Intergenerational Interactions, Ageism and Ableism in Community Settings

ABSTRACT

The literature on cross-age interactions suggests that more communication between older and younger generations can foster mutual understanding. Existing studies on intergenerational programs focus more on the perspectives of older people, while young adults’ perceptions of intergenerational interactions are less well-understood. Through 448 surveys and 23 qualitative interviews with youth in Hong Kong, this study explored what motivates youth to communicate with retirees beyond their family. The findings reveal that youth in this study had relatively superficial interactions with retirees in community settings, which is partly explained by ageism. Nevertheless, they preferred connecting with retirees who are able to offer transformational benefits that enhance personal growth, which points toward novel forms of ableism based on skill-sharing abilities. The paper concludes by considering the implications of these findings for intergenerational programs, especially the importance of uncovering the latent skills of older people, to extend the possibilities for more in-depth intergenerational interactions.

KEYWORDS:

• Intergenerational contact
• ageism
• ableism
• homophily
• cross-age interactions

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Statement of ethical approval

The study received approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Hong Kong (Reference No. EA1901007). Informed consent was obtained from all of the interviewees through written consent form.

Contribution to the field

• Through mixed methods, this study reveals young adults’ perceptions of intergenerational interactions, which complements existing studies that examine intergenerational programs from the perspectives of older people.

• The study uncovers the novel finding that young adults have stronger motivation to befriend older people who offer tangible, transformational benefits that enhance personal growth, which draws attention to alternative forms of ableism based on skill-sharing abilities.

• A practical implication is that community organizations could focus their efforts on uncovering older people’s latent skills and creating opportunities for them to share their skills with younger people, to better achieve the benefits of intergenerational interactions.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong [Grant No. 17620219].