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Healthy Aging Healthy Aging Basics

The Elderly Defy Stereotypes, But Believe in Them Anyway

Going against their own stereotype, the elderly are more opposed than younger people to increased funding of Social Security and Medicare, a new study suggests. Such an unusual response, the researcher's state, makes sense if one looks at the potential reason: those who would seemingly benefit the most from these programs have a poor opinion of aging.

"They do not realize the stereotypes that make them oppose Social Security," says Dr. Becca Levy, an assistant professor at Yale who specializes in studying the elderly.

Concerns that the government will run out of money to pay for retirement benefits has put the now 70-year-old program at the center of a national debate. But the general perception that the elderly are a burden, she says, points to problems that go far deeper than demanding more tax dollars to care for the old.

In other studies Levy helped conduct, senior citizens who are pessimistic about growing old tend to have worse memories, more trouble getting around and respond less well to stress compared to elderly who are happy with their golden years. Believing the worst about old age may even weaken the will to live, she says. "Those who have a positive attitude live longer."

Most people, she adds, are not aware that they harbor bad feelings about their age. But these stereotypes can lead to self doubt, causing otherwise healthy senior citizens to limit their activities when there's really no reason to.

For her current study, which was published in the Journal of Aging & Social Policy, Levy reviewed a previous survey of nearly 1,500 people, including about 260 who were 64 years of age or older.

The participants were asked about who they thought would solve the country's problems: "the energy and fresh ideas of our youth or the experience and wisdom of the old?" They were then asked if they supported more funding for a range of government programs.

Overall, the elderly were more likely to oppose greater funding for programs that directly benefited them. Are older respondents simply more conservative, or do they believe in self-reliance more than younger generations? Perhaps, Levy says, but this doesn't explain why so many also supported more funding for welfare.

In fact, the most dramatic difference was seen between senior citizens who had divergent views about growing old. Just over 40 percent who thought the experience and wisdom of old age was an asset to them opposed more money for Social Security and other programs for the elderly. In contrast, 57 percent were against more funding if they felt that younger generations had the best ideas.

Is Television to Blame?
This lack of confidence is possibly caused by a lifetime of thinking that the best years are reserved for youth, Levy says. But she argues that such negative views are also reinforced by television.

In a separate study, Levy interviewed more than 70 people who were between the ages of 60 to 92. Regardless of the actual shows they may have watched, Levy found that the more television the elderly saw, the more negative their views about growing old.

Of course, most popular comedies make older characters the butt of jokes, which some saw as good, clean fun. But one 81-year-old man complained that his age group "shouldn't be the target of jokes so often."

Another common complaint, says Levy, was that there were few elderly television characters at all. "I feel like we're non-existent," said one 68-year-old homemaker who watched more than 45 hours of television per week.

Levy says that having a greater balance of older characters, both good and bad, would be an improvement. Recognizing that growing old has advantages as well as disadvantages can help people enjoy their life as fully as they can. Still, she admits that reversing negative images of the elderly will take more than a few good television shows.

"The stereotypes of being old are reinforced all the time," she says.