A Scale Proposition on the Discourse Curiosity of Aging

This study focuses on the effects of discourse on aging. Whether the discourse of aging causes curiosity of aging is revealed with this study. In order to create a survey of 10 questions to be applied to the participants, an item pool was created with 145 participants in Adana-Turkey. The data obtained with the item pool were transformed into 12 questions with the qualitative method (Conceptualization, Classification, Component analysis). 12 questions were voted by the committee of 7 academicians who experts in different fields were. A survey of 10 questions obtained as a result of the voting was applied to 121 participants selected from Hatay-Turkey for the pre-test. As a result, the sample of the study consisted of 112 adult individuals (40-50 years of age range). The study was carried out in Mersin, Turkey in 2021. The results of the study showed that the aging discourse caused curiosity in middle-aged individuals. According to the results obtained, measurement ranges/scores were determined to rate the discourse-based curiosity of the individuals. The participants’ discourse-based aging curiosity was at a high level. In the context of sensitivity to aging, it was determined that the participants were moderately sensitive.

Keywords: Aging discourse; Aging curiosity; Discourse curiosity scale; Social work; Social policy