Developing a board game to facilitate the relationship between older people and young adults

Abstract

The rapid increase in the ageing population and the decline in birth rates both in developed and developing countries have a major impact on society at large. Global interest in intergenerational initiatives to facilitate intergenerational relationships has resulted in a great demand for intergenerational programmes. These interventions still have not achieved a high profile in South Africa. Many intergenerational programmes in South Africa happen co-incidentally, as part of support programmes or training initiatives, rather than by design. Intergenerational programmes aim to facilitate interaction between older and younger people. Although innovative attempts have been made in previous intergenerational programmes to involve members of different generations, there is no reported initiative involving a board game which is used as an intervention strategy that could assist in the facilitation of intergenerational interaction between older and younger persons. Board games offer various benefits. They could offer common ground to both generations since younger as well as older persons are familiar with these games and may therefore benefit equally from participating. Board games could improve the quality of life because they provide an opportunity for players to interact socially and enjoy themselves. The study describes the development of an intergenerational intervention, a board game, in four phases. In Phase 1 a literature review was conducted of intergenerational programmes which focus on the interactional nature of the relationship between young adults and older persons. A multistage sampling procedure was used to identify and retrieve examples of intergenerational programmes in academic contexts. This enabled the researcher to critically evaluate the extent to which programmes facilitate mutual interaction, and identify key elements which could potentially serve as mechanisms for facilitating mutual participation. The evaluation of current programmes informs future intervention since intergenerational interventions are believed to stand a much better chance of succeeding if they draw on previous successes and failures. Phase 2 identifies the psychological and sociological theories or heuristic constructs informing these programmes. To learn about the potential effectiveness of intergenerational programmes, an evaluation of the theories underlying interventions is necessary since it could assist in determining what is to be included in the development of the intervention strategy. In this way, evaluation identifies the suitability of the assumptions made by the theory. In this phase the assumptions of the theories are therefore assessed in light of whether they account for reciprocal interaction between older and younger people. In addition to the identification of key elements from the theories and constructs underpinning the programmes, an exploration of relational theories (solidarity-conflict model, intergenerational ambivalence, generational intelligence, systems theory and the self-interactional group theory) have assisted with understanding the interactional nature of intergenerational relationships. Because UNICEF proposed recommendations to promote intergenerational solidarity in 2009, the literature evaluated in both phases 1 and 2 is limited to the past five years, from 2009 to 2014. In Phase 3, a secondary analysis of data obtained from relational experiences from the perspective of older persons and young adults is conducted to determine the needs for relational interactions with the generational other. The findings indicating these relational needs signal various connecting points or intersections which may be highlighted and strengthened in an intergenerational intervention and facilitate growth in those areas even if the process requires change. The findings of Phases 1 to 3 are used in Phase 4, in which a framework of key principles is outlined for the development of an intergenerational programme (board game) with the aim of facilitating interaction between older and younger adults. Given the key question of this study, how to develop an intergenerational intervention strategy which can facilitate interaction between older persons and younger adults, the identification and integration of the elements (the findings of each phase as summarized) served as a major step in the design of such an intervention.