Master’s Thesis on Aging Stereotypes
Effects of Aging Stereotypes on Adult Children–Aging Parent Dyads’ Decisions for Elder Care
I completed this thesis in 2024 as part of the M.A. in Psychological Sciences program at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). The study examined whether aging stereotypes and perceived social status were associated with adult children’s desired future involvement in their aging parents’ lives.
The research question
How are aging stereotypes and subjective socioeconomic status related to adult children’s desire to stay involved in their aging parents’ lives?
The study considered the perspectives of both adult children and older adults. It measured participants’ views of aging and perceived social standing, then examined how those measures related to adult children’s reported desired future involvement.
Study at a glance
Participants: 24 adult child–older adult dyads, or 48 people.
Age groups: Adult children ages 35–60 and older adults ages 65–95.
Measures: The MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status, the Aging Semantic Differential, and a study-developed questionnaire about desired future involvement.
Design: Correlational study.
What I found
Adult children’s aging stereotype scores were significantly associated with their desired future involvement scores (r = −.496, p = .014).
Perceived social status was not significantly associated with desired future involvement in this sample.
Older adults’ aging stereotype scores were also not significantly associated with desired future involvement.
These findings describe associations and they do not show that stereotypes caused a change in family involvement. I hopeful that future research will further investigate this question.
Why this research matters
Elder care decisions take place within family relationships and real differences in financial resources and access to care. With a global population that is aging, it is important that we learn more about how decisions to care for the aging members of society are made.
Scope and limitations
The study included 24 dyads, and its questionnaire about desired future involvement was developed for this project and had not yet been tested for reliability or validity. The findings are preliminary and would need to be tested with a larger sample and a validated measure.