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.
Giles
Howard
H
Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4020, USA. howiegiles@cox.net
Hajek
Christopher
C
Stoitsova
Tolya
T
Choi
Charles W
CW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002031:Bulgaria; D002140:California; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
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