THE 12 TH EUROPEAN CONGRESS OF PSYCHOLOGY ISTAMBUL 2011 04/08 JULY

1. THE 12TH EUROPEAN CONGRESSOF PSYCHOLOGY ISTAMBUL 2011 04/08 JULY “Attitudes of old people towards ICT in Rural Senior Centers”* Antonio González Vicente Viadel Mª Paz Ramírez (Colaboradora externa) Cuenca County Council (Spain) Social Services Support Unit * This work is part of the evaluation tool for the program: “Cuenc@enRed. Mayores” (County Council Cuenca, Spain)

2. AGING AND LIFELONG LEARNIG • Theoretical approach: • Selective optimization with compensation and active aging (Baltes & Baltes, 1990; Fernández-Ballesteros, 2008). Active role into line with attitudes, needs and desires to maintain levels of functioning, regulate losses and social participation. • The e-quality theory of aging and cognitive learnig of technology(McConatha, 2002; Chaffin & Harlow, 2005). “As the availability of electronic resources for older adults increases, the quality of the aging experience wil be enhanced”

3. METHOD • Participants.-Sample consisted of 218 older adults in the province of Cuenca (Spain). • Course “Cuenc@Network. Elderly . - 50 hours of basic training skills about computer. - 25 Centers for the Elderly (February-May 2011). • Sample selection.-Attendance of older adults to the course during the first day and during the 20 hour of training.

4. Procedure.- Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting on 37 questions: • Socio-demografic variables (7) • Frecuency computer and Internet use (2) • Expectation of the course’ difficulty (1) • Attitudes towards computer (26) [Jay & Willis, 1992; Cassidy, & Eachus, 2002; Laganà, 2008] • Attribution of self-confidence (1)

5. R E S U L T S

6. Characteristics of thesample

7. Use of computer (How long do you usually use the computer?)

8. Internet conection (Do you normally connect to the Internet?)

9. Attitudes scale of older adults toward computers • Factor and item analysis: scale was unidimensional • Reliability coefficient and factor loadings: 26-item scale was refined to 25-items. • Internal reliability: Cronbach’s alpha= 0.68 • Construct validity: positive correlations with the use of computer and internet conection (r=0.22, r=0.25)

10. Correlation matrix between variables (N=218) **p<0.01 (Bilateral)

11. T of Student (t=-8.85; p<0.0001) Significant differences between attitudes toward computers before the start of the course (M=52.74) and after 20 hours of training (M=59.51). • T of Student Significant differences between gender (t=-2.39; p<0.05) and place of origin (t=2.03; p<0.05) with respect to consideration as a self-confident person. Men: More self-confident Sample populations<2500 inhabitants: More self-confident • Anovas No significant differences in other variables

12. CONCLUSION • Positive relationshipbetweenattitudestowardthecomputer, use of computer and Internet access. • Positive relationshipbetweenattitudestowardcomputer and self-confidence. • Attitudestowardcomputerhavechangedafter 20 hours of training in basiccomputerskills: • Directexperiencewithcomputeronolderadultsledto: More positive attitudestowardcomputers. • Maincategoriesobtainedthrough a contentanalysis: “Why are youinterested in learnigto use a computer?”. • -I likelearning, -Tolearn more, -Tobe up-to-date, -Tocommunicate, -Toentertain.

13. DISCUSSION • This work is the result of an exploratory and preliminary study about the attitudes of older people toward computers. • The findings must be considered under certain methodological limitations. It is necessary: • To improve the validity and reliability of the attitude scale. • To undertake new research with diverse samples of elderly. • To design and evaluate educational programs for learning and ICT use among older. • To analyze the connections between attitudes toward the ICT, their use and the elderly’s quality of life.