The Effects of Age and Cultural Differences on the Relationship Between Aging Anxiety and Ageism: Focusing on Social Identity Theory

This study aims to test the hypothesis that the association between aging anxiety and ageism will be enhanced by age differently in the United States and in Japan. Data were obtained from online surveys in the United States (<i>M</i>_age= 40.44, <i>SD </i>= 14.98; 39.7% women; <i>n </i>= 886) and in Japan (<i>M</i>_age= 50.32, <i>SD </i>= 16.38; 52.7% women; <i>n </i>= 556). Our findings illuminate that the levels of aging anxiety in the Japanese participants were positively associated with their levels of ageism regardless of their age. On the other hand, for the American participants, the level of aging anxiety was positively associated with higher ageism only among older adults, and not among younger adults. Differences in lifespan or traditional values are thought to have alleviated the strength of the association between aging anxiety and ageism.