A comparative study of the use of phrases and terms mixed with age discrimination and inducing a negative attitude toward the older adults in specialised journals

Abstract

Purpose: A comparative study was carried out to investigate the use of phrases and terms mixed with age discrimination and inducing a negative attitude toward the older adults in specialised journals (Journal of Elderly Health and and the Australian Journal on Aging). Method: In order to design and implement the study stages for critical analysis and comparative study, a qualitative method was applied. The phrases and terms mixed with age discrimination and inducing a negative attitude toward the older adults were ecxtracted from literature review of scientific resources and then a checklist was developed. Furthermore, the viewpoints of experts related to the field of ageing were obtained. Finally, the selected journals were analyzed in terms of using related terms based on the presented checklist. Findings: Thirty-five terms associated with age discrimination were finalized. In most papers, the emphasis was on not using terms "old", "elderly" and "aged". Critical analysis of selected journals showed that out of 22 articles in the Elderly Health Journal, 972 terms related to age discrimination was extracted, the highest frequency was related to the term of ’elderly’. Also, in 154 articles reviewed in the Australian Journal on Aging, 1454 phrases and terms were found, the most frequent were related to the term of ’aged’. Conclusion: In conducting our review, we were immediately struck by how much language structures and reflects our realities. The language of our field becomes powerful in signaling our intellectual preoccupations and some of the assumptions that we make about our subject matter. Some of the topics and terminology that were present in the earlier years have vanished, some have persisted, but most have emerged and taken shape in the last three decades