The authors examined changes in children's preceptions of the elderly following participation
in a 9-month intergenerational project on aging. The project matched 24 fourth-grade student
with 24 elderly subjects from a large senior citizens center. The project involved a number of
shared activities throughout the school year. For comparative purposes, these students were
matched by grade with a control group (N = 25). Using the Children's Perceptions of Aging and
Elderly Inventory, the experimental group was judged to have significantly more positive
attitudes toward the elderly than the control group (t = 2.79; p < .01). Results from a 1-year
follow-up produced similar differences between the experimental and control groups (t = 2.12;
p < .02). Qualitative statements by the experimental group also reveal a very positive attitude
toward their own aging as well as toward the utility of the project.
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