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The populations of many nations are aging rapidly. This trend is happening against a background of research indicating that ageism is the most commonly experienced form of prejudice. The present research used intergroup contact theory as a framework to explore young people's attitudes and behavioral intentions towards the elderly. Regression analyses confirmed that quality but not frequency of intergenerational contact was positively associated with young people's attitudes and behavioral intentions towards the elderly. These associations were mediated by intergroup anxiety, whereas aging anxiety did not have a mediational role. Discussion focuses on the importance of the findings for strategies aimed at tackling ageism.
Bousfield et al. (2010) studied this question.