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NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY OF DARRY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2007
Young, old feel effects of ageism
KU research: Discrimination seen, perceived in workplace and everyday life
BY BRIAN LEWIS-JONES
Age isn't always in the eye of the beholder.
Young adults, ages 17 to 25, and adults older than 64 see themselves as the targets of ageism, according to recent research by three University of Kansas professors. Ageism is discrimination based on age.
The study, conducted by Teri Garstka, Mary Lee Hummert and Nyla Branscombe from the University and Michael Schmitt from Purdue University, found that while ageism was not psychologically harmful to young adults, older adults reported lower self-esteem and a diminished feeling of control.
The research, published in the Journal of Psychology and Aging, also found that because of ageism, older adults identified more with their age group. Group identification provided a feeling of acceptance and eased psychologically damaging
effects.
"It's our natural tendency to categorize people and think of ourselves in our own groups," said Hummert, vice provost for faculty support.
Age is a unique social category
because it changes throughout a person's lifespan, unlike other social categories like race or gender, said Branscombe, professor of psychology.
Many young adults cited age discrimination in
group to advance to.
Even though age discrimination did not harm the well-being of young adults, it was still something that Andrew Corson experienced.
Corson, Overland Park sopho
“It's our natural tendency to categorize people and think of ourselves in our own groups."
MARY LEE HUMMERT Vice provost for faculty support
the form of legal restrictions, such as purchasing alcohol or voting, according to the study.
Hummert said ageism had few psychological effects on young adults because their age group was temporary, whereas older adults had no age
more, tried to buy tobacco when he was of legal age using a temporary pink-colored paper license. When the cashier wouldn't accept the document, their conversation escalated to a five-minute
argument that resulted in shouting and obscenities. Still, Corson said he wasn't bitter about skeptic store clerks.
"For bars and buying tobacco, that's just legal discrimination," Corson said. "They have to by law."
For older adults, age discrimination was evident in the workplace, even though laws were implemented in the late 1960s that prohibited businesses from basing hiring decisions on age, said David Ekerd, director of the KU Gerontology Center.
"After all this time, it's still thought that older people are not better workers." Ekerdt said.
People may also lose self-worth in old age because they typically withdraw from major roles in their job and their family, Ekerdt said. Older people could gain a sense of group identification by becoming more active in their church or community, he said.
Kansan staff writer Brian Lewis-Jones can be contacted at bliones@kansan.com.
Edited by Ryan Schneider
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