Positive attitudes towards older adults: characteristics of prospective partners in care

Abstract

With the increase in the aging population it is becoming all the more important to determine who has positive attitudes towards older adults in order to identify those who are best suited to work in geriatrics. The purpose of the current study was to determine which personal characteristics are indicative of positive attitudes towards older adults by using the Cattell 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire and the Kogan’s Attitudes Towards Old People scale. Characteristics that were examined included ethnicity, age, gender, and level of education and personality. Caucasian and Indigenous participants were recruited around Sudbury Ontario, ranging from 18 to 50 years of age. The results suggest that gender and personality factors warmth, reasoning, vigilance, privateness and openness to change, are predictive of positive attitudes towards older adults. These results have implications for identifying individuals who are best suited to work in geriatrics and possibly encouraging those to join the field.