Mediating effects of ageism and knowledge on the relationship between contact with older adults and attitudes toward older adults' sexuality among nursing students

Healthcare professionals often ignore sexuality in aging and avoid discussing related topics, especially in China. Nursing students, as future professionals, can address the sexuality of older adults encountered in clinical practice by establishing positive attitudes toward aging sexuality. Previous studies have demonstrated that contact has positive impacts on nursing students' attitudes toward aging sexuality. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying this relationship between contact and attitudes. To explore the mediating effects of ageism and knowledge on the relationship between contact and nursing students' attitudes toward aging sexuality. This was a cross-sectional study. The study was conducted at a nursing school in Hefei city, China. 614 nursing students completed online-administered questionnaires measuring the level of contact with older adults, ageism, knowledge, and attitudes toward aging sexuality. Data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS. The mean scores for knowledge and attitudes toward aging sexuality were 85.70 (SD = 16.39) and 104.91 (SD = 14.88), respectively. Overall, our findings confirmed that these hypotheses were accepted. Ageism (β = −0.079, P = 0.007) and knowledge (β = −0.070, P < 0.001) mediated the relationship between contact and attitude. Given the mediating role of ageism and knowledge in the relationship between contact and attitude, reducing ageism and enhancing knowledge are vital to changing students' attitudes, including integrating ageism and aging sexuality knowledge learning into the nursing curriculum and creating opportunities for contact with older adults. The frequency and quality of contact between nursing students and older adults can be improved by rationalizing the internship duration, tasks, and assessment objectives of placements on geriatric wards and by the role of clinical faculty role models in cultivating positive attitudes toward aging sexuality.