Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE): A measure of self-reported ageism

The Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE) is a 20-item questionnaire that measures positive and negative ageist behaviors that people may engage in during everyday life. In this article, we report the first findings from several administrations of the ROPE along with initial psychometric information on the instrument. Respondents were college students, community-dwelling older adults, and persons affiliated with a university community. Results indicate that most people of all ages readily admit to positive ageist behaviors. Younger and older adults appear to participate in similar amounts of ageist behavior. Analyses by gender indicated that women endorsed the positive ageism items more often than did men. Psychometric analyses yielded estimates of adequate test-retest reliability and internal consistency reliability. Implications for current views of ageism as a social phenomenon and strategies for reducing ageist behaviors in everyday life are discussed.