How Reading Literature and Simulated Aging Sway Young Adults’ Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Caring for Older People

As populations age globally, fostering empathy and positive attitudes toward older adults among younger generations becomes increasingly important. This study evaluates two interventions – aging simulation suits and reading literature (reading and comprehending scenarios related to older adults) – to foster empathy, positive attitudes, charitable behavioral intentions, and caring intentions toward older adults among young people. Using a randomized experimental design, eligible participants were assigned to four groups: waitlist control, reading literature, aging simulation, and a combined intervention, completing pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. The results indicated that intervention groups showed statistically significant improvements in attitudes toward caring for older adults, trait empathy, charitable behavioral intentions, and caring behavioral intentions compared to the control group. Notably, the combined intervention group using both aging simulation suits and reading literature achieved the highest adjusted mean values for trait empathy (AMV: 4.042, 95% CI: 3.946–4.138, p < .05) and caring behavioral intentions (AMV: 6.083, 95% CI: 5.916–6.250, p < .05), followed by the group using aging simulation suits alone. The simulation suit group showed the most consistent improvements across all measures, with medium effect sizes (Cohen’s d ranging from 0.39 to 0.61). These findings suggest that integrating aging simulation with reading literature approaches effectively fosters empathy and promotes positive caregiving behaviors, paving the way for age-inclusive societies and improved care quality for the aging population.