Stereotypes about the elderly: representations from an Italian sample

1. Stereotypes about the elderly: representations from an Italian sample Antonella Deponte and Alessia Vetere University of Trieste - Italy

2. Introduction • Elderly people are usually targeted for stereotype and discrimination • There are evident changes in the process of aging and new representations of elderly emerged • The interest on the structure of ageism was prevailing on the investigation about the content

3. To examine the content of the representation about elderly is important: • To better understand the implications of stereotype on the well-being of old people (Levy, 2006; Nelson, 2002) • To define the actual degree of stereotyping (Kite e Smith Wagner, 2002)

4. Hypotheses • Social representations about elderly are multiple and complex • There are different representations for old men and old women • Negative representations are prevailing in both sexes

5. The first study (Vetere and Deponte, 2006) • Method: 238 persons from 19 to 76-years-old (mean age = 25.5 years) were invited to write a free description of a “typical old man/woman” • Results: 2,275 traits falling in four categories, prevailing of negative traits (60% vs. 32% positive and 8% neutral) especially for old men.

6. The present study • Participants: 569 persons, from 18 to 79-years-old. • Procedure. • Elderly Adjectives Check List (225 traits) • “Mark the labels that in your opinion describe the typical old man/woman” • Analysis: • Data were analyzed separately by target (old man/woman). • Hierarchical Cluster Analysis on the correlation matrix, average linkage method (SPSS 8.0)

7. The Despondent The Mildly Impaired The Recluse The Anxious The Old Bad Guy The Obscurantist The Vulnerable The Foolish Results: Negative Representations of The Old Man • The Rest Home Guest • TheTrue Despondent • The Vagrant • The Obsessed • The Nice Old Boy • The Poor Old Felllow • Curmudgeon • The Old Alcoholic • The Elitist • Self-centered

8. Results: Positive Representations of The Old Man • The Patriarch • The Sportsman • The Golden Ager • The Peasant • The Perfect Grand-father • The Lover Of Nature • The Sweet Grandad • The Perfect Grand-father • The Small Town Neighbor • The Good Old Fellow • The Gentleman • The Sage

9. The Activist The Young Grand-mother The Volunteer The Prof The Golden Ager The Granny The Sage The Perfect Grand-mother The Old Lady The Gymnast Results: Positive representations of The Old Woman

10. Results: Negative representations of The Old Woman • Negative and active • Negative and passive • The Vulnerable • The Old Witch • The Peasant • The Conservative • The Shrew • Miss Marple • The Childish • The Recluse • The Bag Lady • The Inactive • Mildly Impaired • The Despondent

11. Discussion • The cluster analysis confirms the hypothesis of multiple representations about old people, both positive and negative, hierarchically organized. • In details: • There are more negative than positive representations, especially for men. Is this due to the fact that in the list there are more negative than positive adjectives? • Representations are more polarized for men (i.e. more clearly defined, positively or negatively). Is the representation of the old man more stereotyped?

12. Conclusion • The negative stereotype of the poor old man is still alive and well, but it is not the only one about elderly  there is a more complex representation of the “elderly”, as far as to arrive to “many elderly” (Brewer, Dull e Lui, 1981; Schmidt e Boland, 1986; Hummert, 1990) • Positive representations emerged: simply more gentle stereotypes? The multiplication of the categories does not necessarily correspond to a more flexible and positive approach

13. Thank you