Internalized ageism and anxiety in later life: the moderating role of group identification by gender and age

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether identification with and participation in groups of older adults moderates the internalized ageism-anxiety association, and whether this moderation differs by gender and age. METHOD: A survey was conducted with 2674 Brazilian older adults using the WHO Ageism Experiences Scale (internalized ageism subscale), the DASS-21 anxiety subscale, and a measure of age-specific group engagement. A fully factorial moderation model estimated the conditional effect of internalized ageism on anxiety across gender, age, and group memberships, with exploratory conditional analyses at observed levels of group membership. RESULTS: Internalized ageism was positively associated with anxiety, and group memberships were associated with an overall attenuation of this link. The Internalization by Gender by Age interaction was significant, with the association strengthening with age among women and weakening among men. Exploratory conditional analyses located reliable attenuation by group memberships only among younger women. Among older women, the association remained constant across all observed levels of group engagement, and among men, the declines in point estimates were not statistically reliable. The results persisted with race, education, income, and marital status as covariates. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that group-based approaches may be differentially associated with the internalization-anxiety link across gender and age, and motivate future research on interventions that target internalized beliefs directly among older women.