041 Chapter 4 Pre-workshop beliefs about ageing and older adults Figure 9. ERA-12 statements most frequently disagreed / agreed with before the workshop ‘It’s normal to be depressed when you are old’ Pre-workshop 14% 86% ‘Being lonely is just something that happens when people get old’ Pre-workshop 19% 81% ‘I expect that as I get older I will spend less time with friends and family’ Pre-workshop 20% 80% ‘Having more aches and pains is an accepted part of ageing’ Pre-workshop 64% 37% ‘The human body is like a car: when it gets old, it gets worn out’ Pre-workshop 66% 34% Agreed Disagreed Most respondents held the view that mental health does not necessarily decline in older age. The statements connecting ageing with social and emotional changes, such as loneliness, social isolation and depression, were regarded by most respondents to be at least somewhat false. In contrast, they tended to agree with the statements suggesting that physical health challenges are an expected part of ageing. 64% believed that having more aches and pains is a normal part of ageing and 66% agreed with the statement likening the human body to a car that gets worn out as it gets older. The only exception was the expectation that as people aged, they need to lower their expectations of how healthy they can be. Most respondents (73%) found this idea to be at least somewhat false.