[en] By 2040, more than one in four Europeans is expected to be over 65. Despite improvements in older patients’ care, oral healthcare is still neglected. One of the major obstacles could be the negative representations associated with aging: ageism. The present study aims to quantify and qualify ageism for general and specific representations of aging associated with the mouth of an older patient compared to a young patient in dental students. Undergraduate students at the French dental school of Clermont-Ferrand were invited to participate in the study. Ageism was quantified by asking the students to estimate how many older adults have some negative conditions, which were then compared to real data. Representations of the mouth of a young vs. an older adult were collected by asking each student to write the first five words that came to their mind when they thought about the mouth of a young person and then the mouth of an older person. The students exhibited a large overestimation of health problems in the older adult population. The words given for a young adult were positive 49% of the time (vs. 23% negative), whereas 69% of the words were negative for an older adult (vs. 8% positive). The students in the second year were less negative than students in higher years. Our study contributes to assessing how dental students could exhibit implicit ageism. They show very negative representations of aging from the beginning of their training, which get even worse after they are exposed to clinical training with older patients.
Disciplines :
Social & behavioral sciences, psychology: Multidisciplinary, general & others
Author, co-author :
Piaton, Sophie; CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Service d’Odontologie, Clermont-Ferrand, France ; CNRS, LAPSCO, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France
Adam, Stéphane ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Psychologie > Psychologie de la sénescence et du vieillissement
Roger-Leroi, Valérie; CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Service d’Odontologie, Clermont-Ferrand, France ; CROC EA 4847, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France
Vallet, Guillaume T.; CNRS, LAPSCO, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France ; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Canada
Language :
English
Title :
Implicit ageism in dental students: general representations of ageing health and specific representations of the mouth
Adam, S., Joubert, S., & Missotten, P., (2013). L’âgisme et le jeunisme: conséquences trop méconnues par les cliniciens et chercheurs!Revue de Neuropsychologie, Neurosciences Cognitives et Cliniques, 5(1), 4–8. https://doi.org/10.1684/nrp.2013.0248
Ayalon, L., Dolberg, P., Mikulionienė, S., Perek- BiałBiałAs, J., Rapolienė, G., Stypinska, J., Willińska, M., & de la Fuente-Núñez, V., (2019). A systematic review of existing ageism scales. Ageing Research Reviews, 54, 100919. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2019.100919
Beck, J. D., Ettinger, R. L., Glenn, R. E., Paule, C. L., & Holtzman, J. M., (1979). Oral health status: Impact on dental student attitudes toward the aged. The Gerontologist, 19(6), 580–584. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/19.6.580
Bodner, E., Bergman, Y. S., & Cohen-Fridel, S., (2012). Different dimensions of ageist attitudes among men and women: A multigenerational perspective. International Psychogeriatrics, 24(6), 895–901. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610211002936
Burnes, D., Sheppard, C., Henderson, C. R.,Jr., Wassel, M., Cope, R., Barber, C., & Pillemer, K., (2019). Interventions to reduce ageism against older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 109(8), e1–e9. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305123
Butler, R. N., (1969). Age-ism: Another form of bigotry. The Gerontologist, 9(4 Part 1), 243–246. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/9.4_part_1.243
Chang, E. S., Kannoth, S., Levy, S., Wang, S. Y., Lee, J. E., Levy, B. R., & Bayer, A., (2020). Global reach of ageism on older persons’ health: A systematic review. PLoS One, 15(1), e0220857. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220857
Crutzen, C., Missotten, P., Adam, S., & Schroyen, S., (2022). Does caring lead to stigmatisation? The perception of older people among healthcare professionals and the general population: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 17(5), e12457. https://doi.org/10.1111/opn.12457
Gilbert, G. H., (1989). ‘Ageism’ in dental care delivery. The Journal of the American Dental Association, 118(5), 545–548. https://doi.org/10.14219/jada.archive.1989.0076
