Communication Ambivalence Toward Elders: Data from North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the U.S.A.

This study investigated young adults' beliefs about their intra- and intergenerational communications in South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the U.S.A. Respondents perceived their interactions with older people as simultaneously more problematic (e.g., older people seen as more nonaccommodative) and more pleasing (e.g., older adults seen as more accommodative) than their interactions with other young adults. Young adults also strongly felt more of an obligation to be respectful, and to a lesser degree avoidant, in their communication with older adults than to those in their peer age group. Large-scale linguistic, historical, political, and cultural differences notwithstanding, a similar intergenerational communication profile emerged among the North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese, and American respondents in their reports of their communication with people of different ages. Intergroup, cultural, identity, and modernity issues were invoked to account for these findings.     

Empathy and Conversational Enjoyment in Younger and Older Adults

Background/Study Context: Investigations of empathy across adulthood have yielded mixed findings, yet its contribution to successful social interactions is clear.

Methods: Here, the authors investigate the relationship between empathy and self-reported conversation enjoyment in 144 young adults (M _age = 19.50) and 120 older adults (M _age = 68.75). Participants completed three empathy-related measures (Interpersonal Reactivity Index [IRI], Toronto Empathy Questionnaire [TEQ], and Affect Intensity Measure [AIM]), and rated their enjoyment of recalled conversations with diverse targets.

Results: On the IRI, older adults had higher scores than younger adults on Empathic Concern, but lower scores on the Personal Distress and Fantasy subscales. For younger adults, conversations with same-age acquaintances were most enjoyable and conversations with children and older adults were least enjoyable. Older adults reported similar enjoyment across all groups. However, the links between conversation enjoyment and empathy were stronger for older adults.

Conclusion: These results highlight the importance of a multidimensional view of empathy, and the possibility that empathy influences conversational interactions differentially across the life span.     

Participation in intergenerational Service-Learning benefits older adults: A brief report

ABSTRACT

Most research on intergenerational service-learning has focused on the benefits for college students, with fewer studies examining the benefits to older adults. The present study was designed to assess the impact on older adults of participating in Working Together: Intergenerational Student/Senior Exchange, a brief intergenerational service-learning program that brings together college students and older adults as equal partners to promote intergenerational understanding and communication. Older adults from an assisted living community met up to six times with students enrolled in aging-related courses to discuss a variety of topics and get to know one another. Results showed brief intergenerational service-learning benefits older adults with significant increases in generativity from pre-to post-program assessment. Additionally, a large percentage of the participants expressed interest in participating again and a willingness to refer others to the program. Limitations and future directions are discussed.     

Effects of conversation on intracranial pressure in comatose patients

In this time series design study we investigated the effects of conversation on intracranial pressure (ICP). Two conversation types were used, and continuous measurements of ICP were recorded. Type 1 conversation was an emotionally referenced conversation that reflected an actual nursing report on the patient's current condition. Type 2 conversation was a predetermined dialogue unrelated to the patient. Two hypotheses were tested to determine the existence of differences between the ICP measurements at baseline and the ICP measurements during any conversation, and differences between the ICP measurements recorded during type 1 conversation and during type 2 conversation. Eight subjects served as their own control. T tests were performed between the mean scores of the minimum, maximum, and average ICP measurements before, during, and after both conversations. The hypotheses were not supported by the findings. There was, however, a statistically significant decrease in ICP when minimum ICP measurements before type 2 conversations were compared with measurements recorded during type 2 conversation. The data also demonstrated a wide variation of individual patient responses. The results of the current study suggest that the direction of influence from conversation on the ICP is individual and may be influenced greatly by the patient's level of consciousness.     

Intergenerational solidarity: an examination of a theoretical model

This study provided an empirical test of a widely cited proposed model of intergenerational solidarity. The model emphasizes that association, affect, and consensus are interdependent dimensions of solidarity and offers an explanatory rationale for parent-child solidarity. Path analysis techniques were used with a sample of 279 older rural-transitional parents. The results showed little support for the model, but the data indicated that residential propinquity and mutual helping behavior were strong predictors of intergenerational association. The importance of the indirect effect of sex linkage via mutual help to associational solidarity also received strong support. The results showed that the proposed model was useful in explaining objective solidarity (association) but not subjective solidarity (consensus and affection) and that these variables were not dimensions of one construct.     

