Intergenerational differences in descriptions of life-span stages among Hong Kong Chinese

Abstract

The general purpose of the study was to yield information on intergenerational differences in descriptions of life-span stages. The setting for the investigation was Hong Kong; the participants were 248 Hong Kong Chinese (ranging from 9 to 63 years of age). Participants generated three words which in their opinions described each of eight age-stages, 0-9 through 70-79. Response protocols were scored positive, neutral, or negative, and the easiest and hardest age-decades to describe were identified. Results indicated that younger age groups were easiest to describe; older age groups and the respondents' own age group were hardest to describe. Females were significantly more positive than males in their descriptions. There was a tendency for older age groups to be more positive in their descriptions than younger-age respondents. Younger age-decades were described more positively than older-age decades. Discussion was in terms of traditional concepts of Chinese socialization practices, the Confucian concept of filial piety, and other cross-cultural research. © 1983.