How Communication Behavior of Older Persons Affects Their Public Affairs Knowledge

The relationship of mass & interpersonal communication behaviors to public affairs knowledge among older persons was examined with data gathered in 150 personal interviews with members of 3 groups in Gainesville Fla, chosen to represent a cross-section of the community elderly. A 1-question index of public affairs knowledge was used & showed a fairly even split among R's. Data were analyzed using cross-tabulation & nonparametric measures of association. Mass & interpersonal communication variables were generally independent of each other. Kendall's Tau C coefficients of .15 or larger were found only for 3 of 24 relationships studied. Statistically significant relationships were found between public affairs knowledge & indices of exposure to 3 different print media: newspapers, news magazines, & books. Only 2 of the 4 interpersonal communication variables had statistically significant relationships to public affairs knowledge: number of meetings attended, & number of times visiting friends. Educational level was the only demographic variable which had a strong relationship with public affairs knowledge when holding the other background variables constant, & did not diminish when level of mass & interpersonal communication was controlled. How impoverished & poorly educated older citizens, who do not attend to the print media, will obtain information about public affairs, especially on topics of specific relevance to their needs, is considered. 3 Tables. Modified AA.