Knowledge ATTITUDES OF FIRST GRADES TOWARDS ELDERLY PEOPLE: THE ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE, CONTACT AND ANXIETY OF AGING. By Linda J. Allan and James A. Johnson The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between attitudes toward aging and aging-related anxiety. The goal of the study was to determine the role that aging anxiety plays as a mediator between experiences. The targeted experiences took the form of factual knowledge and contact with older people. Participants were 113 undergraduate students from a Canadian university. Ages ranged from 17 to 49 years. However, more than half of the participants were under 20 years old. Participants were 81 women and 29 men. Most participants reported being Caucasian (77.9%). Other ethnicities reported were Asian (9.7%), Indigenous (3.5%), and other (8.8%). Participants agreed and completed a questionnaire including the following elements:1. A demographic questionnaire including age and gender.2. A questionnaire on their contacts with the elderly.3. The Fraboni Ageism Scale (FSA) developed by Fraboni, Saltstone, and Huges (1990). The scale is used to assess levels of ageist attitudes, with lower scores indicating more ageist attitudes.4. The Lasher & Faulkender Aging Anxiety Scale (AAS) (1993). The scale was used to assess levels of anxiety about aging, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety about aging.5. The Palmore Facts on Aging Quiz 1 (FAQ1) developed by Harris et al., 1996). The quiz was used to assess participants' knowledge about aging. The multiple-choice version was used to reduce measurement error. The average score on Palamore's FAQ was 47.68%. According to Allen and Johnson, this was an indicator of poor knowledge about aging. Research provides middle...... middle of article.......Rupp, DE, Vodanovich, SJ, & Credé, M. (2005). The multidimensional nature of ageism: Construct validity and group differences. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145(3), 335-362. http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/SOCP.145.3.335-362.Schwartz, L.K. and Simmons, J.P. (2001). Quality of contacts and attitudes towards older people. Educational Gerontology, 27, 127-137. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03601270151075525. Van Dussen, DJ and Weaver, RR (2009). Undergraduate students' perceptions and behaviors related to older adults and aging processes. Educational Gerontology, 35, 340-355. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03601270802612255.Sullivan KE (2008). Ageism and the contact hypothesis: The effects of work-related and non-work-related contact on age stereotypes (Master's thesis). University of Texas at Arlington, ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 20081460808.