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An examination of service provider's construal of their elderly patients
Abstract
There is evidence that human service providers exhibit attitudes and behaviors consistent with the ageism that pervades contemporary American society. In an earlier study, Montoya & Sarata, (1989) examined the way in which these societally normative attitudes influence the cognitions of service providers. That hypothesis was that providers' construal of elderly patients were similar to those of children. Limited support for this hypothesis was found. The present study had three objectives. The first was to replicate the previous study. Subjects were forty-eight female nursing staff members. The present data parallel the earlier findings; enjoyable patients were construed as more similar to non-patient comparisons than were less enjoyable patients. Female nursing staff construed their female elderly patients as more similar to children than to elderly non-patients. Male patients were construed as similar to elderly comparisons. Non-enjoyable patients were construed as being more similar to children than to peers, whereas enjoyable patients were construed as being more like peers or elders than children. A second objective was to add two categories of staff. Male nursing staff produced findings similar to female nursing staff; female patients were considered more similar to children than non-patient elderly, but male patients were considered more similar to peers. Non-nursing female staff did not differ significantly from female nursing staff. All three staff groups evidenced a statistically robust pattern; enjoyable patients were construed as more similar to non-patient comparisons than were non-enjoyable patients. A third objective was to examine the manner in which service care providers perceived their minority patients. Female nursing staff construed their minority patients as most similar to their non-enjoyable patients: male nursing staff perceived their minority patients as most similar to their enjoyable patients. Non-nursing staff construed their minority patients as highly similar to their enjoyable patients. The data from this study are discussed in relation to their implications for future research and clinical applications for service care providers working with elderly patients.
Subject Area
Psychotherapy|Gerontology
Recommended Citation
Montoya, Helen Marie, "An examination of service provider's construal of their elderly patients" (1993). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9406085.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9406085