Table 3.
Mean aging perceptions by culture
| Perceptions of Aging (POA) |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Culture | Attractive | Everyday Tasks |
New Learning |
General Knowledge |
Wisdom | Received Respect |
Family Authority |
Life Satisfaction |
Societal Views |
| Argentina | −1.4 (0.7) | −0.6 (1.0) | −1.1 (0.8) | 0.7 (1.2) | 1.0 (0.8) | 0.3 (1.3) | −0.2 (1.2) | −0.2 (1.0) | −0.9 (0.9) |
| Australia | −1.3 (0.7) | −1.0 (0.9) | −0.6 (1.0) | 1.4 (0.8) | 1.4 (0.6) | 0.9 (1.0) | 0.6 (1.3) | 0.5 (0.9) | −0.3 (0.8) |
| Chile | −1.5 (0.7) | −0.9 (0.8) | −1.0 (0.9) | 1.0 (1.1) | 1.3 (0.9) | 0.7 (1.2) | 0.2 (1.2) | 0.2 (1.1) | −0.8 (0.8) |
| Croatia | −1.3 (0.8) | −1.0 (0.7) | −1.3 (0.7) | 0.6 (1.0) | 1.4 (0.7) | 0.8 (1.1) | 0.4 (1.2) | −0.6 (0.9) | −0.7 (0.7) |
| Czech Republic | −1.4 (0.6) | −0.8 (0.8) | −1.3 (0.8) | 0.1 (1.0) | 0.6 (1.0) | 0.4 (1.1) | 0.1 (1.0) | −0.4 (0.9) | −0.8 (0.7) |
| UK | −1.5 (0.7) | −1.0 (0.8) | −0.9 (0.6) | 1.2 (0.9) | 1.3 (0.8) | 0.5 (1.2) | 0.3 (1.2) | 0.1 (0.9) | −0.8 (0.9) |
| Estonia | −1.2 (0.7) | −0.4 (0.9) | −0.9 (0.9) | 1.2 (0.9) | 1.6 (0.6) | 1.2 (0.7) | 0.4 (1.0) | −0.1 (0.9) | −0.2 (0.8) |
| France | −1.4 (0.8) | −1.1 (0.6) | −1.0 (0.8) | 0.7 (1.1) | 1.0 (0.8) | 0.5 (1.3) | −0.1 (1.1) | −0.3 (0.9) | −0.8 (0.8) |
| Hong Kong | −1.2 (0.9) | −0.6 (1.0) | −1.2 (0.7) | 0.5 (1.0) | 0.4 (1.0) | 0.8 (1.0) | 0.6 (1.0) | 0.1 (1.0) | −0.3 (0.8) |
| India | −1.3 (0.8) | −0.6 (1.1) | −0.1 (1.4) | 0.6 (1.2) | 0.5 (1.2) | 1.1 (1.2) | 0.8 (1.2) | 0.1 (1.2) | 0.3 (1.3) |
| I.R. Iran | −1.6 (0.7) | −1.0 (0.8) | −1.4 (0.7) | 0.3 (1.2) | 0.5 (1.2) | 1.3 (1.0) | 0.7 (1.2) | −0.6 (1.1) | −0.3 (1.1) |
| Italy | −1.5 (0.9) | −1.1 (0.8) | −0.8 (1.1) | 1.1 (1.0) | 1.6 (0.8) | 1.2 (1.1) | 0.4 (1.3) | 0.0 (1.1) | −0.5 (1.0) |
| Japan | −1.4 (0.8) | −0.7 (0.8) | −0.9 (1.0) | 1.1 (0.9) | 1.1 (0.8) | 1.0 (0.8) | 0.2 (1.0) | 0.0 (1.0) | −0.5 (0.9) |
| Mainland China | −1.4 (0.9) | −0.4 (1.2) | −1.1 (0.8) | 1.1 (0.8) | 1.0 (1.0) | 1.4 (0.8) | 1.3 (0.9) | 0.5 (1.1) | 0.3 (1.0) |
| Malaysia | −1.3 (0.9) | 0.0 (1.4) | −0.5 (1.1) | 0.9 (1.2) | 0.4 (1.2) | 1.3 (1.0) | 1.0 (1.1) | 0.5 (1.2) | 0.2 (1.0) |
| New Zealand | −1.4 (0.8) | −0.6 (1.1) | −0.7 (0.8) | 1.3 (0.9) | 1.4 (0.8) | 1.1 (1.0) | 0.7 (1.2) | 0.5 (1.1) | 0.1 (1.0) |
| Peru | −1.3 (0.8) | −0.7 (1.2) | −0.6 (1.1) | 0.8 (1.3) | 1.2 (1.1) | 0.9 (1.1) | 0.3 (1.3) | 0.4 (1.2) | −0.5 (0.9) |
| Poland | −1.5 (0.6) | −0.8 (1.0) | −1.2 (0.8) | 0.4 (1.1) | 0.9 (1.0) | 0.7 (1.1) | 0.9 (1.0) | −0.5 (0.9) | −0.5 (0.9) |
| Portugal | −1.4 (0.8) | −0.7 (0.9) | −0.9 (0.6) | 1.0 (0.9) | 1.2 (0.9) | 1.0 (0.9) | 0.3 (1.1) | −0.2 (0.9) | −0.7 (0.8) |
| Russian Federation | −1.1 (1.0) | −0.4 (1.1) | −0.9 (1.1) | 1.2 (1.1) | 1.6 (0.7) | 1.0 (0.9) | 0.7 (1.1) | −0.3 (1.0) | 0.2 (0.9) |
| South Korea | −1.5 (0.7) | −1.2 (0.7) | −1.2 (0.8) | 0.5 (1.2) | 1.0 (1.0) | 0.7 (0.9) | −0.2 (1.1) | −0.2 (1.0) | −0.2 (0.9) |
| Serbia | −1.3 (0.8) | −0.7 (1.1) | −1.2 (0.8) | 0.6 (1.2) | 0.9 (0.9) | 0.7 (1.2) | 0.1 (1.3) | −0.7 (1.0) | −1.1 (0.9) |
| Slovakia | −1.3 (0.7) | −0.9 (0.6) | −1.3 (0.6) | 0.1 (1.0) | 0.4 (0.8) | 0.5 (1.0) | 0.2 (1.0) | −0.8 (0.8) | −0.5 (0.7) |
| Switzerland | −1.5 (0.7) | −0.7 (1.1) | −1.1 (0.7) | 0.6 (1.0) | 0.9 (0.8) | 0.5 (1.2) | −0.3 (1.1) | −0.2 (0.9) | −0.4 (0.9) |
| Uganda | −1.6 (0.8) | −1.4 (1.1) | −0.8 (1.2) | 0.6 (1.3) | 1.1 (1.2) | 1.7 (0.7) | 0.9 (1.3) | 0.5 (1.2) | −0.1 (1.1) |
| United States | −1.3 (0.9) | −0.6 (1.1) | −0.6 (0.9) | 1.4 (0.8) | 1.5 (0.7) | 1.1 (1.1) | 0.8 (1.1) | 0.4 (1.1) | −0.6 (0.9) |
Note: SDs are shown in parentheses. Perceptions of aging were rated on a scale from −2 = “decreases a lot” to 2 = “increases a lot.” Perceived societal views on aging were rated on a scale from −2 = “very negative” to 2 = “very positive.” Mean scores are weighted to account for unequal gender distribution across cultures.