Age Differences on Communication Styles among Married Adults in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the impact of age differences in married adults' communication styles in Oyo state, Nigeria. This adopted a quantitative approach and descriptive survey research design. Six hundred (N=600) married adults were randomly selected using the multi-stage sampling technique. The questionnaires were used for data collection in this study. Mean, Standard Deviation, and Analysis of Variance were employed as a data analysis technique. The findings revealed that married adults mostly adopted the marital communication styles, which tended more towards the supportive style. The results further indicated that age has an insignificant impact on the communication styles of married adults. It recommended that married adults should adopt the supportive style of communication in their marriages to promote understanding, openness, empathy, adaptability, and cooperation between them and their spouses. This supportive communication style should be emphasized by marriage counsellors.