ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to: 1) explore attitudes among Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) students toward people with dementia, 2) investigate factors that might be associated with the expressed attitudes, and 3) suggest a means for promoting positive attitudes among CSD students. 94 CSD students completed a three-section online survey via Qualtrics. First, participants provided demographic information in three categories: person, courses, and experiences. Second, they completed a 25-item quiz on aging and dementia. Finally, each participant submitted responses to the Scale of Attitude toward People with Dementia. A stepwise regression analysis revealed two factors that best predicted positive attitudes of participants toward people with dementia. The first factor was having completed more courses on gerontology and/or dementia and the second factor was having found the courses beneficial for their future career as speech-language pathologists. The findings of this study imply that providing CSD students with more courses in gerontology and/or dementia may foster more positive attitudes toward people with dementia. These findings indicate that maximum benefit may be achieved by designing courses on gerontology and dementia that include professional practice-oriented activities and assessments.

摘要

本研究的目的是：1) 探索传播科学与障碍 (CSD) 学生对痴呆症患者的态度，2) 调查可能与所表达的态度相关的因素，以及 3) 提出一种促进积极态度的方法。 CSD 学生。94 名 CSD 学生通过 Qualtrics 完成了一项由三部分组成的在线调查。首先，参与者提供了三类人口统计信息：人、课程和经历。其次，他们完成了关于衰老和痴呆症的 25 项测验。最后，每位参与者都提交了对痴呆症患者态度量表的回答。逐步回归分析揭示了两个最能预测参与者对痴呆症患者的积极态度的因素。第一个因素是完成了更多关于老年学和/或痴呆症的课程，第二个因素是发现这些课程有利于他们未来作为语言病理学家的职业生涯。这项研究的结果意味着，为 CSD 学生提供更多老年学和/或痴呆症课程可能会培养对痴呆症患者更积极的态度。这些发现表明，设计老年学和痴呆症课程，包括以专业实践为导向的活动和评估，可以获得最大的益处。