Perception of Old Age and Respect Toward Old People Among Young Adults.

Abstract

The present study intended to assess the relationship between perception of old age and respect toward old people among young adults. For this purpose, a sample of 132 participants was assessed in two academic institutions and it comprised of both males (n=69) and females (n=63). The age group of participants ranged from 19 to 30 years and they belonged to socioeconomic strata ranging from middle-middle class to upper-middle class. The participants were selected from nuclear and joint family structures. The Expectations Regarding Aging - 12 (Sarkisian, Steers, Hays & Mangione, 2005) and the Refined Aging Semantic Differential (Polizzi, 2003) were applied to analyze perception of old age and respect toward old people, respectively. The results revealed a weak positive correlation significant at 0.045 level between perception of old age and respect toward old people in young adults. Moreover, the study emphasizes the notion that perception could be helpful in inculcating young adults with moral values