The Influence of the Intergenerational Relationship on the Academic Performance of Young and Old College Students

The literature on intergroup relationships [1] offers two important approaches that can be used to reduce ageism or discrimination against aging and old people: the contact hypothesis and attitudes [2,3] and the multicultural perspective [4]. In fact, researchers have highlighted that quality contact with persons not belonging to the same group is the factor that most influences reduction in discrimination [5,6]. However, literature about multicultural factors, as a rule, generally discusses racism or sexism, and the multiage perspective is considered secondarily [5]. Beyond the gains of intergenerational relationships that may reduce or eradicate age discrimination (both from young people towards old people and from old people towards young people), there is a similar scarcity of studies to validate how intergroup contact (i.e., intergenerational) and promotion of age diversity can increase academic performance among young and old people.