Abstract

This study uses [the instrument of ageing anxiety] in order to find if a negative prejudice against the old affects the attitude toward sex of the aged. The result shows no significant relation between ageing anxiety and the knowledge of and attitude toward sex of the aged. However, it does show that the higher the ageing anxiety is, the lower the knowledge of sex and the more restrictive the attitude toward it. The knowledge of and attitude toward sex of the aged shows meaninggul changes after education. Nursing students who were educated come to have more knowledge about and are more open to it. This result supports the preposition of this study. As society grows older the endeavour to guarantee a high-quality life for the old is necessary and the old should be regarded as an entity which has its own characteristic desires. Especially for the old to enjoy a good life as a sexual being, the mystical barriers about sex and old age ought to be removed. In the future the old themselves may maintain sexual desires regardless of age and society will be required to correct its prejudice against the old having sex. Particularly nursing students, as an effort to provide the old with overall care, should examine the elderly's sexual desires in a physical, psychological, and social context and consider the normal sexual changes occuring during the aging process and finally integrate this information into their nursing plans. In order to fulfill this role successfully they should overcome their own prejudice and educate themselves about this particular problem. As the proportion of the old becomes bigger and the concern about the quality of their life grows, sex among the old will become more important in the nursing field. By putting an educational mediation programme into operation with nursing students and estimating the effect, this study supplies the foundation to activate new educational programmes. In short it tells us that education can be a practical method to confront the myth and conventions concerning sex among the aged.