Attitudes of the Elderly Towards Old Age

Abstract

Aging is one of the greatest challenges of the 21^st century. This situation has consequences for social, health, economic and educational policies. In the face of these changes, it is important for a person working with seniors to be well prepared for challenges at work. From this perspective, it is important to learn about the attitudes of seniors towards their own old age. It will help to understand the functioning of the individual in old age. An analysis of the literature on the subject indicates that the attitudes of other people towards seniors and the perception of their own old age affect how an individual ages and how he/she assesses his/her quality of life. Knowledge of attitudes towards old age can be used to plan activities for active aging. The article is a review and summarizes the state of knowledge about attitudes towards old age contained in the Polish literature on the subject. It also integrates existing knowledge about attitudes towards old age. The aim of the article was to present the most important concepts of attitudes towards old age and to indicate the area of application of this knowledge to social work practice (both its inclusion in curricula as well as accessibility for social workers). Taking into account the criterion of the review article, the focus was put on justifying the need to take up this subject in view of aging societies, providing a definitive definition of the concept of “attitude”, its relation to the concept of attitudes towards old age, and the most important typologies of attitudes towards old age. The summary presents some practical conclusions for the practice of social work.