Attitudes, Stereotypes and Ageist Behavior of Youth Towards Older People: The Case of Georgia

Anastasia Kitiashvili
Tbilisi State University

Abstract

The current study aims to investigate young people's attitudes, stereotypes and ageist behaviors towards the elderly, and the relationship of these variables to their perceptions of distance and difference from older people. Georgia has an aging society, with a high percentage of senior citizens in the population, though only a few research in the Georgian context have been conducted to study young people's attitudes towards old people. The study of ageism -related phenomenon is important both from a scientific point of view, as well as for the development of awareness raising interventions and social policy. Research instruments included in the research was adapted with 150 young people. The survey research was carried out with 450 young people as respondents selected by means of convenient sampling in Tbilisi. The data reveals ambivalence and mixed feelings of young people towards the elderly. Young people often stereotype older people as warm and kind, but with limited cognitive capacity. Additionally, they perceive elderly people as being old-fashioned, non-competitive and having low social status. According to the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) young people have ‘pseudo-positive’ attitude toward older people and often represents infantilizing behavior, i.e. not letting aged people take responsibility for their own lives. Key words: Elderly, stereotypes, young people, attitudes, ageist behavior

Presentation