Family Communication Schemata and the Circumplex Model of Family Functioning

Abstract

Using Koerner and Fitzpatrick’s general theory of family communication, this study extends Olson’s circumplex model of family functioning by examining the degree to which three dimensions of family communication schemata (i.e., expressiveness, structural traditionalism, and conflict avoidance) facilitate family cohesion and adaptability. Participants included 426 young adults from first‐marriage families who completed a series of survey measures. Results indicated that family expressiveness was positively associated with family cohesion and adaptability, whereas structural traditionalism and conflict avoidance were inversely associated with both dimensions of family functioning. Collectively, all three dimensions of family schemata accounted for 51% of the variance in family cohesion, though expressiveness and avoidance emerged as the only significant predictors in the model. Likewise, all three dimensions of family schemata accounted for 53% of the variance in family adaptability, including an interaction effect of expressiveness and structural traditionalism. Finally, discriminant analyses revealed that family expressiveness was primarily responsible for distinguishing among different types of family systems.