Kitasato University School of Allied Health Sciences, 1-15-1, Kitazato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0373, Japan.
Faculty of Health and Sports Science, Juntendo University, 1-1 Hiraka-gakuendai, Inzai, Chiba, 270-1695, Japan.
BMC Med Educ. 2021 Jan 7;21(1):27. doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-02439-0.
Ageism is a serious problem in medical care. The importance of ageism-related education for students has been emphasized. To determine the most effective approach to ageism-related education for allied health students, this study examined ageism among this group of students, with the hypothesis that ageism was expressed not only toward elderly adults but also toward individuals other than elderly adults.
A questionnaire survey was conducted among 154 allied health students in Japan. The questionnaire involved tree drawings to evaluate the drawer's personality and a measurement of the participants' ageism. There were two display conditions for tree drawing. In the elderly display condition, participants were informed that the drawer was an elderly person, and in a control condition, participants were not informed of the drawer's age. Participants were randomly assigned to each condition and were required to evaluate the drawer's personality based on 5 personality traits. After the evaluation, all participants were required to complete the Japanese short version of the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA-J).
The participants were 123 allied health students, 61 of whom were in the elderly display condition and 62 of whom were in the control condition. Based on the mean score on the FSA-J (M = 29.80), we divided the participants into a low-FSA-J group (N = 64) and a high-FSA-J group (N = 59). There was no significant difference between the display conditions on the FSA-J score. In the high-FSA-J groups, the control condition evaluated the drawer's personality as more timid than did the elderly display condition (F = 4.26, df = 1, 119). For negligence, the high-FSA-J group evaluated the drawer's personality as more negligent than did the low-FSA-J group (F = 4.08). For broad interests, the main effects of condition and groups were significant (F = 4.23).
The results suggested that ageism indicated a negative evaluation not only of elderly adults but also of individuals other than elderly adults, and students with negative ageism might evaluate the elderly drawer more positively. We have discussed the possibility that negative ageism among allied health students in Japan might underlie these positive stereotypes.
年龄歧视是医疗保健中的一个严重问题。已经强调了对医学生进行年龄歧视相关教育的重要性。为了确定针对辅助卫生学生的年龄歧视相关教育的最有效方法，本研究检查了这组学生的年龄歧视，假设年龄歧视不仅针对老年人，而且针对老年人以外的其他人。
在日本对 154 名辅助卫生学生进行了问卷调查。问卷包括三棵树的绘画，以评估绘图者的个性，并对参与者的年龄歧视进行了测量。树的绘画有两种显示条件。在老年显示条件下，参与者被告知绘图者是老年人，而在对照条件下，参与者不知道绘图者的年龄。参与者被随机分配到每个条件，并根据 5 个个性特征要求他们评估绘图者的个性。评估后，所有参与者都需要完成 Fraboni 年龄歧视量表的日本短版（FSA-J）。
参与者是 123 名辅助卫生学生，其中 61 名处于老年显示条件，62 名处于对照条件。根据 FSA-J 的平均得分（M=29.80），我们将参与者分为低 FSA-J 组（N=64）和高 FSA-J 组（N=59）。FSA-J 评分在显示条件之间没有显著差异。在高 FSA-J 组中，对照条件对绘图者的个性评估比老年显示条件更胆小（F=4.26，df=1，119）。对于疏忽，高 FSA-J 组对绘图者的个性评估比低 FSA-J 组更疏忽（F=4.08）。对于广泛的兴趣，条件和群体的主效应显著（F=4.23）。
结果表明，年龄歧视不仅表示对老年人的负面评价，而且表示对老年人以外的其他人的负面评价，具有消极年龄歧视的学生可能会对老年绘图者给予更积极的评价。我们讨论了日本辅助卫生学生中可能存在的消极年龄歧视是这些积极刻板印象的基础的可能性。