Just jokes! Icebreakers,innuendo, teasing and talking: The role of humour in HIV/AIDS peer education among university students

Peer conversation provides an important platform for people to explore and disseminate sexual health knowledge. Humour forms part of conversations held between peers including those where sexual health and sexual decisions are discussed. The central argument of this article links conversation, humour and peer education. Drawing on interviews and diaries kept by 12 student peer educators over a two-month period in a South African university, the article explores the forms and functions of humour in instigating and encouraging informal peer education between young people in a university setting. The evidence shows that humour can foster intimacy, familiarity and camaraderie in peer interactions; keeps conversation moving; and acts as a gateway to discussion of taboo, personal and private subjects that lie at the core of effective peer education. Components of humour (joking, teasing, innuendo, provocation) and the transformation of the serious (and boring) into the enjoyable (and accessible) are found in these peer interactions. However, humour can also limit communication by keeping conversations light and superficial or, in the case of inappropriate humour, close conversation altogether. Acknowledging the nuances of humour within conversation and peer education allows for a clearer understanding of the ways in which humour contributes to effective health promotion efforts and how it can be used within peer educator practice. The effect of the personality traits of peer educators on effective use of humour in conversation is an area that could benefit from further insight and research.     

DTDs go XML schema--a tools perspective.

Document Type Definitions (DTDs) are widely used to describe the structure of XML documents. The Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) and the Guideline Element Model (GEM) are examples from the healthcare domain. XML schemas provide another way to describe types of XML documents. In this paper we aim to advocate XML schemas from the perspective of an ANSI standard, the XML based CDA from HL7 (ANSI/HL7 CDA R1.0-2000). It turned out that existing tools do not fully exploit the knowledge contained in DTDs and XML schemas. The result of this study is a set of tools (DTD to XML Schema translator, DTD and XML schema browser, XML editor), which can be downloaded from the official W3C site and which work with any DTD and XML schema.     

Intergenerational Communication Satisfaction and Age Boundaries in Bulgaria and the United States

This paper examines Bulgarian and American young adults’ perceptions of prior experiences of intergenerational communication. Irrespective of culture, as age of target increased from young adult to middle-aged and elderly adult, so did attributions of benevolence, norms of politeness and deference, and communicative respect and avoidance; conversely, attributions of personal vitality and communication satisfaction decreased linearly. However, American youth reported more of a tendency to avoid, but expressed more respect when communicating with, older adults than their Bulgarian counterparts. In both settings, young adults’ avoidant communication with older people negatively, and the norm of politeness positively, predicted intergenerational communication satisfaction. In Bulgaria only, age stereotypes also predicted communication satisfaction whereas only in the USA was communicative respect a predictor.     

Family,Know Thyself: A Workbook-Based Intergenerational Intervention to Improve Parent Care Coordination

This pilot study tested the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of a workbook-based intervention to enhance intergenerational collaboration in elder parent care coordination. Older parents and their adult children completed a written assessment of parent care needs and wishes, along with perceptions of family functioning, communication, and decision-making skills. Responses were assembled into a workbook. A facilitator led the family through a 1-hour education session, teaching skills and highlighting areas of agreement and disagreement. Post-intervention ratings suggested that families found the intervention to be informative and useful. Family members commented that the intervention prompted them to consider new issues in parent care and to discover gaps in their knowledge about parents. This type of intervention may help late-life families have important preparatory conversations about care needs and coordination.     

How peer conversations about HIV/AIDS media messages affect comprehension and beliefs of young South African women

Most existent research on the effects of interpersonal discussions about health campaign messages is based on surveys. In this study, we analysed actual conversations about an HIV/AIDS poster to find out possible effects. Young South African women in 59 dyads (n?=?118) participated in conversations about a deliberately puzzling HIV and AIDS poster that cautioned the target group to be faithful to one sexual partner. We measured their comprehension of the poster and beliefs about the message, before and after the conversations. Overall, actual comprehension (AC) was low, and we observed a large discrepancy between actual and perceived comprehension. In general, conversations did not improve AC. It proved to be even more probable that a correct interpretation before a conversation turned into an incorrect interpretation than the other way around. However, having a well-informed conversation partner increased the chance of acquiring adequate subsequent comprehension. We found, in general, that conversations did not decrease undesirable beliefs. One important undesirable belief even became reinforced after the conversations. Conversations among peers might be valuable in health campaigns, but our study shows that intended positive effects do not automatically follow.     

