When Age and Race/Ethnicity Salience Meet: Group Salience and Its Association with Communicative Behaviour, and Intergenerational Communication Satisfaction among Japanese Americans

Abstract

ABSTRACT Using Communication Accommodation Theory as a theoretical framework, the present study investigated the role of group salience (i.e. race/ethnicity salience and age salience) when young and middle-aged Japanese Americans communicate with older Japanese Americans. A total of 186 young and middle-aged Japanese Americans’ data were collected. The results found that self-perceived avoidance communicative behaviour mediated the relationship between old age salience and communication satisfaction inversely when young and middle-aged Japanese Americans communicated with older Japanese Americans. On the other hand, self-perceived respectful communicative behaviour mediated the relationship between old age salience and communication satisfaction only when young and middle-aged Japanese Americans perceived high race/ethnicity salience.