Cross-Cultural Differences in Ageism

The following chapter provides an account of the link between societal and cultural changes and attitudes toward older adults in the following manner. First, I describe the role and status of the older adults in various religions and traditional cultures. Second, a historical account of societal changes will be considered as a possible catalyst for the negative shift in attitudes toward the aged. These societal changes will be linked with the subsequent growing salience of older adults as a reminder of death, in line with terror management theory (TMT). Next, I will review several important societal, demographic, and cultural factors that have been linked with ageism and provide an overview of how, over the past thirty years, different cultures have perceived and treated older adults. Finally, a discussion regarding the important link between contact hypothesis and TMT will ensue, and future directions for further investigation will be considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)