Social interactions and depressive symptoms among community dwelling older adults in Nepal: A synergic effect model

In Asian families, where patriarchal family systems are common, living arrangements of older adults are characterized by residing with a married son. This study examines the synergic effects of intergenerational solidarity (emotional and instrumental support exchange and anticipated support) on depression of older adults from a developing country, Nepal. Gender differences are also explored in the study. This was a cross-sectional face-to-face interview study of 489 community dwelling older adults living in an urban area of Nepal. The data were analyzed using multiple regression models with each dimension of intergenerational solidarity and conflict variables entered one-by-one with the confounding variables. The results illustrate that older women receiving lower emotional and instrumental support were significantly more likely to be depressed compared to older men receiving less support from their son. Also, women reporting lower anticipated support and higher conflict with their son were more likely to be depressed than men. Regarding synergic effects, emotional support exchange buffered against the deleterious effects of conflict with depression in older adults. The results highlight a need for further research on late life intergenerational relationships (IR) and mental health of older adults in developing countries so that it can be useful for health care practitioners.     

Perceived intergenerational solidarity and psychological distress among older Mexican Americans.

A model separating and relating dimensions of intergenerational solidarity with measures of psychological distress was investigated for older Mexican Americans. Solidarity consisted of measures of similarity, affection, and association. Measures of psychological distress were somatic/retarded symptoms, depressed affect, and positive affect. To evaluate whether emotional closeness with a particular child modified the linkages, the model was analyzed separately based on whether or not the elderly participant reported that the child included in the intergenerational study was her or his closest child. The findings indicated that the impact of affection and association was a function of the particular dimension of distress and the emotional closeness of the child. Although the proposed model needs expanding, it provides some support for the expectation that family solidarity has important consequences for elderly Mexican Americans.     

The relationship of intergenerational reciprocity of aid to the morale of older parents: equity and exchange theory comparisons

Information concerning the relationship of intergenerational helping to older adult well-being is ambiguous. Intergenerational reciprocity was investigated using two competing theoretical perspectives, social exchange and equity propositions. Social exchange propositions predict a linear relationship between intergenerational aid and older parent morale, with higher morale positively related to giving or receiving more intergenerational help. Equity propositions predict that the intergenerational aid, morale relationship will be curvilinear, with higher older parent morale related to balanced exchanges of intergenerational aid. Neither theoretical perspective was supported by the data. Intergenerational aid was not useful in explaining variance in older parent morale regardless of the operational definition of intergenerational aid. These results provide support for earlier studies that conclude the amount of help exchanged within families does not affect the well-being of older family members.     

Forms of communication: A cross-cultural comparison of older married couples in the USA and Japan

Interviews were conducted with 24 older couples in the USA and Japan. Spouses participated in a causal conversation during which they discussed their marital history. The dialogue between the spouses was examined in relation to five forms of communication: prompting, questioning, echoing, contradicting, and teasing. Results from this analysis challenge some of the stereotypes concerning Japanese and American communication patterns. Couples in both countries engaged in teasing but the purpose of these kinds of exchanges differed for the American and the Japanese spouses. Findings are discussed in relation to cultural and gender differences and similarities in forms of communication between older spouses.     

“The child can remember your voice”: parent–child communication about sexuality in the South African context

There is a wealth of research on parent–child communication about sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and its influence on young people’s sexual behaviours. However, most of it is from the global North. The aim of this study was to explore parent–child communication in three South African provinces: Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Mpumalanga. Nine, peer, focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with young and adult black African men and women in their spoken languages. Data were analysed thematically. Findings revealed that cultural and religious constructions of taboo silenced direct communication and restricted the discussed topics. Parents’ older age, low educational level, lack of knowledge, and discomfort in talking about sexuality matters were reported to restrict conversations with children about sex and sexuality. The influence of these factors differed for parents residing in an urban setting who were more liberal than their counterparts residing in more rural areas. The child’s age and gender were also reported to be a consideration in approaching these conversations. There is a need for interventions to assist parents on how to communicate with their children about SRHR topics beyond pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. These interventions should take into account and address factors that seem to influence parent–child communication.     

