Age-Discrepant Couples Involving an Older Adult: The Final Frontier of Ageism? Attitudes in Eight Latin American Countries

ABSTRACT

This study aims to explore attitudes towards age-discrepant relationships and examine the influence of variables such as gender, generation and culture on such attitudes. The sample was made up of 1,510 participants divided into three age groups (18–29, 60–69 and 70 years and over) from eight Latin American countries. Participants’ answers to two incomplete sentences regarding age-discrepant couples were content analyzed and a series of binary logistic regressions were run to test the association of the resulting categories with the independent variables included in the study. Results showed that attitudes towards age-discrepant relationships were fairly evenly split between acceptance (44.8%) and rejection (41.3%). Participants’ attitudes were significantly associated with gender, generation and culture. Findings from this study suggest that negative attitudes towards age-discrepant couples are pervasive, accounting for almost 50% of responses. A broader, more inclusive view of relationships between generations should be promoted, particularly among younger generations.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexuality in later life
• gender differences
• generational differences
• cultural differences
• Latin America