Changes in nursing students' stereotypic attitudes toward old people

The twofold purpose of this study was to determine if: 1) student stereotyped attitudes toward old people would diminish during an eight-week introduction to a professional nursing course which featured laboratory and classroom components on health-illness concepts in the care of geriatric patients, and 2) changes in student attitude toward the aged were related to instructor attitude toward old people. Eighty nursing students were randomly assigned to ten faculty members for experimental treatment which consisted of nursing home laboratory experiences and within-group interaction and instruction. Students were pre- and posttested using the Attitude toward Old People Questionnaire. The same instrument was used to assess instructors' attitudes at the beginning of the course. Results revealed that students' stereotypic attitudes were decreased during the course and that the amount of change in student attitude was functionally related to faculty attitude toward the aged.