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    Direct and extended intergenerational contact and young people's attitudes towards older adults

    Drury, Lisbeth and Hutchison, P. and Abrams, D. (2016) Direct and extended intergenerational contact and young people's attitudes towards older adults. British Journal of Social Psychology 55 (3), pp. 522-543. ISSN 0144-6665.

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    Abstract

    Research suggests that positive intergenerational contact can improve young people’s attitudes towards older adults. However, today’s age-segregated society may not provide ample opportunities for positive contact between younger and older adults to occur on a regular basis. In three studies, we investigated whether the positive attitudinal outcomes associated with direct contact might also stem from a more indirect form of intergenerational relationship: extended contact. In Study 1 (N = 70), extended contact was associated with more positive attitudes towards older adults even when controlling for direct intergenerational contact (contact frequency and contact quality). In Study 2 (N = 110), the positive effects of direct and extended contact on young people’s age related attitudes were mediated by reductions in intergroup anxiety and ageing anxiety. The mediational effects of intergroup anxiety were replicated in Study 3 (N = 95) and ingroup norms additionally emerged as a mediator of the positive effects of extended contact on young people’s attitudes towards older adults. Discussion focuses on the implications for strategies aimed at tackling ageism.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Intergroup contact, extended contact, intergroup anxiety, ageing anxiety, ingroup norms, ageism
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Business and Law > Birkbeck Business School
    Depositing User: Lisbeth Drury
    Date Deposited: 27 Sep 2017 12:21
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:35
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/19701

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