title: Ageism among Israeli students: structure and demographic influences.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research concerning negative attitudes toward the elderly among samples of North American respondents has uncovered two distinct yet comparable three-factor structures: (1) avoidance, antilocution and separation; and (2) discrimination, stereotypes and affective attitudes. In addition, previous research has demonstrated that men and younger people have more negative attitudes toward the elderly than do women and older people. The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which these findings can be generalized to individuals from a different culture.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA) was administered to 491 Israeli participants aged 20-50 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation uncovered a three-factor structure, similar to previous investigations. In contrast to the literature, however, no simple group (gender, age) differences were found for ageism. However, discriminant function analysis revealed a more complex relationship between age, gender and ageism. Older males, in contrast to older females, demonstrated a tendency to perceptions of the elderly that associated avoidance of the elderly with negative stereotypes whereas older females, in contrast to younger females, held perceptions that associated avoidance of the elderly with a negative perception of the elderly person's contribution to society.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite cultural differences between Israel and North America, the similarity of findings provides support for the generalizabilty of the structure of attitudes toward the elderly as measured by the FSA to various cultures. In addition, the combined effect of age and gender on differential forms of ageism is complex and should be examined in future research.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel. bodnere@mail.biu.ac.il
authors.forename: Ehud
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bodner
authors.forename: Aryeh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lazar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001290:Attitude; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009656:North America; D011287:Prejudice; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011594:Psychometrics; D012737:Sex Factors; D012938:Social Perception; D013240:Stereotyping; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires