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Harmonies and Tensions in Chinese Intergenerational Communication: Younger and Older Adults' Accounts
Zhang, Yan Bing Hummert, Mary Lee
Zhang, Yan Bing
Hummert, Mary Lee
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Abstract
This study examined interview accounts of intergenerational communication from twenty younger adults (M age = 24.05; Age range: 19 to 33) and thirteen older adults (M age = 67.10; Age range: 62 to 72) in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed into Chinese. Meaningful descriptions of intergenerational communication were then translated to English. Using an emergent theme analysis approach, we identified themes that fell into three broad areas: 1) positive intergenerational communication behaviors, 2) negative intergenerational behaviors, and 3) ideal intergenerational communication. The analysis also revealed that some themes of the two age groups were congruent (e.g., the mutual endorsement of filial piety), while others were incongruent with each other (e.g., disagreement on perceptions on equality and superiority). Themes are compared to descriptions of intergenerational communication found in research within Western cultures. Themes are also discussed in relation to cross-cultural intergenerational research, the Communication Predicament of Aging model, and the changing Chinese economic and political system.
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Author Final Draft doi:10.1075/japc.11.2.06zha
Date
2002
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John Benjamins Publishing Company
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Zhang, Y. B., & Hummert, M. L. (2001). Harmonies and tensions in Chinese intergenerational communication: Younger and older adults’ accounts. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 11, 203-230. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/japc.11.2.06zha