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This study explored the prevalence of positive attributes of aging among older adults in a nationally representative sample age 50-80 ((N=2,048, 52% female, 71% White). Nearly 70% of older adults reported that people sought their guidance because of their wisdom and experience. Older adults reported that, as they have gotten older, they have become more comfortable with themselves (88%), have a strong sense of purpose (80%), feel more positively about aging (67%), and have found their life to be better than they had thought it would be (65%). Over half (52%) of those who said their lives were better than they thought reported very good or excellent physical health. Among those who disagreed, only one out of four (25%) reported very good/excellent physical health; similar results were found for mental health (48% vs. 22%). This session will describe positive attributes of aging and their association to physical and mental health.

Ageism can manifest in a variety of ways including in institutional policies and practices, interpersonal interactions, older adults’ internalization of ageist stereotypes, and through the media. While major incidents of age-based discrimination and their negative effects on health are more recognized, older adults also experience less momentous, but still harmful ageism in their day-to-day lives. These types of everyday ageism are also harmful to health. This symposium will highlight recent research from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging on self-reported experiences of everyday ageism among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults age50-80 and its connections to physical and mental health outcomes. Next, another researcher also using data from the National Poll on Healthy Aging will explore the prevalence of positive attributes of aging, its relationships to health, and ways in which it may buffer older adults from the adverse health consequences of ageism. Then speakers will highlight the Reframing Aging initiative and the ways in which GSA and other organizations are leading a national effort to address ageism through education and dissemination of research-based resources. This session will feature research, education, and advocacy efforts and will focus on the policy implications of efforts to better understand the prevalence of and strategies to counter the effects of ageism.

Changing American culture is challenging and changing attitudes and behaviors around the universal experience of aging especially so. Unless the field of advocates who care about aging issues cultivates a more visible, more informed conversation on older people, it will remain difficult to advance the systemic changes needed to adjust to a society with increased and increasing longevity. Advocates will need to be vigilant to avoid cueing negative attitudes towards aging and aging policies. The Reframing Aging Initiative is a long-term, social change endeavor designed to improve the public's understanding of what aging means and the many contributions older people bring to society. Using evidence-based research, the initiative seeks to teach how to tell an effective story about aging that will promote positive perceptions of aging and reduce ageism.

This study examined the prevalence of everyday ageism, routine types of age-based discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping that older adults encounter in their daily lives, and its relationships with health in a nationally representative sample age 50-80 (N=2,048, 52% female, 71% White). Nearly all older adults said they sometimes or often experienced everyday ageism (96% age 65-80, 92% age 50-64). The most common types were beliefs that health problems were an inevitable part of getting older (78%), hearing jokes about aging/older people (61%), and seeing material suggesting that older adults were unattractive/undesirable (38%). Those reporting more experiences with everyday ageism (>3 types) were less likely than those reporting fewer types to have excellent/very good physical health (31% vs. 50%); similar results were found for mental health (60% vs. 80%). This poll documented the ubiquity of minor, but not inconsequential, everyday ageism reported by older adults and its potential ramifications for health.