Family Communication Environment Research Articles

The impact of family factors and communication on recreational sedentary screen time among primary school-aged children: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundChildhood obesity is increasingly recognized as a major public health challenge worldwide, and excessive sedentary screen time is emerging as a key risk factor. This study aimed to assess the recreational screen sedentary time of Chinese primary school-aged children and investigate the relationship between screen-related family factors and the outcome variable.MethodsOur study used data from a cross-sectional survey collected from fifth-grade students and their parents in Beijing, China, from April to May 2018 (n = 2,373). The questions included basic demographic information, family socioeconomic status, students’ and parents’ sedentary and exercising habits, within-family communicational factors, and health belief patterns. The recreational screen sedentary time of the children was compared across demographic groups. The study employed multivariate linear regression models to examine associations between children’s screen time and various family factors, as well as the moderating effect of overall family communication.ResultsOur findings revealed an average daily recreational screen sedentary time of 2.4 h among participants. Screen time significantly varied across demographic categories, including children’s sex, age, residence, parents’ education, household income, family size, and primary family member. After adjustment, the proportion of child-owned digital devices (p < 0.01), child’s personal room (p < 0.05), family screen-viewing together (p < 0.01), and parental screen time (p < 0.01) were positively related to children’s recreational sedentary screen time. Parental restrictions on screen time (p < 0.001) and attitudes toward reducing sitting time (p < 0.01) were correlated with a decrease in children’s screen time. The overall family communication environment significantly moderated the effects of parental practice of restricting children’s screen time (p < 0.001), positive reinforcement by parents (p < 0.05), and parents’ recreational sedentary screen time (p < 0.001).ConclusionsOur findings underscored the significance of family dynamics, parental practices, and communication in shaping children’s screen time behaviors, providing valuable insights for tailored interventions and strategies to reduce childhood obesity.

Family Communication and School Environment as a Cause of Bullying Behavior in Adolescents

Communication between adolescents and parents is an important part of the period of self-discovery. Bullying behavior that occurs in adolescents develops from an ongoing process of interaction in the family, school, and peer environment. Teens are especially vulnerable to engaging in bullying behavior. The communication environment of adolescents with parents, schools, and peers is an important factor in the occurrence of bullying behavior. Adolescents will imitate based on the results of observations encountered in family, school, and peers. Communication between adolescents and parents is important in minimizing bullying behavior. This research uses qualitative methods. Research location in Bogor. Data collection was conducted through observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation studies. The study involved five informants consisting of two bullies and three victims of bullying. The research informants selected were young men and women in Bogor, aged 17-18 years, high school students, and equivalent school who had been victims and/or perpetrators of bullying. In the initial stage, researchers distributed an open-ended questionnaire according to the above criteria. This open questionnaire aims to reveal aspects of the adolescent communication environment in the family, school environment, and peers. The results showed that the communication environment in the family, school, and peers of adolescents plays an important role in the occurrence of bullying behavior. Bullying behavior in adolescents begins as a victim and then as a perpetrator or perpetrator becomes a victim. Bullying carried out by adolescent girls at school is verbal and social, while bullying carried out by adolescent boys at school is verbal and physical.

All we need is love? Irreconcilable political incongruence in families after the 2019 social unrest in Hong Kong

AbstractPolitical disagreement with family members can have a deleterious impact on familial relationships, but the long‐term consequences are understudied. This study examined the relational outcomes of familial political incongruence two years after the 2019 social unrest in Hong Kong and the extent to which frequency and types of family contact explain their association. This two‐wave questionnaire study augmented with a 14‐day daily record of family contact recruited (1) young adults and (2) parents with children aged 18–30 (N = 559). Nearly half of the respondents reported significant political incongruence with their parents/children. We observed consistent findings in both adult children and parents. Greater parent–child political differences were associated with reduced likelihood of having positive family communication and family functioning. Increased political differences with family members were associated with greater odds of family dysfunctionality. Moreover, expression of love and care mediated the effect of political differences with family members on changes in family functioning. This study demonstrates familial political incongruence exerts an influence on families two years after the unrest. Parent–child political differences are associated with a decline in the quality of family communication and family environment. We discuss how parent–child political incongruence drives a family to worsened well‐being through dysfunctional family dynamics.

