The Influence of Client Age on Clinical Judgements of Male and Female Social Workers

Social workers were presented with a clinical vignette in which client age was systematically varied. There were no differences in ratings of older and younger clients on prognosis or pathnology. The older client was not seen as less ideal or more organically impaired, and treatment recommendations did not differ. However, female social workers attached significantly less importance to psychodynamic issues for the older client than the younger.