EXAMINATION OF AGEIST ATTITUDES IN TERMS OF SOME VARIABLES AMONG SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS

Abstract

This research aims to assess the attitudes of social work students toward ageism in terms of some variables such as gender, grade, will to work with elders in the future and having fun to spend time with old people. The research was conducted on Ankara University social work students in the spring term of 2017. One hundred and fifty-three students participated in this research. The Ageism Attitude Scale (AAS), was used in this research. The research is designed as a descriptive study. The average score of the participants was 91.32 (± 10.60; min: 46, max: 115). It was found that the attitude of female students toward older people was more positive and less discriminatory/ageist than of males. Similarly, the attitude of students willing to work with older people in the future was found to be better compared to other groups. Moreover, the percentage of students who stated a desire to work with older people in the first rank (with a higher priority) was only 14.4%.

Keywords

• Ageism,social work,social work students,older people,attitudes toward older people

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