How communicative environments affect college students’ mental health help-seeking during COVID-19: a cross-sectional study

Objective: This study explores how interpersonal communication environments (eg family, patient-provider, and online communication environments) affect college students’ mental help-seeking during COVID-19. Methods: Based on Social Cognitive Theory, we conducted a cross-sectional survey assessing participants’ mental help-seeking attitudes, self-stigma, self-efficacy, and readiness, as well as their communication experiences with their families, healthcare providers, and online environments. Four hundred fifty-six student participants were recruited. Structural equation modeling was used to explore relationships among the assessed variables. Results: About one-third of the participants (N = 137) had signs of mental distress, and most of them (N = 71) did not intend to seek help soon. Patient-centered communication experiences with healthcare providers were associated with reduced help-seeking stigma, whereas online and family communication predicted help-seeking readiness through changes in attitude, self-stigma, and self-efficacy. Conclusions: This study’s results help identify risk factors of help-seeking reluctance. It suggests that communicative environments affect help-seeking by influencing individual predictors. This study may inform interventions targeting college students’ use of mental health services during health crises like COVID-19.

A Conditional Process Analysis of Emerging Adults’ Motivated Information Management with Parents, Family Conversation Orientation, and Intentions to Vaccinate for COVID-19

ABSTRACT Using the theory of motivated information management (TMIM), this study tested the effect of emerging adults’ uncertainty discrepancy about COVID-19 vaccines on their intentions to vaccinate. In March and April of 2021, 424 emerging adult children reported on the likelihood of seeking or avoiding information from a parent about COVID-19 vaccines in response to their uncertainty discrepancy and negative emotions related to the vaccines. Results supported the direct and indirect effects specified by the TMIM. Moreover, the indirect effects of uncertainty discrepancy on intentions to vaccinate via the TMIM’s explanatory mechanisms were conditioned by family conversation orientation. Consequently, the family communication environment may alter motivated information management in parent-child relationships.

Emerging adults’ financial conversations with parents as mediators of family communication patterns and financial Independence

ABSTRACT This study examined emerging adults’ financial conversations with parents as mediators of family communication patterns (FCPs) (i.e., family conversation and conformity orientations) and emerging adults’ financial independence (i.e., financial autonomy and self-efficacy). Participants included 202 emerging adults ages 18 to 25. Whereas conversation orientation positively predicted both financial self-efficacy and autonomy, conformity orientation positively predicted only financial autonomy. Indirect associations emerged between both FCP orientations and financial autonomy via the frequency of financial conversations with mother, whereas indirect associations between both FCP orientations and financial self-efficacy emerged via financial conversations with father. The findings extend FCP theory by illuminating distinct explanatory pathways from the family communication environment to financial socialization in emerging adults.

Impact of the family communication environment on burden and clinical communication in blood cancer caregiving.

We examined the effects of the family communication environment (conversation orientation) on adult child caregivers' burden and clinical interactions and if the effects are mediated by openness to communicate about cancer, avoidant cancer communication, and social support (SS). Caregivers of a parent diagnosed with a blood cancer (N=121) completed an online survey of validated measures of conversation orientation (i.e., the extent to which families openly communicate), SS, cancer openness, avoidance, caregiver burden, clinical communication skills, and quality of clinical interactions (QCI). Conversation orientation had significant indirect effects on caregiver burden, mediated by SS (β=-0.11, p<0.001), as well as cancer openness and avoidance (β=-0.07, p<0.001). Conversation orientation also had significant indirect effects on caregivers' communication skills with a parent's clinician, mediated by avoidance (β=0.08, p<0.01) and SS (β=0.06, p<0.001). Finally, conversation orientation had significant indirect effects on caregivers' QCI mediated by avoidance (β=0.71, p<0.05). Adult child caregivers whose families communicate more openly exhibit less caregiver burden and report better clinical interaction skills and perceived quality of the clinical interaction. Avoidance emerged as a key mediating factor. Caregivers from less open communication environments may benefit from interventions that help them navigate challenging but critical caregiving conversations.