Greenwald, A. G., Dasgupta, N., Dovidio, J. F., Kang, J., Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Teachman, B. A., (2022). Implicit-Bias Remedies: Treating discriminatory Bias as a public-health problem. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 23(1), 7–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/15291006211070781
Inouye, S. K., (2021). Creating an anti-ageist healthcare system to improve care for our current and future selves. Nature Aging, 1(2), 150–152. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-020-00004-4
INSEE. (2016). Recensement de la population. https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/1906664?sommaire=1906743
Kiyak, H. A., Milgrom, P., Ratener, P., & Conrad, D., (1982). Dentists’ attitudes toward and knowledge of the elderly. Journal of Dental Education, 46(5), 266–273. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.0022-0337.1982.46.5.tb01553.x
Kiyak, H. A., & Reichmuth, M., (2005). Barriers to and enablers of older adults’ use of dental services. Journal of Dental Education, 69(9), 975–986. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.0022-0337.2005.69.9.tb03994.x
Kossioni, A. E., Ioannidou, K., Kalyva, D., Marchini, L., Hartshorn, J., Kaufman, L., Smith, B., & Barlow, P. B., (2019). Translation and validation of the Greek version of an ageism scale for dental students (Asds_gr). Gerodontology, 36(3), 251–257. https://doi.org/10.1111/ger.12403
Kossioni, A., McKenna, G., Müller, F., Schimmel, M., & Vanobbergen, J., (2017). Higher education in gerodontology in European universities. BioMed Central Oral Health, 17(1), 71. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-017-0362-9
Lamont, R. A., Swift, H. J., & Abrams, D., (2015). A review and meta-analysis of age-based stereotype threat: Negative stereotypes, not facts, do the damage. Psychology and Aging, 30(1), 180–193. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038586
Levy, S. R., (2018). Toward reducing ageism: PEACE (Positive Education about Aging and Contact Experiences) model. The Gerontologist, 58(2), 226–232. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnw116
Levy, & Banaji. (2002). Implicit ageism. In T. D. Nelson (Ed.), Ageism: Stereotyping and prejudice against older persons (pp. 49–75). The MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/10679.001.0001
Levy, B. R., Hausdorff, J. M., Hencke, R., & Wei, J. Y., (2000). Reducing cardiovascular stress with positive self-stereotypes of aging. The Journals of Gerontology Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 55(4), 205–P213. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/55.4.p205
Levy, B., & Langer, E., (1994). Aging free from negative stereotypes: Successful memory in China and among the American deaf. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(6), 989–997. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.66.6.989
Lewis, T. T., & Van Dyke, M. E., (2018). Discrimination and the health of African Americans: The potential importance of intersectionalities. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(3), 176–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721418770442
Lu, P., Kong, D., Shelley, M., & Davitt, J. K., (2022). Intersectional discrimination attributions and health outcomes among American older adults: A latent class analysis. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 95(3), 267–285. https://doi.org/10.1177/00914150211066560
Madan, A. K., Aliabadi-Wahle, S., & Beech, D. J., (2001). Ageism in medical students’ treatment recommendations: The example of breast-conserving procedures. Academic Medicine, 76(3), 282–284. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-200103000-00019
Marchini, L., Ettinger, R., Chen, X., Kossioni, A., Tan, H., Tada, S., Ikebe, K., Dosumu, E. B., Oginni, F. O., Akeredolu, P. A., Butali, A., Donnelly, L., Brondani, M., Fritzsch, B., & Adeola, H. A., (2018). Geriatric dentistry education and context in a selection of countries in 5 continents. Special Care in Dentistry, 38(3), 123–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/scd.12281
Marques, S., Mariano, J., Mendonça, J., De Tavernier, W., Hess, M., Naegele, L., Peixeiro, F., & Martins, D., (2020). Determinants of ageism against older adults: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7), 2560. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072560
Marquet, M. T., Vallet, G., Adam, S., & Missotten, P., (2022). Ageism among psychology students: A comparative analysis between Belgium and Quebec (Canada). L’Année Psychologique, 122(4), 589–612. https://doi.org/10.3917/anpsy1.224.0589
Missotten, P., Adam, S., & Schroyen, S., (2016). Ageism and youthism: Healthcare professionals disregard the consequences. VUBPRESS.
Nelson, T. D., (2004). Ageism: Stereotyping and prejudice against older persons. MIT press.
