Materials and Method: The study participants included 160 college students aged between 19 and 30. A questionnaire including "the Facts on Aging Quiz", "the Anxiety about Aging Scale", "the Fraboni Scale of Ageism", a question of interest in working with older adults, and a Sociodemographic Information Form was administered at the beginning and end of the semester to two groups of students enrolled in two courses, namely, Aging Psychology and Introduction to Developmental Psychology II.
Results: Analyses partially supported the study hypotheses: Over the semester, ageism declined, whereas knowledge of aging increased. Ageist attitudes of participants who completed the Aging Psychology course declined more than those who completed the Introduction to Developmental Psychology II course. In addition, the level of knowledge of the participants who completed the Aging Psychology course significantly increased at the end of the semester, whereas that of the participants who completed the Introduction to Developmental Psychology II course did not change. The two groups of participants did not differ in aging anxiety and working interests with older adults over the semester.
Conclusion: Interventions in the level of knowledge on aging and the elderly through college courses increase the level of knowledge about aging and decrease ageist attitudes.
Keywords : Ageism; Attitude; Knowledge; Anxiety; Students