International Application of the Working With Older Adult Scale.

Abstract

The workforce is not prepared to meet the needs of the number of older adults (OAs) across the globe. The study examines the Theory of Planned Behavior via the Working with Older Adults Scale (WOAS) in a group of university-aged international students to better understand global perceptions of working with older adults. We also compared North American and International students' attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and intention to work with older adults. Students were enrolled at a public university in Canada. Participants completed the WOAS, Ageism Attitude Scale, and answered an open-ended question, "How are older adults viewed in your culture?" Attitude, Subjective Norm, and Perceived Behavioral Control predicted Intention to work with older adults for the full sample, and subgroups. While there were many similarities, North Americans had lower intention to work with older adults and higher ageism than International students. Further research is necessary to understand these cultural nuances.