Present-Future Self-Continuity and Intergenerational Communication as Predictors of Young Adults’ Evaluations of Older Adults and Attitudes Toward Aging

This study examined how young adults’ perceived similarity to their future self at age 70 ( present-future self-continuity) and experiences of environmental “chatter” about aging predicted their views of older adults, and their anxiety and efficacy related to aging. Experiencing nonaccommodation from older adults predicted greater anxiety, lower efficacy, and more negative views of older adults; greater present-future self-continuity predicted higher efficacy about aging. Young adults’ present-future self-continuity also moderated the effects of accommodation from older adults on these outcomes.

Review and Implications of Intergenerational Communication and Social Support in Chronic Disease Care and Participation in Health Research of Low-Income, Minority Older Adults in the United States

Background: Health disparities disproportionally affect Black and Hispanic older US adults. Health research is needed to understand and eliminate these disparities; however, older adults, and particularly Black and Hispanic/Latino older adults are underrepresented in health research. Adult children have influenced health behavior and health outcomes of their older parents in several demographics in the US. Analysis of these studies can lead to a model for the development of interventions aimed at improving health and healthcare participation of older Black and Hispanic US adults.Objectives: To review the role of intergenerational communication and social support in health behavior, health research, and health outcomes for older adults and to apply these findings toward a model for health interventions for Black and Hispanic US older adults.Methods: An analytical narrative review and application toward an intervention model.Results: Key topic areas were reviewed and analyzed by examining studies that applied forms of intergenerational communication and/or intergenerational social support with the goal of either improving health, disease management and/or participation in health research in populations world-wide. Next, a model for providing health interventions in older Black and Hispanic US adults was developed using strategies gleaned from the findings.Conclusion: A model for health intervention for Black and Hispanic/Latino US older adults was presented based on an analytical review and intergenerational communication and/or social support. Qualitative data are necessary to understand the enablers and barriers of intergenerational communication and social support to improve health outcomes in these populations.

Transforming social norms to improve girl-child health and well-being: a realist evaluation of the Girls’ Holistic Development program in rural Senegal

Background Early adolescence is a critical period where social norms, attitudes, and behaviors around gender equality form. Social norms influence adolescent choices and behaviors and are reinforced by caregivers and community members, affecting girls’ reproductive health and educational opportunities. Understanding how to shift these often-interconnected norms to delay child marriage, pregnancy and keep girls in school requires understanding of the structure and dynamics of family and community systems. The Senegalese and American non-governmental organization, the Grandmothers Project—Change through Culture, seeks to address these intertwined factors through innovative community change strategies that build on the specific structure and values of West African collectivist cultures. Methods The Girls’ Holistic Development approach in rural Vélingara, Senegal posits that by increasing recognition, knowledge and empowerment of elder community women and reinforcing intergenerational communication and decision-making, community members including girls will support and advocate on behalf of girls’ interests and desires. We assessed the Girls Holistic Development approach using Realist Evaluation with a mixed-method, quasi-experimental design with a comparison population. We examined differences in intergenerational communication, decision-making and descriptive and injunctive norms related to early marriage, pregnancy and schooling. Results After 18 months, intergenerational communication was more likely, grandmothers felt more valued in their communities, adolescent girls felt more supported with improved agency, and norms were shifting to support delayed marriage and pregnancy and keeping girls in school. Grandmothers in intervention villages were statistically significantly more likely to be perceived as influential decision-makers by both VYA girls and caregivers for marriage and schooling decisions compared to girls and caregivers in comparison villages. Conclusions This realist evaluation demonstrated shift in social norms, particularly for VYA girls, in intervention villages favoring delaying girls’ marriage, preventing early pregnancy and keeping girls in school along with increased support for and action by grandmothers to support girls and their well-being related to these same outcomes. These shifts represent greater community social cohesion on girl-child issues. This research helps explain the linkage between social norms and girls’ reproductive health and education outcomes and demonstrates that normative shifts can lead to behavior change via collective community action mechanisms.

Impacts of COVID-19 and partial lockdown on family functioning, intergenerational communication and associated psychosocial factors among young adults in Singapore

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our daily lives. Most of the working adults adopted the work-from-home arrangement while students shifted to home-based learning. Being confined together allows families to foster stronger bonds. On the other hand, the on-going pandemic could have negative impacts on family relationships. The COVID-19 outbreak is still on-going worldwide, understanding more about the changes in family functioning and its associated psychological impacts in a pandemic would allow the authorities to provide more targeted support to families. Objectives This study aimed to examine the factors associated with family functioning among young adults in Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic. Family functioning refers to the quality of interactions among family members, and consists of cohesion, flexibility and communication. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was conducted (N = 390). The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale Short Form (FACES-IV-SF) and Global Perceptions of Intergenerational Communication Scale (GPIC) were used to examine family functioning and intergeneration communication during the partial lockdown. Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD), Social Support Questionnaire–Brief (SSQ-B), Perceived Stress Scale 4 (PSS), UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) examined the psychosocial impact. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and regression model were employed in the analysis. Results The FACES-IV-SF score for total circumplex ratio has a mean of 1.57(SD = 0.58), suggesting that participants generally perceived their families as functioning relatively well. The mean scores for CESD, PSS, Loneliness and BRCS were 12.4(6.2), 8.0(2.6), 5.7(1.9) and 12.6(3.1) respectively. The mean scores of the 4 domains of GPIC were 21.5(4.0) for Accommodation, 25.0(6.7) for Non-Accommodation, 17.2(3.3) for Respect-Obligation, and 18.9(4.8) for Avoidant. Conclusion The results suggested that family functioning is significantly associated with intergenerational communication and satisfaction with social support in a pandemic. Participants with balanced levels of cohesion and flexibility in their families are more likely to be able to cope with the psychological impacts of the pandemic. The findings serve to inform intervention and preventive efforts to improve family functioning and reduce the risk of psychological distress in a pandemic.

