TY - JOUR
T1 - Instapals
T2 - Reducing ageism by facilitating intergenerational contact and providing aging education
AU - Lytle, Ashley
AU - Nowacek, Nancy
AU - Levy, Sheri R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2020/7/2
Y1 - 2020/7/2
N2 - Utilizing the PEACE (Positive Education about Aging and Contact Experiences) model as a theoretical foundation, Instapals was a novel ageism reduction intervention with undergraduate students in a non-gerontology course that 1) provided aging education and 2) facilitated positive 1-to-1 intergenerational relationships with older adults (individuals 65+) through daily exchanges on Instagram for 30 days and two in-person meetings. Paired t-tests demonstrate a significant decrease in aging anxiety, psychological concerns about aging, and negative stereotyping of older adults. Results from coded open-ended responses suggest an overall positive experience with Instapals and more positive attitudes toward aging and older adults across a semester. Findings from the first test of Instapals, a theoretically-driven intervention, shows promise for reducing ageism among larger samples and in other settings.
AB - Utilizing the PEACE (Positive Education about Aging and Contact Experiences) model as a theoretical foundation, Instapals was a novel ageism reduction intervention with undergraduate students in a non-gerontology course that 1) provided aging education and 2) facilitated positive 1-to-1 intergenerational relationships with older adults (individuals 65+) through daily exchanges on Instagram for 30 days and two in-person meetings. Paired t-tests demonstrate a significant decrease in aging anxiety, psychological concerns about aging, and negative stereotyping of older adults. Results from coded open-ended responses suggest an overall positive experience with Instapals and more positive attitudes toward aging and older adults across a semester. Findings from the first test of Instapals, a theoretically-driven intervention, shows promise for reducing ageism among larger samples and in other settings.
KW - Ageism
KW - aging education
KW - contact theory
KW - intergenerational relationships
KW - intervention
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85080935910&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85080935910&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02701960.2020.1737047
DO - 10.1080/02701960.2020.1737047
M3 - Article
C2 - 32129732
AN - SCOPUS:85080935910
SN - 0270-1960
VL - 41
SP - 308
EP - 319
JO - Gerontology and Geriatrics Education
JF - Gerontology and Geriatrics Education
IS - 3
ER -