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Social Psychology and Gerontology: Integrating Theory to Explain and Intervene in Age Discrimination Towards Older People in Europe

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Cross-Cultural and Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives in Social Gerontology

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Abstract

Today, age discrimination is one of the most fundamental forms of discrimination endured by Europeans. In an aging society this carries important consequences for the overall health and wellbeing of European citizens. This chapter discusses how integrating Social Psychology with Gerontology theorizing may contribute to the design of proper research and interventions dealing with this pressing social issue. To illustrate our discussion we present two case studies based on our findings from the “Experiences and expressions of ageism” module of the European Social Survey. Case 1 shows how the perception of age discrimination by older people mediates and helps to explain the effects of wealth inequality on older people’s subjective health. Case 2 presents compelling evidence showing that, among older people, identifying with being an older person is associated with poor health outcomes, especially in countries where older people’s status is lower. These findings are discussed in light of their implications for theory and practical intervention in this domain.

We have enough research! We have enough theories! What we need are programs to help senior citizens in need! (M. Kuhn 1983)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), CIS-IUL, Av das Forças Armadas, 1649-026, Lisbon, Portugal

    Sibila Marques, Christin-Melanie Vauclair & Maria Luísa Lima

  2. Centre for the Study of Group Processes, School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NP, UK

    Hannah J. Swift, Christopher Bratt & Dominic Abrams

Authors
  1. Sibila Marques
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  2. Christin-Melanie Vauclair
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  3. Hannah J. Swift
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  4. Christopher Bratt
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  5. Maria Luísa Lima
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  6. Dominic Abrams
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Correspondence to Sibila Marques .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Humanities & Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Humanities & Social Sciences, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

    Tannistha Samanta

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Marques, S., Vauclair, CM., Swift, H.J., Bratt, C., Lima, M.L., Abrams, D. (2017). Social Psychology and Gerontology: Integrating Theory to Explain and Intervene in Age Discrimination Towards Older People in Europe. In: Samanta, T. (eds) Cross-Cultural and Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives in Social Gerontology . Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1654-7_3

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