End-of-life communication, comfort, and engagement among middle-aged and older individuals with families in the United States

Objective: Drawing from the family communication patterns theory and family life cycle theory, this study examined predictors for middle-aged (40 to 59 years old) and older (60 to 79 years old) individuals’ comfort level and actual engagement in communication about their EoL wishes with their families, specifically with their spouse and child(ren).&#x0D; Background: Communicating about end-of-life (EoL) wishes is not easy for many, even though scholars recommend clarifying and communicating EoL wishes with family members well before one is near death. People are not always well educated or informed about their EoL care options and wishes, do not always know what an AD entails, how an AD works, or how to communicate effectively about advance care planning. The discussion of one’s EoL wishes is beneficial, not only for improving the overall care and well-being of a patient, but also for their family and caretakers.&#x0D; Method: A total of 189 married individuals between the ages of 40 and 80 with one or more child(ren) participated in a survey that examined the clarity of their EoL wishes, knowledge of their EoL issues, health status, and the two dimensions of their family communication environment.&#x0D; Conclusion: The current study indicates that an open family communication climate, knowledge of EoL issues, clarity of EoL wishes, and age are strong predictors for individuals’ engagement in EoL communication among their family.

Khmer people’s language attitude in informal communication in Soc Trang province

The language attitude of Khmer people in informal communication in Soc Trang province is a topic in the field of social linguistics, which studies Khmer people’s attitudes in using their mother tongue and the Vietnamese language in informal communication, especially their mother tongue. The language attitude is expressed mainly in the scope of family communication and in that of social communication. As far as family communication is concerned, Khmer people often use language to communicate with grandparents and parents, with descendants, and with relatives and guests. In terms of social communication, Khmer people frequently use the language to communicate in some familiar places such as markets, bus stations, shops, supermarkets, and cultural venues. In addition, Khmer people also use language to communicate in some other cases such as talking on the phone, praying and worshiping, singing, singing a lullaby, etc. Surveys, quantitative and qualitative data, combined with observations and in-depth interviews show such results as: Khmer people in Soc Trang hold respectful attitudes with the sense of conservation and preservation of their mother tongue in the multi-ethnic and multilingual context, which is a completely voluntary attitude originating from the needs of real communication of the locality. In addition, the survey results show that Khmer people also show respect for the Vietnamese language. The Vietnamese language and the Khmer language are an important means of communication in Khmer people’s natural and social life. Each language has a different role and position in the social and family communication environment.

The Mediating Role of Family and Cultural Food Beliefs on the Relationship between Family Communication Patterns and Diet and Health Issues across Racial/Ethnic Groups

ABSTRACT Consumption of red meat has been linked to a variety of health issues, yet Americans are resistant to reducing their meat consumption. Family communication environments shape beliefs about food and meat consumption, and therefore are locations for potential interventions to change the way people think about food. Families are embedded in cultures, and both family and cultural norms shape beliefs about what people should eat. This study (N = 773) is interested in understanding how family communication is associated with food beliefs, meat consumption, and health issues across three racial/ethnic groups: Black/African American (n = 256), Hispanic (n = 260), non-Hispanic White (n = 257). Structural equation modeling results showed that conversation orientation was consistently associated with stronger endorsement of family cultural food beliefs across race/ethnicity groups. Family food beliefs were associated with either more health issues or more meat consumption depending on race/ethnicity and mediated the association between conversation orientation and health issues/meat consumption. Conversation orientation moderated the association between conformity orientation and food beliefs for Hispanic and non-Hispanic White participants. Implications for family communication patterns theory and health scholars are discussed along with recommendations for culturally tailored family-focused health interventions.

