TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring college students’ attitudes toward older adults
T2 - A description of methods used by the gerontological literacy network
AU - Guest, M. Aaron
AU - Nikzad-Terhune, Katherina
AU - Kruger, Tina M.
AU - Rowles, Graham D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Recognizing the pervasiveness of negative societal attitudes toward aging and older adults is critical, as research indicates how older adults are viewed subsequently influences how they are treated. The Gerontological Literacy Network (GLN) is a multi-university collaboration established to address ingrained beliefs that underlie ageism and gerontophobia. The GLN developed a data-gathering protocol that uses drawing as a foundation to assess the gerontological literacy of college students. The protocol includes drawing what aging means, writing a paragraph describing the drawing, indicating the age at which someone is “old,” and writing words associated with “old person” and “grandma/grandpa.” Results from 1,609 protocols confirm that college students have negative views of aging as depicted in drawings of negative emotional states, illness, physical decline, and death. The presence of positive representations of aging (e.g., smiling) reveals the heterogeneity of perceptions and suggests the potential to achieve more accurate perceptions through educational interventions. This article provides an overview of the protocols and suggestions for future efforts related to gerontophobia and ageism.
AB - Recognizing the pervasiveness of negative societal attitudes toward aging and older adults is critical, as research indicates how older adults are viewed subsequently influences how they are treated. The Gerontological Literacy Network (GLN) is a multi-university collaboration established to address ingrained beliefs that underlie ageism and gerontophobia. The GLN developed a data-gathering protocol that uses drawing as a foundation to assess the gerontological literacy of college students. The protocol includes drawing what aging means, writing a paragraph describing the drawing, indicating the age at which someone is “old,” and writing words associated with “old person” and “grandma/grandpa.” Results from 1,609 protocols confirm that college students have negative views of aging as depicted in drawings of negative emotional states, illness, physical decline, and death. The presence of positive representations of aging (e.g., smiling) reveals the heterogeneity of perceptions and suggests the potential to achieve more accurate perceptions through educational interventions. This article provides an overview of the protocols and suggestions for future efforts related to gerontophobia and ageism.
KW - Gerontological literacy
KW - ageism
KW - drawing
KW - gerontophobia
KW - longitudinal methods
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85068570356&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85068570356&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02701960.2019.1638257
DO - 10.1080/02701960.2019.1638257
M3 - Article
C2 - 31269878
AN - SCOPUS:85068570356
SN - 0270-1960
VL - 42
SP - 578
EP - 588
JO - Gerontology and Geriatrics Education
JF - Gerontology and Geriatrics Education
IS - 4
ER -