Adolescents’ Experiences of Anti-Youth Ageism

Ageism against older adults is well documented, but adolescents also experience ageism in ways that remain under-researched. Anti-youth ageism consists of stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination toward adolescents due to their age. This qualitative study aimed to document adolescents’ experiences of anti-youth ageism based on one-on-one interviews with a racially, ethnically and geographically diverse sample of forty 14- to 18-year-olds. Inductive thematic analysis yielded four main themes. First, adolescents observed adults espousing various negative stereotypes about adolescents that form a foundation for anti-youth ageism. Second, adolescents explained how adults’ negative stereotypes translate into unfair treatment of adolescents. Third, adolescents described how adults’ unfair treatment toward adolescents due to age overlays with experiences of racism, cisheterosexism, classism, and ableism. Fourth, adults’ exercise of power over adolescents is a driver of anti-youth ageism. Together, these processes illustrate how anti-youth ageism is a form of oppression faced by adolescents and highlight the need to interrupt these harmful processes.