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Imagining their Future Selves: Children's Attitudes to Older People and their Expectations of Life at Age 70
Author(s) -
Lloyd Katrina,
Devine Paula,
Carney Gemma M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
children and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-0860
pISSN - 0951-0605
DOI - 10.1111/chso.12289
Subject(s) - older people , psychology , population ageing , context (archaeology) , developmental psychology , ageing , gerontology , population , sociology , medicine , demography , geography , archaeology
Studies eliciting the views of children on ageing are rare, particularly those that focus on imagining a future self as an ‘old’ person and how this might be linked to current attitudes to older people. To address this gap, 2,365 children participated in an online survey which included questions on ageing. Findings suggest that children who hold negative views about old people visualise poorer outcomes for themselves at age 70. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of an ageing population and the need to develop strategies to prevent the formation of prejudices against older people from an early age.