Making Connections: The Legacy of an Intergenerational Program

Area of Science:

• Social Gerontology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Sociology

Background:

• Opportunities for intergenerational interaction are declining due to societal trends like age segregation and increased mobility.
• Many communities are implementing intergenerational programs within school curricula to foster connections between age groups.
• One Massachusetts community has a long-standing intergenerational program pairing fourth graders with older adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether participation in an intergenerational program influences students' ageist beliefs 5-9 years later.
• To determine if involvement in intergenerational programs affects the "images of aging" held by adolescents.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental research design was employed.
• The study examined "images of aging" in 944 high school students from adjacent towns.
• Participants completed a brief questionnaire to assess their perceptions.

Main Results:

• Regression analyses revealed a significant difference between towns in students' positive images of aging.
• No significant town difference was found in negative images of aging.
• Controlling variables included frequency and quality of interaction with older adults, ethnicity, age, and gender.

Conclusions:

• High school students from a community with sustained intergenerational programming demonstrated more positive images of older adults.
• Further research is necessary to understand the short- and long-term legacy effects of these programs.
• Investigating the impact of close interaction with non-familial older adults is crucial.