The Role of Media in Predicting Older Adults’ Own Age-Related Communication and Successful Aging

ABSTRACT

Maximizing experiences of successful aging is one important public policy goal given the large number of Baby Boomers aging into older adulthood. Using the communicative ecology model of successful aging, this study examined how older adults’ experiences with various media predict their own age-related communication patterns and successful aging. Older adults were classified into unfavorable, neutral, and favorable portrayals of aging profiles based on their assessments of how positively specific media genres depict the aging process. They were also classified as engaged, bantering, and disengaged agers based on their own age-related communication patterns. Participants in the unfavorable and neutral media profiles were most likely to be engaged agers; participants in the favorable media profile were most likely to be bantering agers. Relative to participants in the favorable media profile, participants in the unfavorable and neutral media profiles demonstrated greater realization of successful aging, via higher aging efficacy. Results suggest the merit of future research examining how participants in the favorable portrayals of aging profile may be engaging in upward social comparisons with older characters in the media to the detriment of their own well-being.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

¹ This is the third study from the data set. Neither of the two previous studies considered experiences with media as a component of environmental chatter (as well as the potential implications of these media experiences), which is the main focus of the current study.

² In addition to classifying participants into their most likely profile, Mplus yields continuous probabilities of each participant belonging in each profile. These probabilities range from 0.00 to 1.00, and the three probabilities in a series (e.g., the three probabilities for falling into the unfavorable, neutral, and favorable portrayals of aging media profiles) sum to 1.00 for each participant. These continuous probabilities were used in the path model testing H2 and H3.

³ After finding that own age-related communication did not serve as a mediator in the serial mediation model, the same serial mediation model was rerun multiple times with all other possible combinations of reference groups. Serial mediation involving own age-related communication also did not emerge in any of these follow-up models with different reference groups.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Quinten S. Bernhold

Dr. Quinten S. Bernhold is an assistant professor in the School of Communication Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research examines how older adults’ interpersonal relationships and experiences with media might facilitate or erode their successful aging.