Anxiety, Outcome Expectancies, and Young People's Willingness to Engage in Contact with the Elderly

A cross-sectional study (N = 61) investigated the relationship between young people's previous experiences of intergenerational contact and their willingness to engage in future contact with the elderly. Regression analyses confirmed that frequent positive intergenerational contact predicted more positive outcome expectancies, less intergroup anxiety, and more willingness to engage in future contact with elderly people. Meditation analyses confirmed that outcome expectancies mediated the influence of contact on intergenerational anxiety, and intergenerational anxiety, in turn, mediated the influence of both contact and outcome expectancies on willingness to engage in future contact with elderly people. Discussion focuses on the implications for strategies aimed at reducing ageism.