Researchers: Alison L Chasteen, April Pereira, Maria Iankilevitch, Manfred Diehl, M Kathleen Pichora-Fuller
OBJECTIVES: Studies assessing the effects of ageism on older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic suggest that perceiving ageism is associated with lower self-reported mental and physical health. Yet, it remains unknown whether these pandemic associations are distinct from pre-pandemic associations. The present study addressed this issue by controlling for pre-pandemic levels of ageism and mental and physical health in order to assess which pandemic-era experiences of ageism predict well-being in older people. METHOD: Both prior to and during the pandemic, 117 older adults completed measures of perceived ageism, self-perceptions of aging, subjective age, subjective health, and life satisfaction. RESULTS: During the pandemic, perceived ageism predicted lower subjective health and life satisfaction. However, when controlling for pre-pandemic measures, perceived ageism during the pandemic predicted only subjective health but not life satisfaction. Perceptions of continued growth positively predicted both measures across most analyses. CONCLUSION: The present findings suggest caution when interpreting the effects of ageism on well-being during the pandemic, as those associations may already have existed pre-pandemic. The finding that perceptions of continued growth positively predicted subjective health and life satisfaction suggests that promoting more positive self-perceptions of aging, along with combatting ageism in society, may represent important policy objectives.
References
- The Relationship between Ageism and Well-Being as Mediated through COVID-19-Related Experiences and Discourses.
- Ageism and older people’s health and well-being during the Covid-19-pandemic: the moderating role of subjective aging.
- Perceived Ageism During the Covid-19-Crisis Is Longitudinally Related to Subjective Perceptions of Aging.
- Older adults’ perceptions and experiences of ageism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Ageism in the time of COVID-19.
Topic: Policy development for aging