Communication accommodation between patients and health professionals: Themes and strategies in satisfying and unsatisfying encounters

This paper has several goals. One is to introduce and contextualize the papers that contribute to this special issue. All of the papers in the issue are grounded in Communication Accommodation Theory and Coupland, Wiemann & Giles'(1991) typology of miscommunication. These theories are briefly reviewed here, and some links between them are explored in the context of the contributory papers. Another goal of this paper is to discuss some of the themes and issues raised by a reading of the other papers as a set. In this regard, two issues which may be worthy of further research and theoretical attention in the future are selected and highlighted. First, the degree to which communicators are aware of various language and communication strategies, especially accommodation strategies, is considered. The relationship between awareness and research tasks such as self-reporting is important here. Second, the concept of accommodation dilemmas, their relationship to miscommunication and problematic talk, along with possible avenues of dilemma resolution are explored

Development and Validation of the Aging Stereotypes and Exercise Scale

International audienceThis article presents the development and validation of the Aging Stereotypes and Exercise Scale (ASES), which measures different dimensions of aging stereotypes in the exercise domain. Drawing on past research on older adults’ perceived barriers to exercise, these dimensions include stereotypes about positive and negative exercise outcomes for older adults and about older adults’ psychological barriers to exercise (i.e., lack of self-efficacy and motivation). Four studies involving 714 participants examined the factorial structure and invariance, temporal stability, and external validity of the scale. The results supported a 3-factor model that was invariant across age. Age differences in stereotype content appeared, with older adults holding more positive stereotypes than younger adults. Also as predicted, the more older adults endorsed negative stereotypes, the lower their physical self-worth, self-rated health, and subjective age. Last, responses to the ASES appeared to be stable over a 6-wk period