Bridging the Gap: Young Adults Perceptions of Aging

As a longer life expectancy has become a reality for more Americans, there has been an increase in research on the perceptions of older adults and the aging process. This paper uses survey data from college students at a small comprehensive university in the Midwest to analyze the perceptions of young adults on aging and older adults. We found that participants perceive women as entering older adulthood before men, however, overall beliefs and stereotypes produced mostly positive conclusions about older adults. Further, we discovered that despite the perceptions that young adults have of the aging population and process, they hold a more positive association with their personal aging process.