Communication Satisfaction and Topics of Conversation in Grandparent-Grandchild Communication in Russia

Abstract

This study surveyed Russian university-aged grandchildren and their grandparents and investigated their reports of topics of conversation with each other. For grandchildren and grandparents, education and family were identified as the most frequently reported topics. Occupation, health, friends, current events, and historical events were also reported as common topics of conversation. For Russian grandparents, three reported conversational topics (education, family, and history) were significantly and positively associated with communication satisfaction, whereas one reported conversational topic (current events) was negatively associated with communication satisfaction. For Russian grandchildren, reported conversations with grandparents about family were positively associated with communication satisfaction, while reported discussions about health negatively correlated with communication satisfaction. The study was aimed at finding cultural differences between grandparent-grandchild communication in Russia and identified several of them.