A Comparative Study of Factors Affecting Adolescents’ Attitudes towards Dementia

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the effect of adolescents’ attitudes towards the elderly, as well as their knowledge about and attitudes towards dementia and to make a comparative analysis of differences in factors affecting attitudes of different ages groups of adolescents towards dementia. We conducted a mailed questionnaire survey of 1,242 elementary, middle and high school students and college students in the Gyeongnam region. The key outcomes of the study are as follows. Firstly, while the attitudes towards the elderly was found to be more positive in elementary school students than in middle-and-high school and college students, the level of knowledge about dementia was found to be relatively lower in elementary school students. Meanwhile, adolescents’ attitudes towards dementia were less negative in middle school and college students than in elementary and high school students. Secondly, Both attitudes towards the elderly and knowledge about dementia were found to have a significant effect on receptive attitudes towards dementia in students of all age groups. On the other hand, knowledge about dementia was an effect on rejective attitudes towards dementia in elementary school students, while attitudes towards the elderly were an effect on the rejective attitudes of middle school students toward dementia. However, the explanatory power of the model was not sufficient.