Research article summary (published 30 Aug 2005):

Intergenerational communication beliefs across the lifespan: comparative data from Ghana and South Africa.

Full Abstract

This paper examines (for the first time) young adult American, Ghanaian, and Black South Africans' perceptions of communication and aging. Irrespective of cultural background, as age of target increased, so did trait attributions of benevolence, norms of politeness and deference, and communicative respect and avoidance; however, attributions of personal vitality and communication satisfaction decreased linearly. Young adults' reported avoidant communication with older people negatively predicted their conversational satisfaction and enjoyment of it. In addition, communicative respect was more strongly predictive of Africans' satisfaction while certain age stereotypes had contrastive effects for the Ghanaian and South Africans' enjoyment of intergenerational communication.

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Author information

Author/s: Giles, Howard (H); Makoni, Sinfree (S); Dailey, René M (RM);

Affiliation: Department of Communication, University of California, Ellison Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4020, USA. HowieGiles@cox.net

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Journal of cross-cultural gerontology (J Cross Cult Gerontol), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2005-Sep; vol 20 (issue 3) : pp 191-211

Dates: Created 2006/12/12; Completed 2007/02/27;

PMID: 17013670, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult - psychology African Continental Ancestry Group - psychology Aged Attitude - ethnology Communication Cross-Cultural Comparison Female Ghana Humans Intergenerational Relations - ethnology

Intergenerational Relations - ethnology Male Middle Aged Questionnaires Social Perception South Africa Stereotyping Students - psychology United States Universities

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