[Assessment of negative stereotypes about old age in young people and adults]

Abstract

Introduction: Negative stereotypes towards ageing and the old age may negatively influence relationships and working with older people. The CENVE (Negative Stereotypes Towards Ageing) questionnaire is a validated Spanish tool designed to evaluate these stereotypes, but there are no evidence about its factorial structure with young people and adults. This factorial structure of CENVE is analysed in non-elderly subjects, and its relationship with various sociodemographic and experience-related indicators is also examined.

Method: A total of 350 young people and adults completed the CENVE. Information on demographics, specialised academic training in aging, and level of contact with elderly people were also provided. An analysis was performed on the factorial structure of the questionnaire and its relationship with socio-demographic and experiential indicators.

Results: The analyses performed did not confirm the original structure in 3 sub-scales, suggesting an alternative one-dimensional structure. It also suggested the existence of different ageist stereotypes associated with the socio-demographic profile of non-elderly subjects (particularly related to educational level). Less conclusive results were obtained regarding former experience and level of information on aging.

Conclusions: CENVE is a useful tool for evaluating ageism, but in the present article a one-dimensional correction is suggested for the non-elderly population.

Keywords: Ageism; Assessment; Edadismo; Evaluación; Old age; Vejez.