Abstract

PEREZ-SANCHEZ, Rolando  and  SMITH-CASTRO, Vanessa. Intergenerational communication: the Perceptions of Intergenerational Communication Questionnaire (PIQS) in the costa rican context. Interam. j. psychol. [online]. 2008, vol.42, n.3, pp. 589-603. ISSN 0034-9690.

In this study, 156 Costa Rican students between 19 and 29 years old (Mean age = 22.7, SD= 2.35 years; 59% female) reported their perceptions of intergenerational communication, using a Costa Rican version of the Perceptions of Intergenerational Communications Questionnaire. This questionnaire requires respondents to think of their communications with non-family members of different age groups, and to evaluate both the others´ and the own communication behaviors. Factor analyses show that the PICQ assess three evaluative dimensions of others´ communication behaviors (accommodation, subacommodation and communication dominance) and two dimensions of the own communication behaviors (discontent/obligation and discourse management). Reliability analysis yielded satisfactory Cronbach’s alphas for all scales. Mean differences between targets groups indicate that the measure is sensitive to the variability of intergenerational communication due to the specific characteristics of the participants in the interaction. Correlations with frequency of intergenerational contact and in-group identification provide mixed evidence of construct validity. Results are discussed in terms of the psychometric properties of this instrument and the characteristics of the intergenerational communication in Latin American contexts.

Keywords : Intergenerational communication; Questionnaire; Costa Rica.

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