Family Communication Patterns and the Mediating Effects of Support and Resilience on Students' Concerns About College

ObjectiveTo identify first‐year undergraduate students' concerns about college and examine how family support and resilience influence the relationships between family communication patterns and adjustment to college.BackgroundNearly half of undergraduate college students in the United States do not graduate within 6 years. Low graduation rates come at high costs to students and universities. A deeper understanding of the family factors that contribute to adjustment concerns may provide retention‐focused intervention opportunities.MethodSurvey data collected from precollege students (N = 2,252) were used to test a moderated mediation model in which family communication patterns are associated with adjustment concerns through resilience and family support.ResultsConversation orientation was related to higher family support, whereas conformity was related to lower resilience and family support. Interaction results indicate that the effects of conversation orientation on some adjustment concerns depended on conformity ratings. Resilience mediated the relationship between the orientations and adjustment concerns.ConclusionConversation and conformity orientation play a role in perceptions of family support, student resilience, and an array of concerns held by students as they enter college.ImplicationsParents may play an important role in helping their child adjust to college through the family communication environments they create and reinforce from childhood and through the support they provide during the transition to college.

Patterns of Communicating About Family Health History: Exploring Differences in Family Types, Age, and Sex

Family communication environments can be a facilitator or barrier to family cooperation and communication in collecting family health history (FHH) information, which can facilitate disease prevention. This study examined the direct and indirect effects of family communicative environments on whether individuals actively collected FHH information, as well as how age and sex differences complicate this relationship. Participants (N = 203) completed online surveys, answering close-ended questions about their family's communication patterns, how open their family is to communicating about FHH, and whether they have actively collected FHH information. Results show there was a direct effect between open family communicative environments and active collection, and found FHH communication openness was a positive partial mediator. Conversely, family environments stressing hierarchy and homogeneity of beliefs inhibit open communication about and collection of a FHH. Analysis of age and sex as moderators in the models showed a significant conditional indirect effects, which grew stronger as participants' age increased. Furthermore, results showed open family communicative environments lead to active collection of FHH for women, but not for men. Results confirm the importance of family communicative environments in facilitating or inhibiting FHH collection. Findings from the current study provide intervention points for practitioners to advise patients on the importance of collecting a FHH and guide behaviors to collect FHH information based on the family communicative environment.

Family Communication Patterns, Inoculation Theory, and Adolescent Substance‐Abuse Prevention: Harnessing Post‐Inoculation Talk and Family Communication Environments to Spread Positive Influence

Inoculation theory offers a robust way to combat substance abuse among children. The theory can guide a messaging strategy that prepares for challenges before they are fully experienced. We argue that inoculation as a messaging strategy could be made even more robust by harnessing family communication patterns and post‐inoculation talk to lead to more, and better, parent–child dialogue. We build on the literature on inoculation and family communication patterns to offer four propositions to guide future work in this area, including the efficacy of inoculating parents against tendencies to avoid conversations about substance abuse with their children and the likelihood of inoculation‐based messages leading to continuing talk in families.

Intergroup Socialization: The Influence of Parents’ Family Communication Patterns on Adult Children’s Racial Prejudice and Tolerance

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of family communication environments on children’s intergroup socialization. Adult children (n = 200) reported on their parents’ conformity and conversation orientations and their own racial attitudes and intergroup orientations. Results evidenced ingroup bias, social dominance, and identification with parent as mediators of the positive relationship between conformity orientation and racial prejudice and the negative relationship between conformity orientation and racial tolerance. Results also revealed that children from consensual and protective families harbor the most racial prejudice and least racial tolerance. Future directions related to intergroup contact interventions, racially diverse families, and qualitative assessments of parent–child interactions are discussed.

