PARTICIPATION IN A COURSE ON AGING: KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND ANXIETY ABOUT AGING IN ONESELF AND OTHERS

Knowledge, anxiety, and attitudes about older adults and one's own aging were assessed in 256 college students. The Facts on Aging Quiz (Palmore, 1988), the Knowledge of Aging and the Elderly Quiz (Kline, Scialfa, Stier, & Babbitt, 1990), the Anxiety about Aging Scale (Lasher & Faulkend...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Educational gerontology 2001-12, Vol.27 (8), p.657-667
Main Author: Dollinger, Lori A. Harris, Stephanie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging (Individuals)
Anxiety
Biological and medical sciences
College Students
Knowledge Level
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Outcomes of Education
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Self Concept
Student Attitudes
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Summary:Knowledge, anxiety, and attitudes about older adults and one's own aging were assessed in 256 college students. The Facts on Aging Quiz (Palmore, 1988), the Knowledge of Aging and the Elderly Quiz (Kline, Scialfa, Stier, & Babbitt, 1990), the Anxiety about Aging Scale (Lasher & Faulkender, 1993) and the Aging Semantic Differential (Rosencranz & McNevin, 1969) were administered at the end of the semester to students enrolled in an upper level psychology course on aging and students enrolled in an introductory psychology course (who had never had a course on aging). Comparisons of those finishing the psychology of aging course and those never having taken a course on aging revealed significant differences in knowledge of aging and the elderly and attitudes toward the average 70-year-old. Interestingly, the two groups of students did not differ in personal anxiety about aging and attitudes about one's own aging. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to attitudinal judgments of oneself versus others and the differential benefits of education for attitudes and anxiety about other old adults versus attitudes and anxiety about one's own aging.
ISSN:0360-1277
1521-0472
DOI:10.1080/036012701317117893