Self-reported aging anxiety in Greek students, health care professionals, and community residents: a comparative study

This study investigates the anxiety people feel about aging and the psychometric properties of the Anxiety about Aging Scale (AAS) in Greek samples. The AAS was administered in 3 groups: 147 primary health care professionals, 74 Nursing and Social Work students, and 99 community residents. A confirmatory factor analysis reproduced the 4 factors underlying the Greek-translated AAS, with acceptable reliabilities for the 3 samples. Multivariate analysis of variance showed that students expressed significantly more anxiety about aging (higher overall AAS score), more "Fear of old people," "Psychological concerns," and "Concerns about physical appearance," and less "Fear of losses," compared with professionals and community residents. Women reported the highest concerns about physical appearance compared with men. Students and professionals having experience with dementia showed lower and higher overall AAS scores, respectively, compared with those who had no such experience. The younger professionals without experience and the less educated ones with experience expressed higher overall anxiety about aging than the older professionals and the less educated both without experience. Our findings suggest the importance of implementing appropriate educational interventions and ongoing training tailored to assuage students' and professionals' anxiety about their own aging and lessen their agist attitudes toward old people.