The present study aimed to see the relationship between the educational levels of the elderly in their attitude towards their age and their household decision-making. 300 elderly participants, ages varying from 60 to 80 years, were selected by stratified random sampling technique from Paschim Vihar, Vikas Puri, and Janakpuri areas of Delhi. The participants were classified into three groups: less educated (N=49), moderately educated (N=65), and highly educated (N=186). These participants were administered Attitude towards old age schedule (Palmore, E. 1977) and Household decision-making scale (VanWilligen and Chadha in 1989) individually. It was found that in terms of household decision-making, a significant difference was found in the purchase of home appliances, furniture and in deciding children's schooling. In terms of overall decision-making, no difference was found between groups one and two, but there were differences between groups one and three, and groups two and three. Secondarily, it was found that the attitude of the elderly didn't vary with education levels, i.e. no statistically significant difference was found between the three groups. The research can be further used to create meaningful interventions for the elderly to improve their quality of life.
Educational qualifications, Elderly, Attitude towards old age, Household decision-making.
