Aging anxiety and ageism as predictors of aging content in social work education

Ageism and aging anxiety among social work educators were the subjects of a 2005 national research study in which 300 (n=300) Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) members (age 32-80) participated over a two month period. The purpose of this research study was to determine if aging content in social work education courses could be predicted by demographic factors, aging anxiety, and ageism. A survey, containing a demographic questionnaire, the Kafer Anxiety Scale (KAS), and the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA) was mailed to 940 members of the CSWE with educational responsibilities; 300 (31.9%) usable surveys resulted. Among social work educators, aging anxiety and ageism were significantly positively correlated. In t tests of independent means, health status emerged as a significant influence of aging anxiety in social work educators. T tests also indicated that age, health status, gender, and gerontology training significantly influenced ageism. Regressions on anxiety and age showed that age was significantly influential, but did not determine anxiety or ageism. The results of this study have implications for social work education. In this study, social work educators who had received no gerontology training were more ageist than those who had received gerontology training. Social work educators' age influenced anxiety and ageism in opposite directions. Younger social work educators had higher levels of aging anxiety, but were less ageist. Older social work educators had lower levels of aging anxiety, but were more ageist. Male social work educators were more ageist than female social work educators. No predictors were found to be significant for determining aging content in social work education courses.