Age differences in supportive reactions toward a person in need: A quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Age differences in social support have been studied almost exclusively with regard to the older adults’ role as support recipients, whereas the influence of support providers’ age has not received much attention. A few experimental studies indicate that the willingness to help others (e.g., by giving donations) increases with age. However, studies are lacking which extend these findings to less clear-cut situational contexts, for example, to supporting victims of a critical life event and which, in addition, systematically investigate social cognitive and affective reactions as mediators of age differences. Using a quasi-experimental design, N 1/4 452 older vs. middle-aged participants (61 to 78 vs. 34 to 52 years old, respectively) read fictitious scenarios describing a protagonist who asked for support in dealing with the diagnosis of a severe illness. Protagonist’s age was varied between participants (70 vs. 40 years). Independent of protagonist’s age, older participants (compared to middle-aged) were more willing to provide emotion-focused support, but were less willing to discuss the illness in detail (problem-focused support), and they showed a higher tendency to withdraw and to distance themselves from the protagonist. Age differences in emotion-focused support were mediated by the older adults’ higher self-ascribed competence in providing support.