Prepositions with the noun "attitude"

Question

Here is a sentence from a CPE coursebook:

This is surprising, given that great differences often exist between the attitudes of parents and adolescents on such issues.

As we can see the preposition "on" is used here. If we consult Oxford Dictionary

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/attitude

we will see that to, towards, about, and on are all in use.

My native friend from the US told me that: "I don't say attitude "to" or "on", the others are contextual" That doesn't tell us anything except for his own preferences.

My question: Is there any way to choose between "to/towards" and "on" with attitude?

Answer 1

As a native English speaker, on sounds awkward in this situation.

As pointed out by user3169, there are many other contexts in which on would be the best choice, e.g. comment(s) on, books/chapters on, advice on. Personally, however, I would rewrite your sentence:

This is surprising, given that great differences often exist between the attitudes of parents and adolescents toward such issues.

The matter of whether to use toward or towards is an entirely separate one, but you can find a fairly exhaustive discussion here. I simply don't think the s is necessary because the next word begins with s.

I would use about in phrases like, ideas about, books about, information about, but not attitudes about. As for the difference between to and towards, it's analogous to the difference between in and inside. The latter is less ambiguous and linguistically stronger. Of course, however, there are many instances in which to is the most appropriate, such as comparing apples to oranges.

In essence, your decision should be based on minimizing ambiguity and using the strongest word appropriate for the context.

Hope this helps!