2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Ageism in Modern Japanese Society and Need to Promote Aging Education
| Project/Area Number |
16500475
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
General human life sciences
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| Research Institution | Nara University of Education |
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Principal Investigator |
SUGII Junko Nara University of Education, Faculty of Education, Associate Professor, 教育学部, 助教授 (70280089)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2006
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| Keywords | Elder / Ageism / Abuse / Mistreatment |
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| Research Abstract |
Ageism is defined as "the worst and most vicious prejudice," "the last remaining discrimination," or "the cruelest refusal" to older people. The study analyzed and characterized ageism in modern Japanese society by investigating the awareness of conscious or unconscious ageism encountered in daily life and the experience of being mistreated or mistreating older adults.
Self-administered questionnaires containing 15 questions about elder mistreatment were mailed to 1840 men and women of 40 years or older who lived in the Kinki region between January and March 2006. The Japanese translation version of the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA) was used for assessing collected answers. A total of 1104 questionnaires were collected with a response rate of 60%.
The primary findings were as follows : (1) older adults who were prone to illnesses or belonged to a higher age group were likely to face discrimination. Discrimination against older adults was stronger in men ; (2) men in poor physical condition often mistreated older adults ; (3) the experience of caring for mothers-in-law had some effects on elder mistreatment.
In conclusion, Japanese society seemed to suffer from self-exclusion in which older adults were excluded by older and sickly adults. Furthermore, it was found that vulnerable men were inclined to differentiate themselves from and seek advantage over older adults. There was also gender-related discrimination by men who most often mistreat older adults.
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Research Products
(1 results)
