Prescriptive stereotypes, negative attitudes toward older adults, and social participation: surveys on younger and older Japanese

Promoting the active engagement of older individuals within society carries significant importance. Nevertheless, negative attitudes toward older adults can act as a hindrance. Such attitudes can be reinforced by anti-old prescriptive stereotypes, including succession (older adults should not accumulate wealth but pass it on to the next generation), identity (older adults should behave like the old), and consumption (older adults should not receive more social security benefits than necessary). We conducted two surveys involving younger (Study 1; N = 436, 18–39 years, M = 30.78) and older individuals (Study 2; N = 1087, 65–92 years, M = 70.69) in Japan. In Study 1, younger participants harboring stronger prescriptive stereotypes displayed more anti-old attitudes. Moreover, those endorsing greater identity stereotypes tended to perceive the old’s social participation in a negative light. In Study 2, older participants perceiving prescriptive stereotypes exhibited more anti-youth attitudes. Furthermore, those who reported higher perceived succession stereotypes displayed heightened depressive tendencies. The recognition of anti-old prescriptive stereotypes should be widely disseminated, and gerontological education should actively work to diminish these stereotypes. For creating a society marked by intergenerational harmony, efforts should be directed toward diminishing anti-old (anti-youth) attitudes among younger (older) individuals.