What is Ageism?

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• Fraboni, M., Saltstone, R., & Hughes, S. (1990). The Fraboni scale of ageism (FSA): An attempt at a more precise measure of ageism. Canadian Journal on Aging, 9(1), 56-66.
  • This article describes the original 29 items Fraboni Scale of Ageism measure (FSA), which includes 3 sub-scales: Antilocution (10 items), Discrimination (9 items) and Avoidance (10 items) and was one of the first measures to offer a more nuanced way to measure of ageism.
• Rupp, D. E., Vodanovich, S. J., & Credé, M. (2005). The Multidimensional Nature of Ageism: Construct Validity and Group Differences. The Journal Of Social Psychology, 145(3), 335-362. doi: 10.3200/SOCP.145.3.335-362.
  • This article provides a short form of the Fraboni measure (22 items in total) and is one of the most popular measures. The shortened measure includes 10 items concerning stereotypes, 7 items concerning separation from older adults, and 5 items tapping affective attitudes. 

Below is the 22-term revised Fraboni Measure of Ageism:

Instructions: Indicate how much you AGREE or DISAGREE with the following statements by choosing a number from 1 to 6, 1 being strongly disagree and 6 being strongly agree.

Stereotypes:

1. Many old people are stingy and hoard their money and possessions.

2. Teenage suicide is more tragic than suicide among the old.

3. Many old people are not interested in making new friends, preferring instead the circle of friends they have had for years.

4. Many old people just live in the past

5. I would prefer not to go to an open house at a senior’s club, if invited

6. Most old people should not be trusted to take care of infants

7. Many old people are happiest when they are with people their own age.

8. Most old people would be considered to have poor personal hygiene.

9. Most old people can be irritating because they tell the same stories over and over again.

10. Old people complain more than other people do.

Separation:

11. I sometimes avoid eye contact with old people when I see them.

12. I don’t like it when old people try to make conversation with me.

13. Complex and interesting conversation cannot be expected form most old people.

14. Feeling depressed when around old people is probably a common feeling.

15. Old people should find friends their own age.

16. Old people should feel welcome at the social gatherings of young people.

17. It is best that old people live where they won’t bother anyone.

Affective attitudes:

18. I personally would not want to spend much time with an old person.

19. The company of most old people is quite enjoyable.

20. It is sad to hear about the plight of the old in our society these days.

21. Old people should be encouraged to speak out politically.

22. Most old people are interesting, individualistic people.

• Levy, B. R., Kasl, S. V., and Gill, T. M. (2004). Image of aging scale. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 99, 208-210. doi:10.2466/PMS.99.4.208-210. 
  • This article presents a measure of stereotyping developed in the United States and captures positive and negative stereotypes of older people across nine domains:  activity (walks slowly, active), appearance (wrinkled, well-groomed), cognition (senile, wise), death (dying, full of life), dependence (helpless, capable), personality (grumpy, positive outlook), physical health (sick, healthy), relationships (lonely, family-orientated), and will to live (will to live, given up).
• Ramírez, L.F., and Palacios-Espinosa, X. (2016). Stereotypes about old age, social support, aging anxiety and evaluations of one’s own health. Journal of Social Issues, 72, 44-65.
  • Building on the image of aging scale (Levy, Kasl, & Gill 2004), this articles presents a measure of stereotyping developed in Colombia with 8 positive (loving, enjoys life moments, experienced, wise, patient, calm, family oriented, generous) and 8 negative traits (sick, stubborn, lonely, grumpy, forgetful, sad, tired, dying).

Below is the Image of Aging Scale (Levy, Kasl, & Gill, 2004):

Instructions: After each word or phrase, please provide the number from 0 to 6 that best shows how well the word matches your image or picture of a 65 year old, with 0 being furthest from what you think and 6 being closest to what you think.  These descriptions were collected from other people.

