The Effect of Participation in an Intergenerational Choir on Teens' and Older Persons' Cross-Age Attitudes

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of participation in an intergenerational choir on teens' and older persons' cross-age attitudes. Twenty-seven high school students and 24 older persons served as subjects in the present study. Subjects were divided into four groups based on age (teen or senior) and gender. Ages of the total group ranged from 16 years to 85 years. Subjects were pretested using the Age Group Evaluation and Description (AGED) Inventory to determine their pre-existing attitudes toward four groups: teen males, teen females, senior males, end senior females. Subjects, therefore, evaluated members of their own classification and each of the three other classifications. Following the preassessment, members participated in an intergenerational choir which met once a week for 1.5 hours for the school year. Subjects also participated in additional social activities associated with the choir. After completing the spring semester, subjects were given a posttest assessment using the same attitudinal scale. Results of the posttest indicated that attitudes of male and female teen subjects toward themselves and each other moved in a negative direction from pretest to posttest. Their attitude toward the seniors, males, and females, however, moved in a positive direction. Male and female seniors' attitudes toward teens and toward themselves moved in a positive direction from the pretest to the posttest. The attitudes of the male seniors indicated the most positive change: furthermore, attitudes toward male seniors reflected a greater positive change then attitudes toward any of the other three groups. Implications for intergenerational programming are discussed.