title: Social representations and normative beliefs of aging.
abstract: This study adopted the theory of social representations as a theoretical framework in order to characterize similarities and differences in social representations and normative beliefs of aging for different age groups. The 638 participants responded to self-administered questionnaire and were equally distributed by sex and age. The results show that aging is characterized by positive stereotypes (knowledge and experience); however, retirement is linked to aging, but in a negative way, particularly for men, involving illness, loneliness and disability. When age was considered, it was verified that the connections with the representational elements became more complex for older groups, showing social representation functionality, largely for the elderly. Adulthood seems to be preferred and old age is disliked. There were divergences related to the perception of the beginning of life phases, especially that of old age. Work was characterized as the opposite of aging, and it revealed the need for actions intended for the elderly and retired workers, with post-retirement projects. In addition, it suggests investment in public policies that encourage intergenerational contact, with efforts to reduce intolerance and discrimination based on age of people.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia, Centro de Ciências Humanas Letras e Artes, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brasil, tltorres2@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tatiana de Lucena
authors.initials: Tde L
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia, Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.
authors.forename: Brigido Vizeu
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Camargo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia, Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.
authors.forename: Andréa Barbará
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Boulsfield
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermagem, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal da Paraíba.
authors.forename: Antônia Oliveira
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012917:Social Adjustment