CHILDREN'S FEARS ABOUT PERSONAL AGING

The present study was designed to investigate the effect age has on children's attitudes toward personalaging and if anxiety over aging was a contributing factor in the development of these attitudes. A total of 206 students (108 males and 98 females), ranging in age from 9-17 participated in this study.The participants were drawn from a religious education program for public school students and a parochial elementary school in a central Massachusetts town. The participants showed little real concern over the prospect of aging. Some differences were seen on the four subsets of the scale used. The participant's age was the most salient predictor in the assessment of attitudes toward personal aging. A close relationship with a grandparent contributed to positive attitudes and lessened fear of older adults.