Pre-pandemic Ageism Toward Older Adults Predicts Behavioral Intentions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ashley Lytle, Mary Beth Apriceno, Jamie MacDonald, Caitlin Monahan, Sheri R. Levy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, older adults have been disproportionately affected by high rates of health complications and mortality. Reactions toward older adults included a mix of prosocial behaviors and ageist responses, consistent with the history of positive and negative views and treatment of older adults in the United States. Methods: In a two-part study (n = 113, Mage = 18.49, SD = 0.50; range 18-19), we examined whether pre-pandemic ageism among undergraduates predicts prosocial behavioral intentions toward older adults both specific to COVID-19 and in general. Results: Pre-pandemic ageism toward older adults predicted less intentions to help older adults generally and specific to COVID-19. Whereas viewing older adults as incompetent predicted greater intentions to help specific to COVID-19. Discussion: These results reflect the complexity of predicting helping behaviors and suggest that even supportive behaviors toward older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic may be rooted in negative ageist stereotypes. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)E11-E15
JournalJournals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
Volume77
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Apr 2022

Keywords

  • Ageism
  • Prosocial behaviors
  • Stereotypes

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