Ageism Against Older Adults and Associated Factors: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study Among Dental Students in...

This study aimed to assess the occurrence of ageism towards older adults among dental students and investigate associated factors.

This cross-sectional observational study included dental students who had completed at least one clinical academic component. Participants completed, in person, a printed self-administered questionnaire consisting of the Brazilian version of the Ageism Scale for Dental Students (ASDS-Braz), the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE-Br) and the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL), as well as items addressing sociodemographic characteristics, intergenerational aspects, and academic experiences. Bivariate and multivariable models were used to explore associations between independent variables and the ASDS-Braz score. All analyses were performed in R version 4.4.1, adopting a 5% significance level.

A total of 795 dental students from seven Higher Education Institutions in Goiás, Brazil, participated in the study. Most participants were female (74.3%; n = 587), with a median age of 22.0 years (Q1 = 21.0; Q3 = 25.0). Only 35.6% reported previous exposure to geriatric dentistry content or related activities. Significant differences in ageism scores were observed between students with and without prior exposure to geriatric dentistry (p < 0.01), with those who had prior exposure demonstrating lower ageism scores. Additionally, a significant negative association was found between ageism and empathy scores (p < 0.001; β = -0.10), with higher empathy associated with lower ageism.

Dental students who had previous academic exposure to geriatric dentistry or care for older adults demonstrated significantly lower ageism scores. Furthermore, higher levels of empathy were associated with fewer ageist attitudes, underscoring the need to integrate geriatric content and empathy development into dental education.