AGEIST ATTITUDES AND PREPARATION AS INDIRECT PREDICTORS OF TRAINEES’ INTEREST IN CLINICAL WORK WITH OLDER ADULTS
2024
Ageist Attitudes and Preparation Affect Trainees' Interest in Working with Older Adults
Sample size: 187
publication
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): Caskie Grace, Kirby Mackenzie, Root Eve
Primary Institution: Lehigh University
Hypothesis
Ageist attitudes and preparation regarding aging indirectly affect psychology trainees' interest in working with older adults.
Conclusion
Reducing ageist attitudes through training could increase psychology trainees' interest in working with older adults.
Supporting Evidence
- Significant indirect effects were found for ageist attitudes and preparation on interest.
- More ageist attitudes related to greater perceived difficulty and less favorable evaluations regarding working with older adults.
- Greater preparation related to less difficulty of working with older adults.
- Difficulty, social approval, and evaluation of work with older adults each significantly predicted interest.
Takeaway
If psychology students learn to think better about older people, they might want to work with them more.
Methodology
Doctoral trainees completed various scales to assess ageist attitudes, preparation, and interest in working with older adults.
Participant Demographics
Doctoral trainees aged 22-43 years.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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