Elizabeth Dorrance Hall

Family communication scholarship has long emphasized that families are not merely sites of support or harm, but complex communicatively constructed relational systems in which multiple – and someti...

The current study advances the communication interdependence perspective (CIP) using an intensive longitudinal design and recent refinements in the conceptualization of integration (i.e., how various channels are interconnected). U.S. adults in romantic relationships (N = 175) completed a baseline questionnaire, and then, provided daily diary data over 30 days (4,806 total observations), which we analyzed with dynamic structural equation modeling. Consistent with the CIP, for the typical person, constructive integration had a positive within-person effect (i.e., people felt closer on days that they had more constructive integration than usual) and a positive between-person association (i.e., people with more constructive integration reported more relational closeness on average across the month). Additionally, there was persistence in constructive integration, and persistence was stronger for people who reported more habitual patterns of integration earlier in the month. We discuss the implications for the CIP and for understanding how people mix media in daily life.

Parent–child communication is an essential part of developing and sustaining career interests. Parents’ involvement in the process of career interest development and persistence of women in STEM is critical to understand to marshal support for women entering high-barrier fields. This manuscript answers 3 questions about how parents are involved in the processes of career interest development and persistence: What do parents do? What do parents say? And what should parents say? Models of interest development, studies of parental vocational anticipatory socialization, and communication theories such as the support framework and confirmation theory answer these questions. We propose paths for future research that use communication theory to predict effective parental communication while embracing an intersectional lens and considering support gaps.

First-generation college graduates (FGCGs) are inherently different from their family members, due to their unique educational achievement (i.e. having graduated from college). FGCGs may experience family member marginalization, or the communication of difference, disapproval, or exclusion to one or more family members due to their status as “different” from the rest of the family. This study aims to understand the role of family member marginalization in FGCGs’ perceptions of resilience and flourishing in adulthood. Participants ( N = 275, 51.6% men, 69.8% White) were based in the U.S. Findings indicate that FGCGs’ perceptions of resilience mediated the negative relationship between family member marginalization and flourishing. Moreover, perceptions of friend support availability moderated the relationship between family member marginalization and resilience, but community support did not. Despite the negative role family member marginalization seems to play, on average FGCGs reported high levels of both resilience and flourishing. Theoretical implications for scholars interested in resilience and family distancing are discussed along with practical implications for FGCGs, student support services, and family members.

Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can contribute to significant health issues in adulthood. Aims: The present study seeks to understand the role of attachment and positive childhood experiences (PCEs) in the association between ACEs, self-rated emotional support and mental health. Methods: An online panel survey gathered data from 4,940 Slovenian adults aged 18 to 75. Simultaneous multiple regression path analysis (PROCESS) was used to test two moderation and mediation models. Results: Results indicate that ACEs were weakly associated with higher rates of anxious attachment and reduced self-rated mental health. Anxious attachment mediated the relation between ACEs and self-rated emotional support and self-rated mental health. PCEs were weakly negatively associated with anxious and avoidant attachment and interacted with ACEs in their effect on emotional support in adulthood. The strongest associations were found in the negative pathways between the two attachment styles (anxious and avoidant), emotional support, and self-rated mental health. Conclusions: These findings can guide (therapeutic) interventions for individuals with a history of child adversity: interventions could focus on addressing insecure attachment, involve a person’s social network as well as recognize and support the potential role of positive childhood experiences as protective factors.