Nitschke, I., Gegner, U., Hopfenmüller, W., Sobotta, B. A. J., & Jockusch, J., (2022). Student perceptions of age and ageing-an evaluation of Swiss dental students receiving education in gerodontology. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 7480. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127480
Palmore, E., (2001). The ageism survey: First findings. The Gerontologist, 41(5), 572–575. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/41.5.572
Partnership for Health in Aging Workgroup on Interdisciplinary Team Training in Geriatrics. (2014). Position statement on interdisciplinary team training in geriatrics: An essential component of quality health care for older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 62(5), 961–965. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.12822
Piaton, S., Barlow, P., Kossioni, A., Tubert-Jeannin, S., & Marchini, L., (2022). Translation and preliminary validation of a French version of an ageism scale for dental students. Gerodontology, 39(3), 291–296. https://doi.org/10.1111/ger.12583
Piaton, S., Roger Leroi, V., & Vallet, G. T., (2023). Specific form of ageism in dental care: Convergent validity of the ageism scale for dental students and its implications for education. European Journal of Dental Education, 27(2), 368–373. https://doi.org/10.1111/eje.12817
Popovac, A., Pficer, J. K., Stančić, I., Vuković, A., Marchini, L., & Kossioni, A., (2022). Translation and preliminary validation of the Serbian version of an ageism scale for dental students (ASDS-Serb). Special Care in Dentistry, 42(2), 160–169. https://doi.org/10.1111/scd.12656
Rocha, N., Maia, R. D. S., Marques, G. M. V., & Bandeira, R. L., (2022). Intersectionalities and old Age: Ageism in the crossroads of race, gender, and age. In L., Dutra-Thomé, D. F., Rabelo, D., Ramos, & E. F., Góes (Eds.), Racism and human development (pp. 163–172). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83545-3_12
Rosencranz, H. A., & McNevin, T. E., (1969). A factor analysis of attitudes toward the aged. The Gerontologist, 9(1), 55–59. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/9.1.55
Rucker, R., Barlow, P. B., Bertolini Fernandes Dos Santos, M., Carrera Malhao, E., Kossioni, A., & Marchini, L., (2020). Translation and preliminary validation of an ageism scale for dental students in Brazil (ASDS-Braz). Gerodontology, 37(1), 87–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/ger.12459
Rucker, R., Barlow, P. B., Hartshorn, J., Kaufman, L., Smith, B., Kossioni, A., & Marchini, L., (2018). Development and preliminary validation of an ageism scale for dental students. Special Care in Dentistry, 38(1), 31–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/scd.12259
Sabin, J. A., (2022). Tackling implicit bias in health care. The New England Journal of Medicine, 387(2), 105–107. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2201180
São José, J. M. S., Amado, C. A. F., Ilinca, S., Buttigieg, S. C., & Taghizadeh Larsson, A., (2019). Ageism in health care: A systematic review of operational definitions and inductive conceptualizations. The Gerontologist, 59(2), e98–e108. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnx020
Schroyen, S., Missotten, P., Jerusalem, G., Gilles, C., & Adam, S., (2016). Ageism and caring attitudes among nurses in oncology. International Psychogeriatrics, 28(5), 749–757. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610215001970
Taylor, D., & Richards, D., (2019). Triple jeopardy: Complexities of Racism, Sexism, and ageism on the experiences of mental health stigma among young Canadian black women of Caribbean descent. Frontiers in Sociology, 4, 43. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2019.00043
Veenstra, L., Barlow, P., Kossioni, A., Popescu, S. M., Mercut, V., Tuculina, M. J., Scrieciu, M., Stanusi, A., & Marchini, L., (2021). Translation and validation of the ageism scale for dental students in Romanian (ASDS-Rom). European Journal of Dental Education, 25(1), 12–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/eje.12572
Warpeha, W. S.,Jr. (2011). Expanding prosthodontic services to the older patient in dental practices. Northwest Dentistry, 90(6), 21–24.
Wiseman, D., (2007). Patient characteristics that impact healthcare resource allocation choices: Relative impact of mental illness, age, and parental status. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37(9), 2072–2085. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2007.00251.x
