Geographic patterns of implicit age bias and associations with state‐level health outcomes across the United States

Abstract

Negative views of aging and older adults are pervasive in contemporary society. This age bias becomes ingrained early in life and can have large implications for the health and well-being of older adults. The overall amount-and influence-of age bias also differs across contexts. In the current study, we examined regional variation in implicit age bias across the United States, linking regional variation in implicit age bias to regional outcomes in health among adults ages 65 and over. We also demonstrate an association between state-level implicit age bias and the psychological process of age-group dissociation, such that older adults living in particularly ageist states tended to dissociate more from their chronological age. We examined these associations using a large sample of over 800,000 Project Implicit participants from 50 U.S. states (and the District of Columbia). 1.1 | Stigma surrounding aging and old age Early in life, we are exposed to an array of messages about what it means to be "old". Representations in media, advertising, entertainment, and art reflect and reinforce cultural notions about the value of maintaining a youthful appearance (Richards, Warren, & Gott, 2012), with the implication that old age is something we should try to avoid or conceal (Smirnova, 2012). There are also commonly held ideas about older adults as a social group and different intellectual traditions have generated models and taxonomies for how attitudes toward older adults are conceptualized. For example, in the stereotype-content model, older adults are generally considered to have relatively low social status and are consistently stereotyped as being interpersonally warm but also incompetent (Cuddy, Norton,

Cross-Cultural Comparisons in Implicit and Explicit Age Bias

“…Even older adults distance themselves from their own age group when presented with negative stereotypes about older adults (Kotter-Grühn & Hess, 2012;Weiss & Kornadt, 2018). This is especially true among individuals living in particularly hostile environments for older adults-older adults living in particularly ageist environments tend to report younger subjective ages on average compared with older adults living in age-friendly environments (Giasson & Chopik, 2020).…”

“…Subjective age can also be conceptualized as a marker of attitudes toward older adults, as it directly implicates the distancing processes that bring about age group identification, despite its ostensibly positive consequences (Giasson & Chopik, 2020;Weiss et al, 2013;Weiss & Freund, 2012;Weiss & Kornadt, 2018;Weiss & Lang, 2012). People tend to report feeling up to 20% younger than they actually are, and this percentage grows as people approach older adulthood themselves (Kleinspehn-Ammerlahn et al, 2008;Rubin & Berntsen, 2006).…”

Suicidality and Mood: The Impact of Trends, Seasons, Day of the Week, and Time of Day on Implicit and Explicit Cognitions

“…Any conclusions that emerge from a sample consisting of online volunteers may not generalize to other contexts. However, Project Implicit's explicit biases show similar trends over time to nationally representative polls 50 and various studies have shown that results from Project Implicit samples are associated with meaningful regional outcomes 82,83 . Second, the responses to the items from the SITBI rely on self-report and should not be considered as established diagnoses.…”

The Role of Country-Level Availability and Generosity of Healthcare Services, and Old-Age Ageism for Missed Healthcare during the COVID-19 Pandemic Control Measures in Europe

“…While globally a higher share of older adults is associated with lower general (young-and old-age) ageism (Officer et al, 2020), in the European context, perceptions of age discrimination are quite high, with 44% of respondents in the European Social Survey countries reporting that age discrimination is "quite" or "very" serious (Abrams et al, 2011). Earlier research has confirmed direct associations between state-level negative views on old age, or old-age ageism, and poorer state-level health (Giasson & Chopik, 2020). Second, country-level old-age ageist views may be internalized by older adults (Weiss & Kornadt, 2018).…”