On the forms of manifestation of intergenerational discourse

В статье исследуются формы актуализации межпоколенческого дискурса в речи. Данный дискурс, несмотря на повседневное использование, до недавнего времени оставался малоизученным с точки зрения лингвистики. Представляя собой лингвокультурный феномен, межпоколенческий дискурс подразумевает в широком смысле взаимодействие различных (двух и более) поколений людей, что определенным образом эксплицируется в процессе интеракции. В более узком смысле межпоколенческий дискурс представляет собой взаимодействие представителей различных поколений внутри одной семьи (поколенческая когорта объединена по биологическим признакам). Одним из наименее изученных аспектов является актуализация межпоколенческого дискурса, представленная преимущественно в трех формах: вербальной экспликации со стороны участвующих в интеракции конверсационных партнеров (представителей различных поколенческих когорт), сочетании вербальной и поведенческой внешней (невербальной) реакции, а также проявление только невербальной составляющей. Взаимодействие поколений подразумевает различные сочетания данных проявлений, которые, как правило, обладают определенной эмоциональной окрашенностью, как положительной, так и отрицательной с различной степенью эмоционального накала, что зависит от ориентации дискурса на кооперацию или на конфронтацию («конфликт поколений»). Проявления межпоколенческого взаимодействия, как и содержательная составляющая, детерминируются существующими социально-культурными условиями. The article explores the forms in which intergenerational discourse is revealed in people’s inter-actions. Despite the active daily use of intergenerational discourse this kind of discourse has so far not been studied thoroughly by linguists. Being a linguacultural phenomenon, intergenerational discourse, in a broad sense, presupposes the interaction of two or more different generations. In a narrow sense, intergenerational discourse means communication between the representatives of different generations within one family (a generational cohort is united by biological characteristics). One of the less researched areas is how this kind of discourse is manifested. The forms vary with three dominating patterns made visible in the interaction of the representatives of different generations; more specifically, the discourse can be observed in a pure verbal interaction of the dialogue participants (the representatives of specific generational cohorts), in the combination of the verbal and external behavior (non-verbal) manifestation, or only through non-verbal reactions. Intergenerational discourse aims either at cooperation or at confrontation (the conflict of generations). The forms of revealing intergenerational communication along with the content component are determined by the predominant social and cultural conditions and norms.

Conversation Breeds Compliance: The Role of Intergenerational Communication in Promoting Preventive Behaviors against COVID-19 among Middle-Aged Parents in China

This study aims to explore and compare the influences of two crucial information channels used by middle-aged parents—media and their adult children—on their health knowledge, emotions and preventive behaviors against COVID-19, based on media exposure and the family communication patterns (FCP) theory. Parents of college students in Guangzhou, China were invited to participate in an online survey between February 10 and 24, 2020. A total of 193 respondents, aged between 40 and 65 years, completed the study questionnaire. Media exposure was a positive predictor of negative emotions, intergenerational discussions, and preventive behaviors among Chinese middle-aged parents. Conversation orientation was a positive predictor of scientific discussions and preventive behaviors, whereas conformity orientation was a negative predictor of knowledge, but a positive predictor of intergenerational discussions and negative emotions. Intergenerational discussions mediated the relationships between media exposure and preventive behaviors, as well as between FCP and preventive behaviors. Health communication efforts require the help of adult children as intergenerational communication serves as an important amplifier in terms of influencing the health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of middle-aged and elderly populations.

“Why Are You Running Away From Social Media?” Analysis of the Factors Influencing Social Media Fatigue: An Empirical Data Study Based on Chinese Youth

In the digital era, social media is increasingly permeating the fragmented lives of people. While enjoying the convenience and speed of online socializing, people are gradually surrounded by a variety of information. Through observations and interviews, we found that young people are plagued by negative comparisons, interaction dysfunction, information overload, social overload, and intergenerational communication in the process of participating in social media. Increasing numbers of young people feel overwhelmed in the process of online socialization and the phenomenon of social media fatigue (SMF) gradually spreads. This study combined the existing relevant theoretical models of the influencing factors of SMF and the real-life empirical materials of youth groups. Furthermore, this study enriched into new research variables and validated the data of relevant variables through a questionnaire survey (n = 663) to explore the influencing factors of SMF of youth groups and inductively analyze the inner logic of the emergence of SMF among such groups. It was found that negative comparison, interaction dysregulation, information overload, social overload, self-efficacy, and impression management all had significant positive effects on SMF behaviors, while privacy anxiety and intergenerational communication had no significant positive effects on SMF behaviors.

Interlocutors’ Age Impacts Teenagers’ Online Writing Style: Accommodation in Intra- and Intergenerational Online Conversations

The present study examines how teenagers adapt their language use to that of their conversation partner (i.e., the linguistic phenomenon of accommodation) in interactions with peers (intragenerational communication) and with older interlocutors (intergenerational communication). We analyze a large corpus of Flemish teenagers’ conversations on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, which appear to be highly peer-oriented. With Poisson models, we examine whether the teenage participants adjust their writing style to older interlocutors. The same trend emerges for three sets of prototypical markers of the informal online genre: teenagers insert significantly fewer of these markers when interacting with older interlocutors, thus matching their interlocutors’ style and increasing linguistic similarity. Finally, the analyses reveal subtle differences in accommodation patterns for the distinct linguistic variables with respect to the impact of the teenagers’ sociodemographic profiles and their interlocutors’ age.