Effects of Family Members’ Communication on Young Adults’ Attitudes Toward Aging

• In Event: Communicating Intergenerationally and About Aging

Abstract

In this study, which was guided by the communicative ecology model of successful aging (CEMSA), we examined how young adults’ experiences of communication with family members about these topics related to young adults’ attitudes and communication about aging. N = 320 young adults (age 18-30) completed a survey assessing their parents’ and grandparents’ negative talk about aging (NTA) and discussion of caretaking and death (DCD), and their own attitudes toward aging. Consistent with the CEMSA’s predictions, encountering NTA (from parents) was associated with young adults’ experiencing higher levels of negative affect and anxiety about aging, and lower levels of efficacy about aging. Family members’ DCD also predicted young adults’ communication about health-related care wishes, an important issue in aging successfully. This study is one of the first to provide clear evidence that family members’ communication about age is consequential for young adults’ attitudes toward their own aging.

Authors

• Jessica Gasiorek, U of Hawaii - Manoa

• Katelyn Smith, U of Hawaii at Manoa