Erdman Palmore

Health and social factors related to life satisfaction

In an analysis of health, activity, social-psychological, and socio-economic variables thought to influence life satisfaction in middle age, it was found that self-rated health was the predominant variable. The amount of organizational activity and belief in internal control were the second and third most important variables related to life satisfaction. Organizational activity, in turn, was mainly related to intelligence and to internal control orientation among the men, but among women it was mainly related to lack of employment and to physical performance status. Several variables thought to be related to life satisfaction were found to have little or no relationship: age, sex, total social contacts, career anchorage, marital status, and intelligence.

Encyclopedia of Ageism

* About the Editors * Contributors * Foreword (Robert N. Butler) * Preface * List of Entries * Abuse in nursing homes * Abuse by elders in nursing homes * Advertising * African Americans * Age conflict * Age denial * Age inequality * Age norms * Age segregation * Age stratification * Aged as a minority group * Ageism in the Bible * Ageism survey * Age-specific public programs * Alcoholism * Antiaging medicine * Architecture * Art * Arts * Assisted living * Attribution theory * Benefits of aging * Biological definitions of aging * Blaming the aged * Books * Botox * Cards * Change strategies * Changes in attitudes * Childrens attitudes * Childrens literature * Churches * Cohorts * Consent to treatment * Cost-benefit analysis * Costs of ageism * Criminal victimization * Cross-cultural ageism * Cultural lag * Cultural sources of ageism * Definitions * Demographic trends * Dentistry * Disability * Discounts * Disengagement theory * Drivers license testing * Education * Employment discrimination * Ethical issues * Euphemisms * Face-lifts * Facts on Aging Quiz * Facts on Aging and Mental Health Quiz * Family * Financial abuse * Functional age * Future of ageism * Generational equity * Geriatrics * Gerontocracy * Gerontology * Health care * Hispanics * History * HIV/AIDS * Hollywood * Housing * Human rights of older persons * Humor * Hypertension * Individual sources of ageism * Intergenerational projects * Isolation * Japan * Journalism * Language * Legal review program * Legal system * Literature * Living wills * Mandatory retirement of judges * Measuring ageism in children * Medical students * Memory and cognitive function * Memory stereotypes * Mental illness * Modernization theory * Nursing * Nursing homes * Organizations opposing ageism * Patronizing * Pension bias * Perpetual youth * Physical therapy * Politics * Positive Aging Newsletter * Public policy * Reducing ageism * Responses to ageism * Retirement communities * Role expectations * Scapegoating * Self-fulfilling prophecy * Semantic differential scale * Senior centers * Sexism * Sexuality * Slogans * Social psychology * Social Security * Societal ageism * Songs * Stage theory * Stereotypes * Subcultures * Successful aging * Suicide * Tax breaks * Television * Terms preferred by older people * Theories of aging * Transportation * Types of ageists * Typologies * Unconscious ageism * Voice quality * Index * Reference Notes Included

Attitudes toward the Aged What We Know and Need to Know

A review of past research shows that negative stereotypes and attitudes about the aged are widespread. We need theoretically oriented research to specify what determines the stereotypes, prejudices, and discriminations against the aged. This research should be based on probability samples and use scales tested for reliability and validity. In order to reduce ageism and thus improve the quality of life among our elders, controlled experiments are needed to determine which methods of reducing ageism are most effective and efficient.

PALMORE'S FIRST FACTS ON AGING QUIZ IN A MULTIPLE‐CHOICE FORMAT

A multiple‐choice version and a true‐false version of Palmores first Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ1) were tested on a sample of 501 college students. The multiple‐choice version reduced the chances of guessing the correct answer and reduced measurement error for average and above average respondents

Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE): A Measure of Self-Reported Ageism.

The Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE) is a 20-item questionnaire that measures positive and negative ageist behaviors that people may engage in during everyday life. In this article, we report the first findings from several administrations of the ROPE along with initial psychometric information on the instrument. Respondents were college students, community-dwelling older adults, and persons affiliated with a university community. Results indicate that most people of all ages readily admit to positive ageist behaviors. Younger and older adults appear to participate in similar amounts of ageist behavior. Analyses by gender indicated that women endorsed the positive ageism items more often than did men. Psychometric analyses yielded estimates of adequate test-retest reliability and internal consistency reliability. Implications for current views of ageism as a social phenomenon and strategies for reducing ageist behaviors in everyday life are discussed.

Self-Reported Ageism in Social Work Practitioners and Students

In this study, we focus on self-reported ageism in college students and social service providers using the Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE; Cherry & Palmore, 2008). The ROPE is a 20-item questionnaire that measures positive and negative ageist behaviors that people engage in during everyday life. Participants included undergraduate and graduate social work students and practicing social service providers in the nursing home and mental health setting. Findings indicate that people of varying educational backgrounds and occupational experience in social services readily admit to positive ageist behaviors. Item analyses revealed similarities and differences between groups in the most and least frequent forms of ageism endorsed. Ageism as a social phenomenon with implications related to social work policy and practice is discussed.

Predictors of Disability in the Final Year of Life

Disability among deceased subjects in the Duke Established Population for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) survey was analyzed to determine the risk of becoming disabled before or during the final year of life and the predictors of this disability. The method was a comparison of the baseline characteristics of decedents who became disabled with the characteristics of decedents who were not disabled. It was found that 63% of the initially nondisabled who survived to the next interview remained able to do the basic activities of daily living without help, at least until a few months before death. Multivariate analysis showed that initial age, income, depression, and self-rated health were strong and independent predictors of becoming disabled. The findings suggest that reducing poverty, depression, and illness may reduce the risk of disability in the final year.

Health Care Needs of the Rural Elderly

Statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics show that rural elders have greater health needs than urban elders, but receive less care. The barriers to adequate health care among rural elders include ignorance and denial, a tendency to use lay rather than professional treatment, financial and transportation difficulties, and the resistance of medical personnel to adequate care. Professionals can be more effective if they are aware of these special problems.

Are the Aged a Minority Group

The aged resemble minority groups in three ways, i.e., they suffer from prejudice, discrimination, and deprivation. On the other hand, they are not born into their age group, and they have little sense of group identity or political unity. The most descriptive term would seem to be “quasi‐minority group.” However, the aged are becoming less and less like minority groups as society seems to be moving toward an “age‐irrelevant” era.

Ageism Comes of Age

When I was “coming of age” in the 1950s, the big social issue was racism. Then came sexism and heterosexism, but few had heard of ageism. Since Robert Butler introduced the term “ageism” in 1969, more and more people are becoming aware of it; more and more research and writing is devoted to it. When I published the first monograph on the topic, Ageism: Negative and Positive (1990), most people had still never heard of it and there was little research on it. But by 2005, there was enough research and analysis, so we could compile an Encyclopedia of ageism with 124 entries (Palmore, Branch, & Harris, 2005). Now there is enough recent research to warrant this special section in The Journal of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. Why should we be concerned with ageism? There are many reasons, but here is a list of the main ones: