The number of college admissions for older adults has increased at less than expected rates, impacting older individuals by depriving them of educational benefits which promote successful aging, and by depriving society of the benefits of these individuals' wisdom and experience. According to successful aging theory, successful aging includes the…

This evidence-based pedagogical approach encompasses service-learning projects via the lens of social exchange theory in working with older adults. The study's purpose was to examine if bachelor of social work students' attitudes changed positively after the completion of service learning projects that involved educational presentations for older…

The present study assessed knowledge of aging, ageism, and attitudes toward aging in undergraduate recreation and law enforcement majors. Past research with psychology, social work, and nursing majors showed that greater knowledge of aging was related to fewer ageist attitudes and beliefs. The results showed that law enforcement students possessed…

As the population ages, so does the number of older patients encountered by paramedics. It is vital that paramedics are adequately prepared to meet the unique and growing needs of these patients. Experience and education play key roles in the formation of attitudes that impact behavior, and ultimately patient care. The aim of this study was to…

Intergenerational interactions have demonstrated some success at improving attitudes of college students toward older adults. This quasiexperimental study involved undergraduate college students paired with older adults for a six-week e-mail exchange. Student attitudes toward older adults were measured pre- and posttest with Polizzi's revised…

Attitudes toward older people can influence how they are treated and their cognitive and physical health. The populations of the United States and many other countries have become more ethnically diverse, and are aging. Yet little research examines how ethnic diversity affects attitudes toward older people. Our study addresses this research gap.…

Two studies were conducted to reexamine the psychometric properties of two major scales measuring attitudes toward older adults. The Kogan Attitudes Toward Old People Scale (Kogan OP Scale; Kogan, 1961b) was administered to a sample of 512 college students in Study One. The refined version (Polizzi & Millikin, 2002) of the Aging Semantic…

The University of Saskatchewan's Longitudinal Elderly Person Shadowing (LEPS) is an interprofessional senior mentors program (SMP) where teams of undergraduate students in their first year of medicine, pharmacy, and physiotherapy; 2nd year of nutrition; 3rd year nursing; and 4th year social work partner with community-dwelling older adults.…

The present study used the German Aging Semantic Differential (ASD) to assess attitudes toward younger and older adults in a heterogeneous sample of n = 151 younger and n = 143 older adults. The questionnaire was administered in two versions, one referring to the evaluation of younger adults, the other to the evaluation of older adults.…

General practitioners (GPs) need advanced skills in geriatric assessment to be competent to treat the increasing number of elderly patients. Continuing medical education in geriatrics for GPs is heterogeneous, and not assessed for effectiveness. In this study we compared the educational effects of three geriatric post-graduate training methods on…

Review of studies using the Aging Semantic Differential to measure attitudes toward the elderly identified problems: familiarity and variety of objects, men-only design, and age of the instrument. Ways to refine it include updating adjectives and their positions, identifying attitudinal objects, and accounting for gender differences. (SK)

Sophomore (n=31) and senior (n=24) gerontology students completed the Aging Semantic Differential at the beginning of the semester and after conducting life-history interviews with older adults. Significant positive attitude changes resulted; the interviews were specifically cited as influencing changes. (Contains 33 references.) (SK)

Using an updated version of the Aging Semantic Differential, 534 younger, middle age, and older participants from a college community rated female and male targets categorized as ages 21-34 and 75-85. Participants also provided views about their own aging. Repeated measures of analysis of variance examined attitudinal differences by age and gender…