Family Communication Patterns as Mediators of Communication Competence in the Parent-Child Relationship

Authors:

• Paul Schrodt (Texas Christian University)
• Kodiane Jernberg (Texas Christian University)
• Lara Larson (Texas Christian University)
• Nicole Elledge (Texas Christian University)
• Katie Glonek (Texas Christian University)
• Andrew M. Ledbetter (Ohio University)

Abstract:

This study examined the extent to which family conversation and conformity orientations mediated the association between parents' and children's communication competence. Participants included 592 young adult children from the Midwest region of the United States. Although measurement invariance was established for both sons and daughters, separate structural equation models were tested to account for significant differences in correlations between both groups. For daughters, the impact of parental communication competence on their own competence was fully mediated by conversation orientations, whereas for sons, conversation orientations only partially mediated the effects of parental communication competence. Conformity orientations did not emerge as a significant predictor of child communication competence, though for daughters, perceptions of mothers' communication competence were inversely associated with family conformity.