Attitudes toward Aging: A Comparative Analysis of Young Adults from the United States and Germany

TLDR

Social and cultural attitudes toward aging shape how individuals perceive their own aging and that of others, and ageism—prejudicial attitudes toward older adults—is widespread worldwide. This study compares young adults from Germany and the United States to assess similarities and differences in anxiety across four dimensions of ageism—fear of old people, psychological concerns, concerns about physical appearance changes, and fear of losses—and to determine at what age they consider themselves “old.” The study evaluated these dimensions by measuring anxiety related to each of the four ageism factors among young adults in both countries and comparing their self‑perceived age of becoming “old.” Results show significant country and gender differences: Germans view aging more negatively, Americans consider themselves “old” at a younger age, and women in both countries are more concerned about appearance changes than men.

Abstract

Social and cultural attitudes toward aging provide a framework for assessing one's own aging experiences as well as one's attitudes toward older men and women. Ageism, or prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory practices toward older adults (Butler, 1980), has been found to be widespread around the world. This study focuses on a comparative analysis of the attitudes of young adults from Germany and the United States. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to evaluate similarities and differences in the anxiety associated with four measurable dimensions associated with ageism: fear of old people, psychological concerns associated with aging, concern over changes in physical appearance as a result of aging, and fear of losses associated with aging. The second purpose of this study was to evaluate the age at which young adults from these two countries might consider themselves to be "old." The findings indicate significant country and gender differences across the dimensions. German participants tended to view aging much more negatively than American participants did. However, Americans considered themselves to be "old" at a much younger age than Germans. Gender differences indicated that women in both countries were more concerned with age-related changes in their physical appearance than were men. Analyses of the results are discussed in relation to the influence of ageism and negative cultural stereotypes of aging on people's self-image across the life span.