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ERIC Number: EJ773501
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2003
Pages: 21
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0091-4150
EISSN: N/A
Attitudes toward Embodied Old Age among Swedes
Oberg, Peter; Tornstam, Lars
International Journal of Aging and Human Development, v56 n2 p133-153 2003
Messages in the consumer culture are often youth oriented, aiming at the prevention of the bodily decay associated with biological aging. In gerontological discourses, this has been hypothesized to generate negative attitudes toward embodied aging and old age. Studies about general attitudes toward old age show that younger respondents have more negative attitudes than do older respondents, and gerontological discourses also hypothesize a gendered ageism, with especially negative attitudes toward elderly women. The empirical study of embodied aging among 1,250 Swedes aged 20-85 years contradicts these hypotheses. The results show rather positive attitudes toward embodied old age, especially among young and middle-aged respondents. Neither do the results unequivocally confirm the hypothesis of gendered ageism, which predicts considerably more negative attitudes toward old women than toward old men. One interpretation of the results is that, counter to many hypotheses, the consumer culture, with its new opportunities and roles for old people, may positively affect these attitudes. (Contains 2 tables and 6 figures.)
Baywood Publishing Company, Inc. 26 Austin Avenue, P.O. Box 337, Amityville, NY 11701. Tel: 800-638-7819; Tel: 631-691-1270; Fax: 631-691-1770; e-mail: info@baywood.com; Web site: http://baywood.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A