The Role of Family and Cultural Values in Young Adults’ Perceptions of Ageism in Türkiye

Abstract

This study examines young people's attitudes towards older adults in Turkey within the context of cultural and family values. The research aims to reveal how Kağıtçıbaşı's family exchange model, cantered on autonomous, relational, and autonomous-relational self-dimensions, influences young people's perceptions of ageing and their attitudes towards ageism. This study, which highlights the family as the fundamental cultural arena where attitudes towards older people are formed, negotiated and transformed, fills an important gap by examining the impact of family-based self-structures, which have not been sufficiently explored in the literature, on ageism. In this study, 232 young individuals aged 18-25 studying at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University were reached using convenience sampling, one of the probability sampling techniques used in quantitative research. No significant differences were found in participants’ attitudes toward older adults based on gender, nor between the frequency of communication with grandparents or providing care and the age discrimination scales. However, a significant relationship emerged between the frequency of contact with older adults and the subscales of restricting the elderly's life and positive discrimination. Higher family autonomy was associated with slightly more negative discriminatory attitudes, whereas a relational self within the family was linked to increased supportive behaviours and reduced negative ageist attitudes. Autonomous–relational self was related to greater support and lower ageism toward older adults. Overall, this study reveals that societies combining individualistic and relational characteristics exhibit more positive attitudes towards older people, thereby highlighting the limitations of the rigid individualistic-collectivist dichotomy often discussed in relation to ageism.

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