title: Direct and extended intergenerational contact and young people's attitudes towards older adults.
abstract: Research suggests that positive intergenerational contact can improve young people's attitudes towards older adults. However, today's age-segregated society may not provide ample opportunities for positive contact between younger and older adults to occur on a regular basis. In three studies, we investigated whether the positive attitudinal outcomes associated with direct contact might also stem from a more indirect form of intergenerational relationship: extended contact. In Study 1 (N = 70), extended contact was associated with more positive attitudes towards older adults even when controlling for direct intergenerational contact (contact frequency and contact quality). In Study 2 (N = 110), the positive effects of direct and extended contact on young people's age-related attitudes were mediated by reductions in intergroup anxiety and ageing anxiety. The mediational effects of intergroup anxiety were replicated in Study 3 (N = 95) and ingroup norms additionally emerged as a mediator of the positive effects of extended contact on young people's attitudes towards older adults. Discussion focuses on the implications for strategies aimed at tackling ageism.
authors.affiliation: University of Kent, UK.
authors.forename: Lisbeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Drury
authors.affiliation: London Metropolitan University, UK.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hutchison
authors.affiliation: University of Kent, UK.
authors.forename: Dominic
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Abrams
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D063506:Ageism / Q000208:ethnology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000208:ethnology*; D001290:Attitude / Q000208:ethnology*; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D008131:London / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ageing anxiety; ageism; extended contact; ingroup norms; intergroup anxiety; intergroup contact