Ageism - Stereotypes Can Become Reality

March 2009 - Research from Yale School of Public Health and the National Institute on Aging published in Psychological Science shows that ageism remains prevalent in America with older people contributing to stereotypical images of their age group such as helplessness and incompetence.

Previous studies have shown than older people who believe in negative assumptions about aging tend to fulfill them. This study found that young, healthy people with stereotypical attitudes to older people may be at risk of heart disease themselves in the future.

The researchers reviewed data on hundreds of men and women participating in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Volunteers ranged in age from 18 to 49 and were in good health on recruitment in 1968. Among initial data gathered their attitudes toward the elderly ranged from very positive to very negative.

Researchers examined participants' health histories with particular reference to cardiovascular disease and found a significant association between ageism early in life and poor health later on. Participants who expressed negative views of old age were much more likely to experience some kind of cardiovascular disorder in the ensuing 40 years.

They also identified a group who experienced heart problems after reaching 60 and also found that they tended to have been negative about aging from early on. The episodes of heart disease could not be explained by common risk factors such as smoking, depression, cholesterol or family history.

The researchers conclude that internalizing stereotypes of old age when still quite young may have far reaching consequences. Individuals risk becoming the negative stereotype they associated with others earlier in their lives.