Adolescents' attitudes toward older adults in Türkiye: Validation of the attitudes toward the elderly scale and a mixed-methods investigation

Abstract

= 0.003-0.020). Girls obtained slightly higher Appreciation scores than boys, while age-related differences varied across the two ATE dimensions; the small effect sizes indicate that the practical magnitude of these differences was limited. In the second phase, metaphor-based interviews were conducted with adolescents aged 12-16. The qualitative findings revealed multidimensional representations of older adulthood, including negative meanings centered on mortality, physical decline, and loss of autonomy; neutral representations emphasizing aging as a natural life-course process; and positive representations centered on wisdom, experience, and guidance. Overall, the findings suggest that adolescents' perceptions of older adulthood are multidimensional and are only modestly differentiated by age and gender, while the qualitative findings identify family and intergenerational contexts as exploratory areas for further investigation. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: This study examines how adolescents in Türkiye perceive older adults. In the first part of the study, a scale measuring attitudes toward older adults was adapted to Turkish culture and tested with adolescents. The results showed small differences according to gender and age. Girls showed slightly higher appreciation of older adults than boys, while age-related patterns differed depending on the aspect of attitudes being examined. In the second part, adolescents described older adulthood using metaphors. Their descriptions revealed diverse perceptions of aging. Negative descriptions focused mainly on death, physical decline, and loss of independence; neutral descriptions viewed aging as a natural part of life; and positive descriptions emphasized wisdom, experience, guidance, and learning from older people. Family context and contact with older adults also emerged as areas that may be relevant to adolescents' perceptions, but these patterns were exploratory and require further research. Overall, the findings show that adolescents' views of older adulthood are complex and cannot be understood simply as positive or negative.Keywords: adolescent, attitudes toward aging, older adults, gender differences, intergenerational relations, CONTRIBUTION TO THE FIELD: This research contributes to the literature by focusing on adolescents-an age group that remains comparatively underexamined in research on ageism and attitudes toward older adults. By combining quantitative assessment with metaphor-based qualitative analysis, the study provides a multidimensional understanding of how adolescents perceive older adulthood. The quantitative findings identify small age- and gender-related differences, while the qualitative findings reveal negative, neutral, and positive representations of aging and identify family context and intergenerational contact as exploratory areas for further investigation. Together, these findings may inform future research and educational initiatives aimed at promoting more differentiated understandings of aging and reducing age-based stereotypes among younger populations.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Acta Psychologica, 2026 · DOI ↗