Abstract
Ageism has been shown to have a negative impact on older people's health and wellbeing. Though multiple scales are currently being used to measure this increasingly important issue, syntheses of the psychometric properties of these scales are unavailable. This means that existing estimates of ageism prevalence may not be accurate. We conducted a systematic review aimed at identifying available ageism scales and evaluating their scope and psychometric properties. A comprehensive search strategy was used across fourteen different databases, including PubMed and CINAHL. Independent reviewers extracted data and appraised risk of bias following the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) guidelines. Of the 29,664 records identified, 106 studies, assessing 11 explicit scales of ageism, were eligible for inclusion. Only one scale, the ‘Expectations Regarding Aging’ met minimum requirements for psychometric validation (i.e., adequate content validity, structural validity and internal consistency). Still, this scale only assesses the ‘stereotype’ dimension of ageism, thus failing to evaluate the other two ageism dimensions (prejudice and discrimination). This paper highlights the need to develop and validate a scale that accounts for the multidimensional nature of ageism. Having a scale that can accurately measure ageism prevalence is key in a time of increasing and rapid population ageing, where the magnitude of this phenomenon may be increasing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 100919 |
| Journal | Ageing Research Reviews |
| Volume | 54 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2019
Funding
This article was developed thanks to partnerships created through COST Action IS1402 Ageism - a multi-national, interdisciplinary perspective, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). We thank Kavita Kothari and Tomas Allen for their support in developing the search strategy. We also thank Chantal Barber, Joana Mendonça and João Mariano for their assistance in the removal of completely irrelevant records, as well as Karl Pillemer for supporting access to Covidence software. Special thanks are also extended to Eva Evertsson and Elisabeth Nylander from Jönköping University Library for their help in sourcing out the relevant literature. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions or policies of the institutions in which they are affiliated. This article was developed thanks to partnerships created through COST Action IS1402 Ageism - a multi-national, interdisciplinary perspective, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). We thank Kavita Kothari and Tomas Allen for their support in developing the search strategy. We also thank Chantal Barber, Joana Mendonça and João Mariano for their assistance in the removal of completely irrelevant records, as well as Karl Pillemer for supporting access to Covidence software. Special thanks are also extended to Eva Evertsson and Elisabeth Nylander from Jönköping University Library for their help in sourcing out the relevant literature. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions or policies of the institutions in which they are affiliated.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Kavita Kothari and Tomas Allen | |
| European Cooperation in Science and Technology |
Keywords
- Ageism
- Discrimination
- Prejudice
- Scale
- Stereotype
- Systematic review