Age stereotypes held by student nurses.

Abstract

This study defined age stereotypes as attitudes toward specific age groups which differ significantly from those held toward other age groups. Characteristics ascribed by 72 Caucasian female student nurses to five different age groups (children, adolescents, young adults, middle-aged adults, and old adults) were identified and compared. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance showed significantly more negative attributions for old adults than for all other age groups, and that young and middle-aged adults were viewed most favorably overall.