Perceptions of Patronizing Speech by Older Women in Nursing Homes and in the Community

Abstract

This study compared community and nursing home elders’ evaluations of patronizing and nonpatronizing speech and explored the influence of living environment and cognitive ability on these perceptions. Both samples rated the nurse more favorably and the elder target as more satisfied with the conversation when the nurse’s speech was nonpatronizing as opposed to patronizing. Respondents’ cognitive ability covaried significantly with speech ratings in both samples, such that speech-style effects disappeared after accounting for cognitive ability. Community respondents downgraded elder targets of patronizing speech as less competent than the elder targets of nonpatronizing speech, suggesting a “blaming the victim” effect. Neither the living environment of the respondents nor the elderly recipients of patronizing speech influenced evaluations of speech styles or the elderly target.