Differential Effects of Parental “drug talk” Styles and Family Communication Environments on Adolescent Substance Use

ABSTRACTThe current study examines the relationships among adolescent reports of parent–adolescent drug talk styles, family communication environments (e.g., expressiveness, structural traditionalism, and conflict avoidance), and adolescent substance use. ANCOVAs revealed that the 9th grade adolescents (N = 718) engaged in four styles of “drug talks” with parents (e.g., situated direct, ongoing direct, situated indirect, and ongoing indirect style) and these styles differed in their effect on adolescent substance use. Multiple regression analyses showed that expressiveness and structural traditionalism were negatively related to adolescent substance use, whereas conflict avoidance was positively associated with substance use. When controlling for family communication environments and gender, adolescents with an ongoing indirect style reported the lowest use of substance. The findings suggest implications and future directions for theory and practice.

The Effects of Family Communication and University Environment on Suicidal Thoughts among University Students

The Effects of Family Communication and University Environment on Suicidal Thoughts among University Students

A Cross-Cultural Examination of the Mediating Role of Family Support and Parental Advice Quality on the Relationship Between Family Communication Patterns and First-Year College Student Adjustment in the United States and Belgium

This study examines how college students’ family communication environments influence their adjustment during the first year of college in two distinct cultures: Belgium ( n = 513) and the United States ( n = 431). Three structural equation models were tested to determine the mediating effects of (a) perceived family support, (b) quality of academic advice from parents, and (c) quality of social advice from parents on associations between family communication patterns (FCPs) and student adjustment. Although most relationships are more complicated than predicted based on FCP theory and research, several patterns occur across models and populations. Conversation orientation tends to foster positive adjustment for both cultures while conformity orientation promotes negative adjustment for Belgian students. In addition, perceived family support and advice quality mediate several relationships between FCP and academic self-efficacy, college stress, and loneliness. Differences between the two cultures, theoretical implications for FCP, and practical implications for academic counselors are discussed along with avenues for future research.

Self-disclosure and relational uncertainty as mediators of family communication patterns and relational outcomes in sibling relationships

ABSTRACTThis study tested the degree to which self-disclosure and relational uncertainty sequentially mediate the associations among family communication patterns (FCP) (i.e., conversation and conformity orientations) and relational outcomes (closeness and satisfaction) in the sibling relationship. Participants included 329 emerging adults who completed online questionnaires. Three distinct indirect effects emerged for conversation orientation on both relational outcomes through self-disclosure, relational uncertainty, and disclosure to uncertainty paths, respectively. Likewise, conformity orientation produced indirect effects on both outcomes through self-disclosure and disclosure to uncertainty, as well as a direct, negative effect on sibling satisfaction. Collectively, the results support FCP theory and extend an understanding of how family communication environments enhance (or inhibit) emerging adults’ sibling relationships.

Privacy and Family Communication about Genetic Cancer Risk: Investigating Factors Promoting Women’s Disclosure Decisions

This study explores the family communication of women (N = 175) who have tested positive for a gene alteration that predisposes them to an increased risk for cancer. More specifically, this study utilizes family communication patterns theory and communication privacy management theory to investigate the role of family communication and privacy management in women’s communication about genetic cancer risk with family members. Results found significant direct effects between conversation orientation and both personal and family privacy orientation as well as between conformity orientation and personal privacy orientation. Results also found indirect effects between conversation orientation and communication about genetic cancer risk. Overall this study shows the importance of family communication environment and privacy management in communicating about genetic cancer risk.

Antecedents of young adults' materialistic values

AbstractGiven the adverse effects of materialism on consumer well‐being, the present study integrates various theoretical frameworks within the life course paradigm to assess the effects of earlier‐in‐life experiences on young Greek adults' materialistic values. Findings from a sample of 285 young adults suggest that disruptive family incidents in early life affect the development of materialistic values, while peers have no discernible influence. Disruptive family settings appear to impair socio‐economic status and self‐esteem, but young Greek adults with impaired self‐esteem are not more materialistic. A family communication environment that places emphasis on autonomy and individual achievement appears to promote the importance of materialism, while a family communication setting that encourages compliance instead of self‐direction appears to deter the development of such orientations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.