Perceptions of the Human Life-Span: A Cross-National Approach

Perceptions of aging were obtained from three age groups: adolescents, young adults, and adults. Male and female Americans and South Africans ranging in age from 15 to 40 years provided words to describe eight age decades of the human life-span. Responses were coded for positive, neutral, and negative perceptions of the eight age-stages. A repeated measures analysis of variance tested for differing patterns of responses between the age and national groups. Main effects for nation, age group, and age-stage were significant. An absence of significant interactions suggested that the developmental pattern of perceptions of age-stages across the human life-span was comparable in the two nation states. The three age groups expressed similar perceptions of aging, although adults viewed aging more positively than did adolescents and young adults.