The effect of widowhood on intergenerational ambivalence

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the extent to which widowhood affects older adults' ambivalence about their adult children, (b) the role of intergenerational dependence in explaining the effect of widowhood on parent-child ambivalence, and (c) temporal changes in the effects of widowhood on ambivalence. METHODS: We based analyses on Changing Lives of Older Couples, a prospective study of 1,532 married individuals aged 65 and older. We used ordinary least squares regression models to estimate the direct effect of widowhood and the mediating effects of dependence on intergenerational ambivalence 6 and 18 months after spousal loss. RESULT: Widowhood was associated with a decrease in ambivalent feelings toward adult children 6 months after spousal loss, which was partially explained by a reduction in the extent to which children were dependent upon their bereaved parents. However, at 18 months, widowhood did not exert any significant influence on intergenerational ambivalence. DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that major life events such as widowhood influence intergenerational ambivalence. The results shed light on the mechanisms by which parent-child dependence contributes to intergenerational ambivalence.     

Psychotherapeutic Treatment Levels for Personality Disorders in Older Adults

Treatment of personality disorders (PDs) in older adults is a highly underexplored topic. In this article clinical applicability of the findings from a recent Delphi study regarding treatment aspects of PDs in older adults is explored. This concerns the relevance of three psychotherapeutic treatment levels for PDs in later life: (a) personality-changing treatment, (b) adaptation-enhancing treatment, and (c) supportive-structuring treatment. By means of three cases concerning the three levels, all from a cognitive behavioral perspective, namely (a) schema therapy, (b) cognitive behavioral therapy, and (c) behavioral therapy, we illustrate the usefulness of the different levels in the selection of treatment for older adults with PDs. Throughout all treatment levels, attention to specific age-related psychotherapeutic topics—such as loss of health and autonomy, cohort beliefs, sociocultural context, beliefs about and consequences of somatic comorbidity, intergenerational linkages, and changing life perspectives—is crucial, as they often cause an exacerbation of personality pathology in later life. Suggestions as to how to adapt existing treatments within a cognitive behavioral framework in order to better mold them to the needs and experiences of older adults with PDs are discussed.     

Is intergenerational solidarity a unidimensional construct? A second test of a formal model

Results from a second empirical test of a theory of intergenerational family relations, as an example of empirically driven theory construction in social gerontology, are presented. The theory we tested reflects an attempt to explain later-life patterns of affection, association, and consensus between parents and children as interdependent components of a meta-construct--family intergenerational solidarity. The theoretical model also identifies variables that are expected to predict variations in levels of solidarity. A recent empirical test (Atkinson, Kivett, and Campbell, 1986) offered little support for the central proposition of the model: that solidarity can be indexed by a linear-additive composite of affection, association, and consensus. The replication analysis reported here is based on a different sample, as well as alternate measures and statistical methods. The convergent results suggest that (a) later-life intergenerational solidarity is not a unidimensional construct, and (b) different variables predict each component. This exercise of theory statement, testing, and retesting leads us to suggest several refinements to the theory acknowledging a more complex relationship between dimensions of intergenerational relations in old age.     

Chapter 8: Touchstones of Validity: The Teachers' Rewards

To maximize the success of intergenerational programs (IGPs), it is necessary to understand older adults’ concerns related to these programs and the benefits they perceive from their involvement. However, there is a lack of research that examines the perceptions of racial minority older adults’ involved in IGPs and sociodemographic predictors of IGPs outcomes. This study examined older adults’ (n?=?195) perceptions of the Linking Intergenerational Networks in Communities (LINC) Project, an intergenerational program, in South Carolina, and explored whether outcomes varied by race. Findings suggest that older adults’ race and ethnicity were associated with a variety of perceived benefits and concerns in LINC.