1. We thank the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs for supporting this research, and Learning & Technology Services for printing this poster. Does an undergraduate Aging and the Aged course have an impact on students’ attitudes towards working with older adults? Patricia A. Gibson  Social Work  University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lisa Quinn-Lee, PhD., MSSW, LICSW PURPOSE To better understand undergraduate students’ attitudes toward older adults. To find out whether taking a course on aging impacts students’ attitudes towards older adults. LITERATURE REVIEW Understanding the current attitudes and knowledge of students will enable universities and departments “to tailor programs to attract the best students in the field of aging and to direct future efforts to recruit students to work with older adults” (Van Dussen & Weaver, 2009, p. 341). The literature shows there is evidence for the benefits of formal education on knowledge of and attitudes towards older adults. This is especially relevant for students pursuing careers in which they will be working with an older population. METHODOLOGY Students who chose to participate completed a demographic questionnaire at the beginning of the semester. Students also completed a pre-test of the Kogan Attitude Toward Old Persons Scale (Kogan, 1961) at the beginning of the semester and a post- test of the Kogan Attitude Toward Old Persons Scale at the end of the semester. The Kogan Attitude Toward Old Persons is a one-dimensional measurement tool so that an attitude index is computed as an overall mean of all 26 items. Each item’s value ranges between 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree) with higher scores indicating more positive attitudes. Data collection was anonymous, since there was no way to identify individual subjects’ responses. Students self-generated an identifier code so that we could match pre-test and post-test data, along with demographic data. Data was analyzed using Microsoft SPSS. DEMOGRAPHIC RESULTS Of the N=34 participants, 82% were female and 18% were male. 65% were seniors, 32% were juniors, and 3% were sophomores. 88% identified as Caucasian/White; 6% identified as White with Hispanic or Latina; and 6% were unknown. Participant age ranged from 19-25; Mean=21.39 years. Major: 26% Social Work 26% Kinesiology 12% Health Care Administration 9% Business Administration 9% Psychology 6% Sociology 3% Nursing 3% Liberal Studies 3% Biology 3% Unknown 41% of participants listed gerontology as a minor, with 24% of the participants stating they were working toward a gerontology certificate. SURVEY RESULTS In SPSS, a paired samples t-test was run; of the 26 questions on Kogan’s Scale, 14 showed a statistically significant difference (p<.05) in pre- and post-test mean scores after taking the Aging and the Aged course. CHANGED ATTITUDES Most old people are really no different from anybody else; they’re as easy to understand as younger people. +.900 Most old people get set in their ways and are unable to change. -.767 Most old people are capable of new adjustments when the situation demands it. +.900 It is foolish to claim that wisdom comes with age. -.600 Most old people make one feel ill at ease. -.867 Most old people are very relaxing to be with. +.433 Most old people bore others by their insistence on talking “about the good old days.” -.567 In order to maintain a nice residential neighborhood, it would be best if too many old people did not live in it. -.500 There are a few exceptions, but in general most old people are pretty much alike. -.400 It is evident that most old people are very different from one another. +.576 Most old people should be more concerned with their personal appearance; they’re too untidy. -.400 Most old people are irritable, grouchy, and unpleasant. -.600 Most old people are constantly complaining about the behavior of the younger generation. -.800 One seldom hears old people complaining about the behavior of the younger generation. +.400 Kogan N. (1961). Attitudes toward old people: The development of a scale and an examination of correlates. Journal of Abnormal & Social Psychology, 62, 44-54. doi: 10.1037/h0048053 Jacob Wackerhauser/iStock DISCUSSION Even though our study is very small, because taking a course on aging improved some attitudes towards older adults, we would like to replicate this study in future aging classes and perhaps be able to discover how specific course content correlates to changes in attitudes. Strongly Slightly Slightly Strongly Disagree Disagree Disagree Agree Agree Agree 1 2 3 4 5 6