IMPACT OF OLDER ADULTS ON INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONS AMONG YOUNGSTERS IN BENIN CITY

GOODLUCK OMOREGIE, NATIONAL MUSUEM NIGERIA

The researcher investigated the impact of Older Adults on intergenerational relations among youngsters in Benin City. The research was anchored on the social exchange and intergenerational solidarity theories. The study employed the quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview) methods with structured questionnaire administered to 388 respondents and 3 structured interview questions administered to three experts. The findings revealed that older adults’ relations with youngsters in Benin City does not influence attitude and value system (Wms=2.9). The lesser impact of older adults on youngsters in Benin City is hinged on the non-effective use of technological devices in communicating (Wms=3.5), thereby making constant and same wavelength of interactivity between older adults and youngsters in Benin City irregular on the older adults’ part, uninteresting and boring on the youngster’s part, breeding a vacuum that engender negative influence on the overall value system of the youngsters (Wms=3.8). It was therefore concluded that lack of optional use of technological gadget in communicating effectively constitute major drawback to effective older adults’ impact on intergenerational relations in Benin City. It was therefore recommended that older adults should re-skill and re-tool their communication strategies in engaging or interfacing with youngsters.

Keywords: Children, Adolescents, and Youth, Social network methods, Randomized controlled experiments , Small area estimation

See extended abstract.