PATTERNS OF COMMUNICATION IN OLD-AGE - THE DEPENDENCE-SUPPORT AND INDEPENDENCE-IGNORE SCRIPT

Most research to date on communication and interaction patterns in agi ng is based on linguistic and discourse analyses. This article is aime d at the behavioral analysis of interaction patterns. A series of empi rical studies designed as convergent operations to elucidate the role of the social world of older people support two interaction patterns, the dependence-support script coupled with an independence-ignore scri pt. The social world of older people can be characterized as one in wh ich their dependent behaviors are immediately attended to, while indep endent behaviors are widely ignored. This is particularly so in person al maintenance situations, although it is also present in prosocial en gagement situations. The scripts are highly robust across settings (in stitutional and private dwellings), social partners of older people (s taff, family members), sex, length of institutionalization, and health status, but are age specific. Attempts to change the scripts proved s uccessful and led to a significant increase in autonomous functioning on the part of older participants. Implications of these findings for communication research with older people in general are discussed.