Knowledge: Attitudes about Aging and Aging Anxiety by By Linda J. Allan and James A. Johnson

1547 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Older adult interview

Knowledge

UNDERGRADUATE ATTITUDES TOWARD THE ELDERLY: THE ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE, CONTACT AND AGING ANXIETY. By Linda J. Allan and James A. Johnson

The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between attitudes about aging and aging anxiety. The focus of the study was to determine the role that aging anxiety plays a mediator between experiences. The experiences focused on were in the form of factual knowledge and contact with the elderly.
The participants were 113 undergraduates at a Canadian University. The ages ranged from 17 to 49 years in age. More than half of the participants however were under the age of 20.The participants were 81 women and 29 men. Most participants reported ethnicity as White (77.9%). Other ethnicities reported were Asian (9.7%), native (3.5%) and other (8.8%).
The participants consented to and completed a questionnaire packet which included the following:
1. A demographics questionnaire consisting of Age and Gender.
2. A questionnaire on their contact with older persons.
3. The Fraboni Scale on Ageism (FSA) developed by Fraboni, Saltstone, and Huges (1990). The scale serves to gauge levels of ageist attitudes with lower scores indicating more ageist attitudes.
4. The Anxiety about Aging Scale (AAS) Lasher & Faulkender (1993).The scale served to gauge levels of anxiety about aging, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety about aging.
5. The Palmore Facts on Aging Quiz 1 (FAQ1) developed by Harris et al., 1996). The quiz served to gauge the participant’s knowledge of aging. The multiple choice version was used to decrease measurement error.
The average score on the Palamore’s FAQ was 47.68%. According to Allen and Johnson that was an indicator of poor knowledge of aging. The research gives si...

... middle of paper ...

....
Rupp, D. E., Vodanovich, S. J., & Credé, M. (2005). The multidimensional nature of ageism: Construct validity and group differences. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145(3), 335–362. http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/SOCP.145.3.335-362.
Schwartz, L. K., & Simmons, J. P. (2001). Contact quality and attitudes toward the elderly. Educational Gerontology, 27, 127–137. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ 03601270151075525.
Van Dussen, D. J., & Weaver, R. R. (2009). Undergraduate students’ perceptions and behaviors related to the aged and to aging processes. Educational Gerontology, 35, 340–355. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03601270802612255.
Sullivan K. E. (2008). Ageism and the contact hypothesis: The effects of work-related and non-work-related contact on age-related stereotypes (Masters thesis). The University of Texas at Arlington, ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 20081460808.

Show More
Related

  • Successful Aging Elderly (SAE)

    2206 Words  | 5 Pages

    Aging and old age for a long time presented as dominated by negative traits and states such as sickness, depression and isolation. The aging process is not simply senescence most people over the age of 65 are not Senile, bedridden, isolated, or suicidal (Aldwin & Levenson, 1994). This change in perspective led the investigation of the other side of the coin. Ageing is seen as health, maturity and personal Royal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generatively, coping and acceptance of age-related constraints (Birren & Fisher, 1995). Psychological und...

    Read More

  • Examples Of Ageism In To Kill A Mockingbird

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    For an example “The common theme is a fear or a reluctance to hire people under 30, because they are unpredictable, and, ‘they don’t know how to work,’” says Cam Marston (Wooldridge). In the same way this goes along with older people seemly more intelligent, Reliable instead of collage kids which briefly explains why it’s hard to find a job in that sense. Additionally labeling helps discriminate millennia’s especially if from older employees example “Wilkie notes that it’s common for older workers to see younger workers as a threat, and take the easy way out by labeling them as somehow different” (Wooldridge). Hence the reason the older won’t like the younger because of the fear being replaced so they start shaming millennia’s. This is important because ageism is seriously a huge common stereotype in a sense people might judge you on because they feel

    Read More

  • What Is Personality Structure And Aging Style?

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    An individual’s personality and character structure portrays a major reflection of how they age. Personality style and character structure both incorporate the conscious and unconscious motivational, cognitive and affective mental states, as well as defense mechanisms (Silver 1992). Biopsychosocial factors-broken down into biological, psychological, and sociocultural-also play a huge role in personality and aging (Notes 10/08). Some examples of biological factors are health, genetics, and physiological function. Thoughts, feelings, and emotions would be considered psychological factors. Sociocultural factors include family, religion and community. Additionally, people endure unique experiences and circumstances throughout their life course,

    Read More

  • Older Adult Interview Paper

    1621 Words  | 4 Pages

    An interview was arranged with an older adult to discuss issues related to aging. The interview was designed to gain appreciation and understanding of an older adult. One theory of aging came into mind when I thought about this topic. Erik Erikson Life-Course and Personality Development theory, “Erikson described the task of old age as balancing the search for integrity and wholeness with a sense of despair.” NS is the older adult that I conducted the interview with. I’ve decided to pick NS to interview because she is very positive about life and her age. Everything that I have come across about aging is negative such as depression, isolation, and illness.

    Read More

  • Perspective of Aging: A Phenomenological Approach

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hiller, S. M., & Barrow, G. M. (2011). Aging, the individual, and society. (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

    Read More

  • Ageism In American Culture

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    certain age. Studies of ageist attitudes tend to focus on negative aspects and also have a positive

    Read More

  • Human Behavior and the Social Environment: A Look at Three Theories

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hooyman, N., & Kiyak, H. A. (2011). Social gerontology: A multidisciplinary perspective (9th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. (Original work published 2005)

    Read More

  • Essay On Ageism

    1504 Words  | 4 Pages

    The term “ageism” is not easily understood by most of the population because of its acceptance as normal behavior due to the ingrained attitudes that most people develop in their youth, but health care workers must fully embrace the term within their profession in order to avoid becoming a contributor to the historical prevalence of prejudices and discrimination. The term ageism is defined by Klein and Liu (2010) as “the discrimination of individuals based solely on age” (p. 334). “Ageism is a social construct that is internalized in the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of individuals” (Klein & Liu, 2010, p. 334). Robert Butler, a well-known gerontologist, coined the term “ageism” citing that the discrimination and prejudice associated with this term is often based on the lack of a person’s experience with older people (Ferrini & Ferrini, 2013, p. 6). Ferrini and Ferrini (2013) refer to the strong influence that cultural beliefs and attitudes as well as a person’s current age influence the perception of aging (p. 6). Everywhere within society there are influences that encourage ageist attitudes such as media conveyances through movies, books, television, greeting cards, magazines and the Internet (Ferrini and Ferrini, 2013, p. 6). These negative connotations related to growing older begin to influence all people at a very young age and therefore impact their attitudes as they make career decisions. This has directly impacted the number of health care providers who specialize in geriatrics as well as the attitudes of those who do provide services for older adults. These false perceptions and negative attitudes are currently impacting the q...

    Read More

  • Interview With Older Adults Essay

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    Older adults are a very knowledgeable population and have had a lot of life experiences. As people age, things start to change physically, mentally, and socially. It’s important to understand the process of aging, so that older adults can be taken care of properly. I interviewed P.R. who is a 71-year-old male that lives alone in his home. P.R. is a retired coal miner, and is currently living off his social security and savings. He lives close to both his daughter and son, who frequently help him out with things that are needed. P.R. was able to give me a lot of insight about specific challenges that he has experienced in his life that is associated with aging. I will be discussing challenges that P.R experienced physically, mentally,

    Read More

  • The Concept Of White Opportunity In Society, By Richard T. Schaefer

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stereotypes that are associated with a group of older individuals might consist of this particular group being less productive than younger workers within the workplace because of the label attached to their age group. Other aspects that are associated with this group is that they are susceptible to contracting Alzheimer’s disease and they are “boring” or “forgetful”, I feel as though this is the most common stereotype. It is quite unfortunate that this type of discrimination still persists. Though, no act of discrimination should exist or be justified. It is evident that one will follow a social cue to fit in with individuals of a certain group. Author Schaefer mentions that social circumstances provide cues for a person’s attitudes. (Schaefer, 2015. Pg. 38). This notion influences others to act in a particular manner in order to receive a positive or negative reaction from individuals in their proximity. These reactions result from acts or expressions of prejudice. The normative approach, a theory of prejudice, is an exemplification of

    Read More

  • Aging Class Reflection

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    I was surprised to learn that successful aging is a combination of physical and functional health, high cognitive functioning, and active involvement with society. It was interesting to learn that these factors could lead to a lower risk of disease and disability. As

    Read More

  • Late Adulthood and Depression

    1568 Words  | 4 Pages

    Late adulthood should be a time in a person's life where they feel fulfilled. They can look back on their memories and be happy with the way they have lived their life. Now, too many elderly people are not satisfied and look at this stage as depressing. Most fear death of either a loved one or for themselves. This topic is interesting to me because elderly people should make the best of their last stage of life. This topic discusses about getting older, the life changes that they go through physically, emotionally, and mentally. We should know more about it so that we can help our family and friends get through one of the best, yet toughest part of our mortal life.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Active Ageing

    1255 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ageing is a continuing life cycle, it is an ongoing developmental event that brings certain changes in one’s own psychological and physical state. It is a time in one's own life where an elderly individual reminisce and reflect, to bask and live on previous accomplishments and begin to finish his life cycle. There is a significant amount of adjusting that requires an elderly individual to be flexible and develop new coping skills to adapt in the changes that are common in their new life. (Dhara & Jogsan, 2013).

    Read More

  • Older Adult Interview

    1545 Words  | 4 Pages

    In an effort to learn about matters of health, illness and understanding the views of what it means to someone who is considered an older adult I interviewed with F.C. using the following five assessment tools. Throughout this paper I will discuss my interview with F.C. entailing a social history, nutritional status, Katz index score of independence in activities of daily living, the results of her mini mental exam, fall prevention scale and a summary of my overall impression.

    Read More

  • Interview With an Elderly Person

    2512 Words  | 6 Pages

    McConatha, J. T., Schnell, F., Volkwein, K., Riley, L., & Leach, E. (2003). Attitudes toward aging: a comparative analysis of young adults from the United States and Germany. International Journal Of Aging & Human Development, 57(3), 203–215.

    Read More

More about Knowledge: Attitudes about Aging and Aging Anxiety by By Linda J. Allan and James A. Johnson

Open Document