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Perceptions of inter- and intra-generational communication in the United States of America and the People's Republic of China: Implications for Self-Esteem and Life Satisfaction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2015

Kimberly A. Noels ,
Howard Giles ,
Deborah Cai  and
Lisa Turay
Kimberly A. Noels
Affiliation:
University of Saskatchewan, CANADA
Howard Giles
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
Deborah Cai
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, USA
Lisa Turay
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
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Abstract

The present investigation examined older people's views on communication with younger and older adults to determine if older people's perceptions parallel research findings that suggest that young adults view intra-generational communication more positively than inter-generational communication. Additionally, drawing upon the Communication Predicament of Aging model (Ryan, Giles, Bartolucci, & Henwood, 1986), it considers how these perceptions relate to psychological health. In a first study, older and younger adults from the United States of America responded to a questionnaire survey about their experiences of talking to older and younger adults. The results of analyses of variance suggested that younger adults have less positive perceptions of inter-generational communication than older adults. Regression analyses examined the link between communication climate and psychological health indices, and suggested that psychological health is related to inter-generational and intra-generational communication variables for older participants. In a second study, variations in older adults' intra- and intergroup perceptions were compared across the United States and the People's Republic of China. Unlike their American peers, intergenerational communication was not a significant correlate of adjustment in the Chinese sample, although intragenerational variables were again implicated.

Type
Part IV. Language and Ageing
Information
South Pacific Journal of Psychology , Volume 10 , Issue 1: Special Issue: Asia-Pacific Language Research , 1999 , pp. 120 - 135
Copyright
Copyright © University of Papua New Guinea and the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Territory University, Australia 1999

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