EXPECTATIONS FOR COMMUNICATION WITH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SUBTYPES OFOLDER ADULTS

The study uses a recently-developed scale for eliciting perceptions, e xpectations, and evaluations of intergenerational communication. As pr edicted, it is found that younger adults expect to experience more anx iety, receive more complaining, and receive lower levels of attunement from an older adult who is portrayed as ''despondent'' than one who i s portrayed as a ''perfect grandparent.'' In addition, younger adults with more negative attitudes toward older adults expect to experience more negative affect, anxiety, and communication apprehension, to feel more compassion for the older adult, and to receive lower levels of a ttunement and more complaining from the older adult than those with mo re positive attitudes. Surprisingly, younger adults with higher levels of young age identification expect to experience lower levels of appr ehension, more attunement from the older adult, and to feel more compa ssion for the older adult than those with lower levels of age identity . These findings are discussed in terms of theoretical models of inter generational communication, in particular the communication predicamen t model. In addition, younger people's feelings of having ''helped'' a n older person are discussed in the context of intergroup theory.