Psychology doctoral students' interest in working with older adults: The roles of knowledge, ageism, aging anxiety and contact.

摘要

Given the growing population of older adults with more reported mental health needs, there are not sufficient psychologists interested in working with this population. This study looked at why interest is so low, looking particularly at the correlations between interest in working with older adults and knowledge about aging, ageism, aging anxiety and contact with older adults. In this quantitative study of 98 psychologists in training, the Facts on Aging and Mental Health Quiz (Palmore, 1998), the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (Fraboni, 1990), and the Anxiety about Aging Scale (AAS) (Lasher & Faulkender, 1993) measures were utilized. While there was no evidence of correlations between interest in working with older adults and knowledge about aging, aging anxiety, or personal contact with older adults, there was significant evidence of a negative correlation between interest in working with older adults and ageism, and a positive correlation between interest and professional contact with older adults. This research suggests that educational and training resources be targeted towards reducing ageism, both to increase interest level in working with an aging population, and to address the multicultural competence issue. Furthermore, these results indicate that education and training should focus on aging as a normal developmental rather than a pathological process, should favor experiential learning over classroom learning, and ideally should provide trainees with mentors who value working with this population.