Group-Based Differences in Anti-Aging Bias Among Medical Students

Abstract

Medical students (MS) may develop ageist attitudes early in their training that may predict their future avoidance of caring for the elderly. This study sought to determine MS' patterns of explicit and implicit anti-aging bias, intent to practice with older people and using the quad model, the role of gender, race, and motivation-based differences. One hundred and three MS completed an online survey that included explicit and implicit measures. Explicit measures revealed a moderately positive perception of older people. Female medical students and those high in internal motivation showed lower anti-aging bias, and both were more likely to intend to practice with older people. Although the implicit measure revealed more negativity toward the elderly than the explicit measures, there were no group differences. However, using the quad model the authors identified gender, race, and motivation-based differences in controlled and automatic processes involved in anti-aging bias.

Effect of short-term research training programs on medical students’ attitudes toward aging

“…Our findings of gender differences in attitudes toward aging are consistent with other studies reporting that female medical students generally have more positive attitudes toward seniors than their male counterparts (Fitzgerald et al, 2003; Hollar et al, 2011; Holtzman, Beck, & Ettinger, 1981; Reuben et al, 1995; Ruiz et al, 2015). In our study, male students demonstrated greater overall improvement in attitudes than female students, a finding that has also been reported in previous studies testing the effect of geriatric educational training and clinical exposure interventions on attitudes toward older adults (Hughes et al, 2008; Warren, Painter, & Rudisill, 1983).…”

“…It is notable that the MSTAR and M-STREAM programs were associated with an increase in positive attitudes toward aging among the students who had already demonstrated an interest in geriatrics through their participation. Future directions for this work will include following-up with past trainees to track how many train for a career in geriatrics (Barron et al, 2015), incorporating clinical and community exposure into the programs, and including measures of implicit bias (Ruiz et al, 2015) to determine whether positive gains in self-report attitudes are reflected in the implicit attitudes of medical students toward seniors.…”

“…In one study of fourth-year medical students, interest in geriatrics was the third lowest amongst 14 specialties listed (Duthie, Donnelly, & Kirsling, 1987). Even when medical students report a moderately positive perception of older adults, 90% show an implicit preference for younger over older people (Ruiz et al, 2015). …”

Dual attitudes in retail, its predictive capacity and interaction with empathy in mitigating negative responses of dissociated consumers

“…Ao observar a pista social "idade", jovens tendem a categorizar os idosos de maneira estereotipada como um grupo social distinto (Nelson, 2009), desenvolvendo atitudes duplas (Fazio & Olson 2014) em relação a este grupo, principalmente quando não fazem parte de seu convívio (Kornadt, Meissner, & Rothermund, 2016), e mesmo em grupos sociais mais preparados para conflitos de idade (Ruiz et al, 2015). Se desenvolve, então, uma atitude implícita desfavorável e outra atitude explícita favorável, devido à necessidade de gestão da impressão (Leary & Kowalski, 1990) e imposição social (Nelson, 2009;Ruiz et al, 2015;Forscher, Lai, Axt, Ebersole, Herman, Devine & Nosek, 2017). Desta forma a primeira hipótese que se estabelece é: H1: As atitudes duplas irão divergir quando grupos sociais dissociativos se encontram;…”

“…No caso deste estudo, são as variáveis o varejo e empatia, respectivamente. Resultados similares têm sido encontrados em outras esferas sociais, como na identificação de estereótipos de idade, para estudantes de medicina (Ruiz et al, 2015), ou na reversão destas atitudes negativas em estudantes de enfermagem (Sarabia-Cobo & Castanedo Pfeiffer, 2015). Influências sociais têm sido estudadas dentro de um paradigma de consciência sobre esse processo quando se questionam abertamente consumidores sobre possíveis influências que percebam (Brocato et al, 2012,).…”