Assessment of the Effects of Communication Training on the Adult Elderly and the Assisting Adult Child

This study examined the effects of Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) on affection, communication, and relationship between elderly parents and their assisting adult children. Twenty-eight pairs of parents and children were randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. Subjects took Quinn's Family Life Questionnaire as pre-, post-, and follow-up tests. Parents and children in the treatment groups attended a four-session STEP workshop. No significant differences were found on the 2 x 2 analysis of variance for repeated measures for the parents or adult children. Quinn's affection and relationship variables approached significance for the parents over time. His variable affection approached significance for the children over time, irrespective of group. Agreement approached significance for children in the treatment group. The results for the parents regarding affection suggest that the study may have emphasized their feelings of trust. Although the data for relationship approached significance, it was negative, indicating that parents in the treatment group may have reduced their interaction with their assisting children perhaps because they were learning new communication skills. The data for the children regarding affection approached significance, but it was negative, suggesting they felt free to question their feelings about themselves and their parents. The results for children in the treatment group regarding agreement may suggest that the study increased their awareness of areas of agreement with their parents. When the data for parents and children were compared, communication approached significance for the parents; that is, they felt more comfortable with their communication with their children than did their children. The variables affection and perception showed significance. The elderly parents perceived their relationship with their children more positively than did their children. Absence of statistically significant data may be explained because Quinn's Family Life Questionnaire was not sensitive enough. Analysis of covariance might have identified significant findings. Increasing the number of participants and informing them of the purpose of the study might also affect a repeated study