Definition and Overview
In many modern societies, older and younger individuals do not interact frequently or in positive ways. Ageism or negative attitudes and behavior toward older adults has increased such that older adults are not as valued as members of society as they once were (Levy and Macdonald 2016). To address these issues, intergenerational anti-ageism programs – involving older adults and younger individuals – have been created to foster positive and mutually beneficial interactions in communities. Many of these are supported by governments and community agencies in countries around the world including Australia, Canada, China, Israel, Italy, Japan, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, UK, and the USA (Canedo-Garcia et al. 2017; Portero 2012).
Historically, communities valued older members for their knowledge, perspective, insights, and wisdom (Levy and Macdonald 2016). As modern societies shifted toward valuing youth and new technologies, older adults moved into a more isolated...
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Levy, S.R., Lytle, A. (2019). Intergenerational Programs on Anti-Ageism. In: Gu, D., Dupre, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_598-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_598-1
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