Multidimensional Inventory of Ageism (MIA)

This registration refers to the description and scoring procedures of a new instrument, the Multidimensional Inventory of Ageism (MIA). It is not linked to a specific empirical study or dataset. The MIA is a newly developed, comprehensive assessment tool designed for use with adult populations and grounded in a multidimensional conceptualisation of ageism. The instrument was developed to capture ageism as a complex construct encompassing stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. It is organised into seven parts. Specifically, Part I assesses age-related stereotypes through free association tasks and perceptions of the onset of old age. Part II evaluates explicit ageism, covering stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, as well as age awareness, perceived stability of ageism, and subjective age. Part III assesses knowledge about aging, addressing common misconceptions and factual understanding of the aging process. Part IV examines implicit age-related stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination using indirect, image-based measures. Part V explores key determinants of ageism, including satisfaction with one’s health, fear of death, and contact with children. Part VI assesses perceived ageism in society, focusing on personal experiences of and exposure to ageism directed toward both older and younger people. Part VII collects participants’ reflections on the contribution of an intervention programme and is administered only when the MIA is used to evaluate intervention efficacy. This registration also details the scoring procedures for each part of the instrument, including the calculation of composite indices, such as the total MIA score and the explicit ageism score. Across all indices, higher scores indicate lower levels of ageism.