Poznavanje dejstev in zmotna prepričanja o starejših: Implikacije za izobraževanje in delo s starejšimi

Knowledge of the characteristics of psychological functioning in the elderly is a precondition for preservation and improvement of their competences, welfare and inclusion in the society. This article presents the findings of the Slovene research study about the knowledge of the facts concerning aging and the characteristics of the elderly, based on an extensive sample of adults of different ages and of different educational backgrounds. Acquaintance with the facts concerning the elderly grows with the level of education; the young during the period of transition into adulthood on the one hand and older people on the other, however, tend to have a lower awareness of the relevant facts. In general, understanding of the psychological aspects of aging, the characteristics of the elderly and their ability to learn, change and work is relatively low. Most adults are familiar with the facts concerning the physical condition, health and some peculiarities of psychological functioning in the elderly. However, mistaken beliefs reflecting negative attitudes to aging and older people are relatively wide­spread, especially with regard to the cognitive, or rather, a wider range of psycho­social functioning of the elderly. Therefore, we believe that both formal and informal education require provision of appropriate information for adults.Poznavanje značilnosti psihološkega delovanja starejših je prvi pogoj za razvijanje načinov ohranjanja in izboljšanja njihove kompetentnosti, blagostanja in vključevanja v družbo. V prispevku predstavljamo ugotovitve slovenske raziskave o poznavanju dejstev o staranju in značilnostih starejših oseb pri velikem vzorcu različno starih in različno izobraženih odraslih. Z ravnjo izobrazbe se poznavanje dejstev o starejših povečuje, mladi na prehodu v odraslost in starostniki pa v primerjavi s posamezniki v zgodnji in srednji odraslosti poznajo nekoliko manj teh dejstev. V splošnem je poznavanje psihološkega vidika staranja, značilnosti starejših in njihovih potencialov za učenje, spreminjanje in delo na razmeroma nizki ravni. Večina odraslih pozna dejstva o telesnem stanju, zdravju in nekaterih posebnostih psihološkega delovanja starejših. Precej razširjena pa so zmotna prepričanja, ki odražajo negativne stereotipe o staranju in starejših osebah, zlasti na področju spoznavnega, oziroma širše, psihosocialnega delovanja starejših. Na tej podlagi menimo, da je za formalno in neformalno izobraževanje pomembno ustrezno informiranje odraslih