), ageist messages by 1394 adults (65.2%), and interpersonal ageism by 941 adults (44.9%). Mean Everyday Ageism Scale scores were higher for several sociodemographic groups, including adults ages 65 to 80 years vs those ages 50 to 64 years (11.23 [95% CI, 10.80-11.66] vs 9.55 [95% CI, 9.26-9.84]) and White (10.43 [95% CI, 10.20-10.67]; P < .001) and Hispanic (10.09 [95% CI, 9.31-10.86]; P = .04) adults vs Black adults (9.23 [95% CI, 8.42-10.03]). Higher levels of everyday ageism were associated with increased risk of all 4 negative physical and mental health outcomes examined in regression analyses (with odds ratios [ORs] per additional scale point as high as 1.20 [95% CI, 1.17-1.23] for depressive symptoms and b = 0.039 [95% CI, 0.029-0.048] for chronic health conditions; P values < .001). Internalized ageism was the category associated with the greatest increase in risk of poor outcomes for all health measures (with ORs per additional scale point as high as 1.62 [95% CI, 1.49-1.76] for depressive symptoms and b = 0.063 [95% CI, 0.034-0.092] for chronic health conditions; P values < .001).Conclusions and relevanceThis study found everyday ageism to be prevalent among US adults ages 50 to 80 years. These findings suggest that commonplace ageist messages, interactions, and beliefs may be harmful to health and that multilevel and multisector efforts may be required to reduce everyday ageism and promote positive beliefs, practices, and policies related to aging and older adults.

Dataset Information

The Everyday Ageism Scale: Development and Evaluation.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Publications

The Everyday Ageism Scale: Development and Evaluation.

Similar Datasets

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