title: The Role of Communication Perceptions in the Mental Health of Older Adults: Views From Thailand and the United States.
abstract: This study examines age ingroup and outgroup communication perceptions of older Thai and American adults to assess whether communication perceptions of self and others are associated with mental health outcomes such as personal self-esteem, collective self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Results suggest that more accommodation by same-age older others leads to greater personal self-esteem, greater group esteem, and greater life satisfaction, while more nonaccommodation by younger others leads to less life satisfaction for the Thais and Americans. More overaccommodation by younger others was found to lead to less personal self-esteem and less life satisfaction for the sample as a whole. Discriminant loadings show life satisfaction was the most important variable in distinguishing between the prototypical older Thai and American respondent. The overall profile shows the typical Thai older adult participants as perceiving members of their own age ingroup as communicatively avoidant and overaccommodating while also experiencing lower collective self-esteem and life satisfaction. Typical older Americans tended to be associated with higher collective self-esteem and life satisfaction.
authors.affiliation: a Communication Studies Department, Young Harris College.
authors.forename: Shaughan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Keaton
authors.affiliation: b Department of Human Resources and Organizational Behavior, University of California , Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: McCann
authors.affiliation: c Department of Communication Studies, University of California , Santa Barbara.
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Giles
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003142:Communication; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012649:Self Concept; D013785:Thailand; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult