Ageism, illegal drug use, and young adults' experiences with illness, dementia and death

The research extended prior research that showed that young adults' relationships with older adults during childhood was related to lower levels of ageist beliefs and lower levels of risk-taking in daily life. The present study investigated whether young adults' ageism and risk-taking would be related to their relationships with older adults in childhood and their prior experiences with illness, dementia, and death. We report a study with 491 participants (255 women and 236 men) whose results replicated the finding that childhood relationships with older adults were related to lower levels of current ageism and lower levels of current illegal drug use. Participants' experiences with illness and death did not predict ageism or illegal drug use. The results suggest that relationships between children and older adults, regardless of the older adults' health status, may lead to long term benefits for the children. Consequently, social programs that provide opportunities for children to interact with older adults should be encouraged by policy makers. Keywords: Ageism, Risk-taking, Sensation-Seeking, Terror Management Theory, Young Adults, Death Anxiety
Recent research suggests that relationships between children and older adults may lead to long-term benefits for both children and adults (Flouri, Buchanan, Tan, Griggs, & Attar-Swartz, 2010; Lussier, Deater-Deckard, Dann, [...]