Perceived Normal and Pathological Aging? A Cross-cultural Comparison Between French and Congolese

Despite well-established cultural nuances regarding the perception of aging, there is a paucity of research specifically examining how different cultures distinguish between normal aging processes and pathological conditions in older adults. The present study aimed to offer insights into the socio-cultural influences on this distinction. It addressed this gap by comparing the perception of 516 French and 210 Congolese individuals. A specially designed 55-item questionnaire depicting various situations involving older individuals was administered in paper format. Participants assessed each situation on a Likert-type scale as indicative of either normal or pathological aging. The situations depicted cognitive, behavioral, and emotional changes commonly associated with neurocognitive disorders as an illustration of pathological aging. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and linear regression modeling. In line with our hypothesis, French participants rated more severely the situations compared to Congolese participants. Moreover, French participants performed better in differentiating between situations illustrating normal or pathological aging, while Congolese individuals considered all situations as reflecting normal aging. This research showed that perception of normal or pathological behavior in aging is not universally shared across cultures. It also revealed that the general population lacks scientific knowledge on normal and pathological aging, outlining a need for improvement regarding public education. Differences between populations also suggest that public education should be specifically tailored and contextualized to improve knowledge on aging. We encourage further studies on African populations from a neuropsychological perspective for better representativeness of the human species and to facilitate access to unbiased scientific knowledge.