Intergenerational Family Communication: Generational Differences in Rural Families

Abstract

The aging of our society creates increased opportunity for intergenerational communication between parents and adult children. While many researchers have studied the overall relationships within intergenerational families, few have examined communication within such families. This study explores generational differences in perceptions of communication problems, family communication resources and communication satisfaction in a specific intergenerational family system -the intergenerational farm family. Using repeated measures MANOVA, generational communication differences were examined with a sample of 284 adult family members. The younger generation saw significantly more communication problems in the intergenarational family, viewed fewer family communication resources and had lower family communication satisfaction than the older generation. The discussion highlighted four factors that may account for these generational communication differences.