Scale:

      0                     1                    2                     3                     4                    5                    6

Not at all                                                                                                                           Very             

characteristic                                                                                                                  characteristic       

1. Walks Slowly

2. Active

3. Wrinkled

4. Well-groomed

5. Senile

6. Wise

7. Dying

8. Full of life

9. Helpless

10. Capable

11. Grumpy

12. Positive

13. Sick

14. Healthy

15. Lonely

16. Family-oriented

17. Will to live

18. Given up

• Cary, L. A., Chasteen, A. L., & Remedios, J. (2017). The Ambivalent Ageism Scale: Developing and validating  scale to measure benevolent and hostile ageism. The Gerontologist, 57(2), e27-36. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnw118.
  • This is the 13-item multifaceted measure of ageism – exploring the benevolent and hostile attitudes that individuals hold toward older adults.  Benevolent and hostile ageism predict different attitudes toward older adults. For example, higher hostile ageism scores predict lower perceived competence and warmth ratings for older adults. Whereas, high benevolent ageism scores predict higher perceived warmth. 

• Gonzales, E., Tan, J., & Morrow-Howell, N. (2010). Assessment of the refined Aging Semantic Differential: Recommendations for enhancing validity. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 53, 304-318. 
  • This article examines an updated version of the semantic differential including 24 items on a 7 point response scale and offers suggestions to improve the measure.
• Rosencranz, H.A., & McNevin, T.E. (1969). A factor analysis of attitudes toward the aged. The Gerontologist, 9(1), 55-59.

• Tuckman, J., & Lorge, I. (1953). Attitudes toward old people. The Journal of Social Psychology, 37(2), 249-260. 
  • This was a landmark article illustrating negative views of older adults. This article presents a measure of 137 statements covering topics such as physical change, personality characteristics, and adjustment including personality disintegration, conservatism, and resistance to change, family relationships, activities and interests.
• Kogan, N. (1961) Attitudes toward old people: The development of a scale and an examination of correlates. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 62(1), 44-54.

• Lasher, K.P. & Faulkender, P.J. (1993). Measurement of aging anxiety: Development of the anxiety about aging scale. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 37(4), 247-259. 

Instructions: Please indicate how much you AGREE or DISAGREE with the following statements on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). 

Fear of Losses:

1. I fear that when I am old all my friends will be gone.

2. The older I become, the more I worry about my health.

3. I get nervous when I think about someone else making decisions for me when I am old.

4. I worry that people will ignore me when I am old.

5. I am afraid that there will be no meaning in life when I am old.

Fear of old people:

6. I enjoy being around old people.

7. I like to go visit my older relatives.

8. I enjoy talking with old people.

9. I feel very comfortable when I am around an old person.

10. I enjoy doing things for old people.

Physical Appearance:

11. I have never lied about my age in order to appear younger.

12. It doesn’t bother me at all to imagine myself as being old.

13. I have never dreaded the day I would look in the mirror and see gray hairs

14. I have never dreaded looking old.

15. When I look in the mirror, it bothers me to see how my looks have changed with age.

Psychological Concerns:

16. I fear it will be very hard for me to find contentment in old age.

17. I will have plenty to occupy my time when I am old.

18. I expect to feel good about life when I am old.

19. I believe that I will still be able to do most things for myself when I am old.

• This is a 4-item measure anxiety about aging and has been previously used and validated by Bousfield, C., & Hutchison, P. (2010). 
• Contact, anxiety, and young people’s attitude and behavioral intentions towards the elderly. Educational Gerontology, 36,452-466. Aging anxiety has been used in many past studies of ageism reduction interventions (Lytle & Levy, 2019; Lytle et al., 2020).

Instructions: Please indicate how much you DISAGREE or AGREE with each statement from 1 strongly disagree to 6 strongly agree.

1. I am relaxed about getting old.

2. I am worried that I will lose my independence when I am old.

3. I am concerned that my abilities will suffer when I am old.

4. I do not want to get old because it means that I am closer to dying.