Adolescent Adjustment: Investigating the Predictive Role of Family Communication Patterns

Adjustment is considered as one of the most important signs of mental health and well-being; it refers to any kind of healthy or unhealthy, conscious or unconscious attempt to prevent or weaken the stressors and ability to tolerate hard situations. One of the variables probably involved in adolescent adjustment is the family communication patterns which include two important dimensions: conversation pattern and conformity pattern. The present study aimed to explain the relationship between the family communication patterns and adolescent adjustment and investigate the predictive role of family communication patterns. This study is correlational research and the study population consisted of all male and female students of the high schools in Shiraz, Iran, during the academic year of 2019-2020. Sample size was determined by Cochran formula with a significance level of 0.05. Through multistage sampling method, six schools from each of the four districts were selected; three classes were then chosen from each high school. Finally, five to six random students were selected from each class to answer the questionnaires. The sample consisted of 380 high school students (210 girls and 170 boys). We used the family communication patterns questionnaire; it is a self-report scale examining the agreement or disagreement level of the respondents based on a five-point Likert scale regarding 26 items on family communication. Multidimensional adjustment scale was further applied. This scale includes 15 items and five components, namely personal, social, educational, occupational, and family. The extracted data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics including Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression statistics in SPSS version 21. Conformity communication pattern had a significant negative relationship with adjustment (Beta=-0.48, P=0.001); meanwhile, there was a significant positive relationship between conversation pattern and adjustment (Beta=0.36, P=0.001), both predicting 55% of the variance in adolescents adjustment. The dimensions of family communication patterns predicted adolescent adjustment and conversation communication pattern had positive and conformity communication pattern had negative relationship with adolescent adjustment.