Ayalon Liat, Roy Senjooti
Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work, Bar Ilan University, Israel.
Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2022 Sep 7;35:100593. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2022.100593. eCollection 2023 Jun.
The present viewpoint examines the manifestation of ageism, defined as stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination towards people because of their age, in the Western Pacific region. Research is still equivocal concerning the nature of ageism in the Western Pacific region, especially in East and South-East Asia (e.g., Eastern countries). There has been plenty of research to support as well as question the general notion of Eastern cultures and countries as being less ageist compared to Western cultures and countries at individual, interpersonal, and institutional levels. Although varied theoretical explanations have aimed to explain East-West differences in ageism such as the modernization theory, the pace of population aging, the proportion of older people in the country, cultural hypothesis, and GATEism, none of these theories fully accounts for the mixed findings. As such, it is safe to conclude that targeting ageism should be an important step in ensuring a world for all ages in Western Pacific countries.
当前观点审视了年龄歧视在西太平洋地区的表现，年龄歧视被定义为因年龄对人们产生的刻板印象、偏见和歧视。关于西太平洋地区，尤其是东亚和东南亚（如东方国家）年龄歧视的本质，研究仍存在分歧。在个人、人际和机构层面，有大量研究既支持也质疑了东方文化和国家比西方文化和国家年龄歧视程度更低这一普遍观念。尽管有各种理论解释旨在说明年龄歧视方面的东西方差异，如现代化理论、人口老龄化速度、国家老年人口比例、文化假说和“大门主义”，但这些理论都无法完全解释这些混合研究结果。因此，可以有把握地得出结论，针对年龄歧视采取行动应是确保西太平洋国家实现各年龄段友好世界的重要一步。
