It’s your family, I assert you: the role of family communication patterns in determining differences in assertive communication
Date
2010
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
The underlying premise guiding the present study involved the general hypothesis that young adults acquire an understanding of power dynamics from the ways in which they have been socialized to interact with their parents. Respondents were hypothesized to report commonalities in the ways that subjects report interacting with their parents, and the extent to which subjects report being assertive in other relationships where power differentials play a contributing role in determining the outcomes of social interaction. Participants first completed several trait analyses relevant to family communication and the production of assertive communication. Respondents were then asked to read a short scenario describing an interpersonal exchange requiring them to offer an assertive response. After reading the scenario, participants were then presented with a series of corresponding utterances characterized by varying levels assertiveness, which respondents were asked rate their likelihood of using each utterance. The results found that while family communication promoted trait levels in the directions hypothesized, respondents’ expected message behavior differed by scenario, suggesting that individuals’ use of assertive communication is more influenced by social context than family background.