Objectives: In aging societies, promoting the well-being and autonomy of older adults is a critical objective. This research investigates the "paradox of help," a form of benevolent ageism characterized by the preferential offering of dependency-oriented support to older adults over autonomy-oriented support. The study was designed to systematically identify this phenomenon, assess its consequences for well-being, and test a targeted intervention.


Methods: A three-phase research program comprising ten studies was implemented. Phase 1 (Phenomenon Identification) utilized computational text analysis of 14,058 charity projects and two vignette experiments (N = 400) to quantify the behavioral bias towards dependency-oriented support for older adults. Phase 2 (Impact Assessment) employed an online vignette experiment (N = 198), a three-wave longitudinal survey (N=222) and a dyadic field experiment (N=113 elder-youth pairs) to determine the causal impact of different helping strategies on older adults' well-being. Phase 3 (Mechanism and Intervention) used two controlled online experiments (N = 599) to isolate the underlying psychological drivers (i.e., competence attributions), followed by a randomized field intervention (N=109 pairs) testing a video-based solution and its subsequent effects on helping behavior and elderly recipients' well-being.


Results: A consistent behavioral bias toward providing dependency-oriented help to older adults was empirically confirmed. Autonomy-oriented help, however, significantly predicted greater well-being and more positive aging attitudes. The helping bias was causally linked to attributions of incompetence. The intervention successfully increased the provision of autonomy-oriented support and produced corresponding improvements in the recipients' well-being.


Conclusion: By integrating computational, longitudinal, and experimental methods, this research provides a rigorous, multi-faceted validation of the "paradox of help." The findings offer an evidence-based, scalable intervention strategy that moves beyond simple aid to foster genuine autonomy, thereby informing policies aimed at improving the quality of life for aging populations.