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

Objective To 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. Background Nearly half of undergraduate college students in the United State...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Family relations Vol. 69; no. 2; pp. 276 - 291
Main Authors:	Dorrance Hall, Elizabeth, Scharp, Kristina M., Sanders, Matthew, Beaty, Loretta
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Hoboken, USA Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-04-2020 National Council on Family Relations
Subjects:	Adjustment Adults Childhood Children & youth Citizen Participation College students Communication Communication (Thought Transfer) Concerns Conformity Dropout Rate Ethnic Groups Families & family life Family Environment Family Involvement Family Relationship Family support Graduation Rate Higher education Interpersonal communication Interpersonal Competence Interpersonal Relationship Management Systems Parents Parents & parenting Perceptions Psychological Patterns Resilience Resilience (Psychology) Self esteem Social Behavior Social Environment Social support Student Adjustment Student retention Theory transition to college Undergraduate students Verbal communication United States > US
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Summary:	Objective To 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. Background Nearly 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. Method Survey 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. Results Conversation 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. Conclusion Conversation 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. Implications Parents 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.
ISSN:	0197-6664 1741-3729 0197-6664
DOI:	10.1111/fare.12386