Aging & Social Change: Eleventh Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

People have different perceptions of aging. With well-established study outcomes maintaining that negative perceptions of aging can adversely affect one’s life satisfaction in later life, a question remain as to what forms people’s perceptions of aging. To answer this question, quantitative measurement on the perceptions of aging has been frequently used in previous studies. However, perceptions generally have complex dimensions, and therefore might not be captured sufficiently by quantitative approach only. In order to fill the gap, the present study explores the perceptions of aging with a qualitative approach. It specifically considers young adults’ perceptions of aging who had a close contact with a grandparent, based on the contact theory. Fifteen young adults aged 18 to 44 participated in the study. Authors conducted semi-structured interviews for data collection and analyzed the data, using consensual qualitative research method. Results indicate that young adults have critical moments of thinking about their own aging, retaining quite positive attitudes towards it. They also demonstrated specific ideas of how to age happily. Familial intergenerational contacts they had with older persons, their grandparents, were found to have significant impact on their current perceptions of aging. Continued exploration of how people perceive aging and what helps them develop positive attitude towards aging is recommended.