Merits of intergenerational interviews in attracting psychology students for aging-related work: a qualitative study

Abstract

The lack of adequate numbers of people working with older adults in an aging society implies the potential of attracting students from other disciplines to the field. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 52 Chinese psychology students who took a gerontological psychology course designed to prepare them for aging-related careers. As younger students having conversations with older people benefits their learning of gerontology, to accomplish the course tasks, each student had to interview an older person, analyze the data, and write a report with reflectivity. Thematic analysis of the students’ written reports indicated that intergenerational interviewing is rewarding in preparing them for aging-related work in that the students gained both concrete knowledge about aging and experiences of doing gerontological qualitative research, realized that intergenerational interviewing benefits both themselves and their interviewees, and went through a process of personal development that is necessary for a gerontological career. Implications for future research and practice in cultivating psychology students’ interest in aging-related work were discussed.

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