OBJECTIVES Social expectancy theory posits that cultural values shape how individuals perceive and evaluate others, and this influences how others evaluate themselves. Based on this theory, ageism may shape older individuals' self-evaluations. Given the cultural focus on beauty and youth, perceptions of age discrimination may be associated with lower body esteem, and this may be associated with...

With population aging, "do not resuscitate" (DNAR) decisions, pertaining to the appropriateness of attempting resuscitation following a cardiac arrest, are becoming commoner. It is unclear from the literature whether using age to make these decisions represents "ageism." We undertook a systematic review of the literature using CINAHL, Medline, and the Cochrane database to investigate the relati...

Numerous studies examine inequalities in health by gender, age, class and race, but few address the actions of primary care doctors. This factorial experiment examined how four patient characteristics impact on primary care doctors' decisions regarding coronary heart disease (CHD). Primary care doctors viewed a video-vignette of a scripted consultation where the patient presented with standardi...

PURPOSE To explore dimensions of stigma experienced by older adults with hearing loss and those with whom they frequently communicate to target interventions promoting engagement and positive aging. DESIGN AND METHODS This longitudinal qualitative study conducted interviews over 1 year with dyads where one partner had hearing loss. Participants were naive to or had not worn hearing aids in th...

Age, along with sex and ethnicity serve as primary perceptual bases on which people categorise one another and thus age serves as perceptual indicator of abilities, competence, skills, experience and even health status. Age-based discrimination arises in relation to specific age points, particular age ranges, and also in terms of general category labels such as ‘young’ or ‘old’. Ageism permeate...