Although informal assessments of caregiver training and support groups have been positive, empirical evidence of their beneficial impact is needed. To evaluate a group program for families of elderly parents, a pre/postmeasure, experimental/control group design was implemented. Adults participating in two workshops on "Your Aging…

The program upon which this paper is based, Developing an Aging Curriculum, was initiated as a pilot project to assess the appropriateness of introducing aging information and concepts to elementary-age students. Seventeen teachers in grades K-6 in one school district have been involved in the project as part of a graduate course. The project was…

Evaluated the impact of adding a brief unit on aging to the first-year curriculum of a school of osteopathic medicine. Analyses revealed a mild but significant improvement in knowledge and attitudes with respect to the elderly. Subjective responses to the program were very positive. (Author)

Investigates paranoia in older adults. In cross-sectional analyses, symptoms were strongly associated with black race, lower income and education, less exercise, and more depressive symptoms. In longitudinal analysis, three years following initial interview, symptoms were predicted by baseline paranoid symptoms, education and depressive symptoms…

Future orientation has been proposed as contributing to unfavorable perceptions of older patients. Students from a dental hygiene program were questioned about their general attitudes toward older people, older people as patients, their own future, the future for older adults, and about their social/familial contact with the elderly. (Author/MLW)

Purpose: Sentence completion exercises require students to give open-ended responses to prompts. The first purpose of this article is to describe the method of sentence completion to assess middle-school children's attitudes and beliefs about aging. The second purpose is to describe the patterns of characteristics that children associate with…

A study was conducted to analyze the content of stories in several basal reading systems widely used in primary grade reading instruction. The investigation was in terms of the relative frequency of main characters who are elderly, the portrayal of elderly characters in relation to other characters in the stories, the incidence of aging themes,…

Provides background on the World Wide Web, reasons for its growth, its potential usefulness to gerontologists, and the results of an exhaustive search of over 300 sites. Relevant information was discovered in five general categories of gerontology-related information: academic institutions, government agencies, biomedical and health research…

A five-study evaluation assessed the appeal of Over Easy to its target group and its effectiveness in meeting stated objectives. Aimed at viewers over the age of 55, the daily, half-hour magazine-format program produced by KQED-TV San Francisco, is intended to inform them, encourage positive attitudes about aging, and encourage interaction among…

Discusses the methods and findings of a study of associate degree nursing students' (N=48) knowledge and misconceptions about aging. Reports definite knowledge gaps and the acceptance of several common misconceptions about the elderly. (DMM)

An assessment of a psychology faculty enhancement program which provided up-to-date information on aging was done. In 1989/90 the program involved a 2-week institute for 25 teachers from two-year and four-year colleges, providing them with consultation both during and after the institute, and maintaining contact with them through reunions and…

Research has shown that small children and other people view old age and the elderly very negatively. Unless parents and teachers begin to initiate changes in thinking, old age will be a tragedy for most of today's youth. In this study, 67 second graders and 59 sixth graders in Mississippi responded to a modified Children's Attitude toward the…

Examines differences in perceived caregiver availability among a random sample of Mexican American and non-Hispanic white young-old residents in three socioeconomically distinct neighborhoods. For MAs across all three socioeconomic status groups, being female, widowed, and having more chronic illnesses was associated with a lesser likelihood of…

Assesses students' concepts of aging at the beginning, middle, and end of a psychology of aging course. Results show students' knowledge reflected stereotypes in the beginning, but during the course, new concepts appeared. Claims instructors can benefit from using this technique to plan and assess success of course goals. (Author/NL)

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of three college courses on attitude change toward older adults. To measure attitude change the Kogan Attitudes Toward Old People Scale (1961) was administered to 221 college students at the beginning and end of the semester. Participants were enrolled in one of three college courses: Child…