Illuminating gendered ageism with the WHO ageism experiences scale: a psychometric analysis and gender comparisons in a multi-country dataset.
10 affiliations
- 1Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
- 2HelpAge Moldova, Chisinau, Moldova.
- 3HelpAge International, Latin America and the Caribbean Region, Colombia.
- 4Colombian Network for Dignified and Active Ageing (RedCoenve), Bogotá, Colombia.
- 5Alsafwa Charity Organization, Tripoli, Libya.
- 6University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya.
- 7National Center for Disease Control, Tripoli, Libya.
- 8HelpAge International, London, UK.
- 9University for Seniors Program, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
- 10Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. [email protected].
Abstract
Gendered ageism has been highlighted as an important global challenge, and progress in understanding and addressing it requires measures of ageism that are reliable, valid, and comparable across genders. However, there has been little examination of the extent to which existing measurement tools for ageism are appropriate for use within and for comparing ageism across genders. We used data collected across four diverse country contexts, Moldova, Colombia, Libya, and China (N = 1675), to examine the properties of the WHO Ageism Experiences Scale with respect to its capability for comparing ageism across genders and for illuminating selected aspects of gendered ageism - specifically, whether the scale functions equivalently across gender groups and whether men and women differ in their levels of ageism experiences and in the associations between ageism and health. Findings supported the gender measurement invariance of the scale across the reflective indicators. Results also indicated no significant differences in the levels of ageism experienced by women versus men in these contexts. However, the associations between ageism and health-related outcomes were significantly stronger for men than for women. The results supported the use of the WHO Ageism Experiences Scale across genders and highlighted a complex relationship between gender and ageism. These findings suggested that while experiences of ageism may not differ significantly between men and women, the consequences of ageism for health outcomes may vary, underlining the need for further research to better understand gendered dynamics in ageism.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026illuminating,
title = {{Illuminating gendered ageism with the WHO ageism experiences scale: a psychometric analysis and gender comparisons in a multi-country dataset.}},
author = {Xuefei Li and Tatiana Sorocan and Dina Ciubotaru and Diana Malasevschi and Viorica Zatic and Alla Constantinova and Marcela Bustamante and Nelson Andrés Tamayo and Deinedt Castellanos and Ahmed Alameen and Raja Alagaili and Jebril Gebril and Maya Abi Chahine and Aidan Timlin and Annie Wright and Aja Louise Murray},
journal = {BMC geriatrics},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12877-026-07898-6},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42928112},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Illuminating gendered ageism with the WHO ageism experiences scale: a psychometric analysis and gender comparisons in a multi-country dataset.
AU - Xuefei Li
AU - Tatiana Sorocan
AU - Dina Ciubotaru
AU - Diana Malasevschi
AU - Viorica Zatic
AU - Alla Constantinova
AU - Marcela Bustamante
AU - Nelson Andrés Tamayo
AU - Deinedt Castellanos
AU - Ahmed Alameen
AU - Raja Alagaili
AU - Jebril Gebril
AU - Maya Abi Chahine
AU - Aidan Timlin
AU - Annie Wright
AU - Aja Louise Murray
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/28
JO - BMC geriatrics
DO - 10.1186/s12877-026-07898-6
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42928112
AB - Gendered ageism has been highlighted as an important global challenge, and progress in understanding and addressing it requires measures of ageism that are reliable, valid, and comparable across genders. However, there has been little examination of the extent to which existing measurement tools for ageism are appropriate for use within and for comparing ageism across genders. We used data collected across four diverse country contexts, Moldova, Colombia, Libya, and China (N = 1675), to examine the properties of the WHO Ageism Experiences Scale with respect to its capability for comparing ageism across genders and for illuminating selected aspects of gendered ageism - specifically, whether the scale functions equivalently across gender groups and whether men and women differ in their levels of ageism experiences and in the associations between ageism and health. Findings supported the gender measurement invariance of the scale across the reflective indicators. Results also indicated no significant differences in the levels of ageism experienced by women versus men in these contexts. However, the associations between ageism and health-related outcomes were significantly stronger for men than for women. The results supported the use of the WHO Ageism Experiences Scale across genders and highlighted a complex relationship between gender and ageism. These findings suggested that while experiences of ageism may not differ significantly between men and women, the consequences of ageism for health outcomes may vary, underlining the need for further research to better understand gendered dynamics in ageism.
SN - 1471-2318
ER -