Abstract
Background
As population ageing takes place around the world, research on attitudes toward ageing and older people increases in relevance. With migration of people from the Arab world into countries with high percentages of older adults, attitudes toward ageing and older adults held in Arab culture are of particular interest.
Objective
The article provides a review of the empirical literature on attitudes toward ageing and older adults held in the Arab world and discusses the findings on the basis of the general literature on age stereotypes, attitudes toward ageing, and ageism as well as their link to culture.
Method
A literature search was performed to find empirical studies on attitudes toward ageing and older adults that include Arab samples. Studies published in Arabic or English were included.
Results
Studies on attitudes toward ageing with Arab samples are scarce and do not show cohesive patterns of results. None of the hypotheses that have been brought forward to explain cross-cultural differences regarding attitudes toward ageing (i.e., the culture, modernization, and speed of population ageing hypotheses) can fully account for the results. Possible reasons for conflicting results include sociodemographic variables, regional differences, lack of differentiation between meta-perceptions and personal attitudes, heterogeneity of measurement instruments and definitions of "older people" and possible confounds due to the usage of subjective Likert scales in cross-cultural studies.
Conclusion
Further research on attitudes toward ageing in Arab samples are needed and should consider heterogeneity within Arab culture as well as variables other than culture.
Zusammenfassung
Hintergrund
Durch weltweite Bevölkerungsalterung gewinnt die Erforschung von Einstellungen gegenüber dem Altern und älteren Menschen zunehmend an Bedeutung. Aufgrund der Migration von Menschen aus arabischen Ländern in Länder mit einem hohen Anteil älterer Menschen sind die Einstellungen zum Altern in der arabischen Kultur von besonderem Interesse.
Ziele
Dieser Artikel gibt einen Überblick über die empirische Literatur zu Einstellungen zum Altern und älteren Personen in der arabischen Welt und diskutiert die Ergebnisse auf Basis der Literatur zu Altersstereotypen, Einstellungen zum Altern und Ageism sowie deren kulturellen Bezügen.
Methode
Eine Recherche empirischer Studien wurde durchgeführt, in denen Einstellungen zum Altern und zu älteren Menschen in arabischen Stichproben erhoben wurden. Es wurden Studien berücksichtigt, die auf Arabisch oder Englisch veröffentlicht wurden.
Ergebnisse
Die wenigen Studien über die Einstellung zum Altern mit arabischen Stichproben zeigen kein eindeutiges Ergebnismuster. Keine der Hypothesen, die zur Erklärung interkultureller Unterschiede in Einstellungen zum Altern vorgelegt wurden (Kulturhypothese, Modernisierungshypothese, Hypothese von der Geschwindigkeit der Bevölkerungsalterung), kann die Ergebnisse vollständig erklären.
Mögliche Gründe für widersprüchliche Befunde sind soziodemografische Variablen, regionale Unterschiede, mangelnde Differenzierung zwischen Meta-Wahrnehmungen und persönlichen Einstellungen, Heterogenität von Messinstrumenten und Definitionen „älterer Menschen“ sowie mögliche Konfundierungen durch den Gebrauch von Likert-Skalen in interkulturellen Studien.
Schlussfolgerungen
Weitere Forschungsarbeiten über die Einstellung zum Altern und zu älteren Menschen mit arabischen Stichproben sind erforderlich und sollten die Heterogenität arabischer Kultur sowie weitere Variablen berücksichtigen.
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Ibrahim, C.N., Bayen, U.J. Attitudes toward aging and older adults in Arab culture. Z Gerontol Geriat 52 (Suppl 3), 180–187 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-019-01554-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-019-01554-y