Perceptions of aging and ageism among young adults

Ageism is defined as prejudice or discrimination against a person or a group of people because of their age. Ageism is recognised as an important social determinant of health. It was aimed to investigate the relationship between ageism and fear of aging among young adults and to identify the sociodemographic and psychosocial factors associated with both constructs. The population of the cross-sectional study consisted of 430 people aged between 20 and 40 years living in a province in Türkiye. Data were collected using a sociodemographic data form and the Fear of Old Age Scale and the Fraboni Older Adults Discrimination Scale. t-tests and ANOVA tests were used for analytical evaluations based on scale scores. To determine influencing factors, a forward linear regression analysis was conducted by creating a model with variables found to be significant in univariate analyses. Income status, frequency of visiting the older adults, and nursing home visits were identified as factors influencing both fear of aging and ageism. Both ageism and fear of aging were found to be lower in those who described their income as adequate and who visited the elderly weekly. Conversely, participants who had previously visited nursing homes were found to have higher levels of ageism and fear of aging.