Date of Award

2001

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Art

Department

Gerontology

First Advisor

Anita Sankar

Second Advisor

Pamela Nickels

Third Advisor

Marilyn Patterson

Abstract

A comparative study was conducted on the attitudes toward older adults between Counselors and Non Counselors. The participants included 50 Licensed Professional Counselors from the state of Missouri, who are registered members of the American Counseling Association (ACA), and 33 Graduate students from Lindenwood University in Saint Charles, Missouri, who are enrolled in graduate programs unrelated to professional counseling. The participants completed a demographic questionnaire and the Facts on Aging Quiz' (FAQl). The demographic questionnaire contained personal data, and the FAQ 1 measured attitudes and knowledge in five areas: correct answer, negative bias, positive bias, neutral, and don't know. The data was statistically analyzed to determine differences in each of the five areas. There were significant differences found in the specific areas of correct answers and positive bias between Counselors and Non Counselors. However, there were no significant differences found in the remaining three areas of negative bias, neutral, or don't know responses.

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