Attitude Toward the Elderly, Fear of Death, and Work Preference of Baccalaureate Nursing Students

Abstract

Aging increases the proximity to death. It may be that fear of death has a negative impact on attitude toward the elderly. The previous research is inconclusive. A positive attitude toward the elderly in past studies was not found to be related to preference for working with this age group. In the present study of senior baccalaureate nursing students, no relationship was found between attitude toward the elderly and fear of death. However, a significant relationship was found between positive attitude toward the elderly and preference for working with this age group. In addition, subjects who had experience living with or caring for an elderly person were found to have a high preference for working with the elderly. An intriguing finding is that subjects with a high preference for working with older clients with more likely to describe themselves as religious or devoutly religous.