ERIC Number: EJ1025518
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0360-1277
EISSN: N/A
Attitudes towards the Elderly among German Adolescents
Randler, Christoph; Vollmer, Christian; Wilhelm, David; Flessner, Melanie; Hummel, Eberhard
Educational Gerontology, v40 n3 p230-238 2014
Many societies are encountering significant changes in their population structure as the number of older people is increasing while children and adolescents become fewer. This study examines pupils' attitudes towards elderly people in Germany. A total of 935 pupils (458 boys, 477 girls) participated in this study. Grade distribution was as follows: 192 (5th grade), 148 (6th grade), 208 (7th grade), 219 (8th grade), and 168 (9th grade). We provide evidence for two underlying latent factors, "prejudice" and "appreciation." The "prejudice" factor contained prejudices and negative attitudes towards old people, and the "appreciation" factor contained items that were positively related to old people. On average, pupils valued old people. Based on a multivariate general linear model, we found a significant influence of gender, grade, and distance to grandparents. Girls valued old people higher, thus rating them higher on the appreciation scale. However, effect size was comparably low. No differences existed concerning the prejudice scale. Grade effects showed that prejudice increases and appreciation declines with increasing age. Distance to their grandparents significantly influenced the attitudes. Pupils with grandparents in the near vicinity valued old people more than pupils with their grandparents farther away. We suggest implementing intergenerational educational programs in primary school and in 5th and 6th grade in Germany.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Older Adults, Adolescent Attitudes, Positive Attitudes, Negative Attitudes, Preadolescents, Rating Scales, Population Trends, Prediction, Predictor Variables, Multivariate Analysis, Models, Gerontology
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 5; Grade 6; Grade 7; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A