It is a long way from Abilene to Miami, but our Dr. Pruett and Mrs. Pruett traveled safely. Dr. Pruett and Dr. Alan Lipps from the Social Work department presented their intergenerational research yesterday at the Annual AGHE Conference. Read below for more information:
Session Title: Using Gerontological Education to Challenge Assumptions and Change Perspectives
Can Interaction With Elderly Persons Alter University Students’ Attitudes Toward Older Adults?
Charlie Pruett, PhD, Alan J. Lipps, PhD, Taylor Nix,
Thursday, March 9, 2017; 1:30PM-3:00 PM
Abstract: Background and Purpose: Research indicates that relatively few college students have the desire to pursue careers serving the geriatric population. However, studies show that education, training, and direct contact with the aging population can positively influence student attitudes. These findings suggest that interactions with aging adults can facilitate change in perceptions of the aging population. Within the field of social work, and in other helping professions, numerous writers, researchers, and practitioners call for an increase in the number of, and quality of, educational experiences that provide opportunities for students to have direct contact with elderly persons. Such prescriptions are often ambiguous because little is known about the effects of properties of such contact (i.e., context, content, duration) on the outcomes. Therefore, the overall purpose of this study was to determine whether student interactions with elderly persons, in the context of a Texas Silver Haired Legislature Town Hall Meeting, would improve ageist attitudes. To accomplish this purpose, a pretest-posttest design, using a convenience sample of undergraduate and graduate students attending a southwestern, private Christian university, was used. Methods: The researcher, in conjunction with other faculty members at a university, requested that faculty help recruit students to participate in a town hall meeting hosted by the Texas Silver Haired Legislature (TSHL). The town hall meeting brought together university students and elderly members of a community to discuss issues that could be later developed into a legislative agenda for the TSHL. During the town hall meeting, participants interacted with elderly persons by participating in a discussion, in small groups, about issues facing elderly persons.
Pre-and posttest data were collected using an online survey tool. The Fraboni Ageism Scale was to assess pre-and post-intervention ageism. A paired-samples t-test was used to test for a statistically significant difference between pre-and post-test. Results: Results concluded that there was statically significant pre-to post-intervention reduction in ageism scores for students who attended the Town Hall Meeting. Conclusions and Implications: Findings of this study suggest that student interactions with elderly persons, in the context of a Texas Silver Haired Legislature Town Hall Meeting, can shift ageist attitudes. Therefore, town hall meetings that allow intergenerational contact to be made can result in changes in ageist attitudes. Focused, relatively brief, contact between elderly persons and university students is one approach educators can use to change ageist attitudes.
Objective 1: Participants will be able to describe the context, content, and duration of intergenerational contact that improved ageism scores in university students.
Objective 2: Participants will be able to describe an intergenerational town hall meeting.
Objective 3: Participants will be able to explain the importance of intergenerational contact in improving ageist attitudes in college-age people
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