Students' Attitudes Toward the Elderly in the People's Republic of China

A Chinese translation of a standardized instrument was used to investigate the attitudes of 199 Mainland Chinese university students concerning the elderly. The findings revealed that students' attitudes were in the positive and neutral ranges and that elderly males were perceived more favorably than elderly females. The findings also revealed that the majority of students had considered working with the elderly. Those who reported to have been closer to an elderly person held more positive attitudes. The findings of this study are compared to similar studies done in other countries and discussed within the context of Chinese culture and society.