Conversation Breeds Compliance: The Role of Intergenerational Communication in Promoting Preventive Behaviors against COVID-19 among Middle-Aged Parents in China

This study aims to explore and compare the influences of two crucial information channels used by middle-aged parents—media and their adult children—on their health knowledge, emotions and preventive behaviors against COVID-19, based on media exposure and the family communication patterns (FCP) theory. Parents of college students in Guangzhou, China were invited to participate in an online survey between February 10 and 24, 2020. A total of 193 respondents, aged between 40 and 65 years, completed the study questionnaire. Media exposure was a positive predictor of negative emotions, intergenerational discussions, and preventive behaviors among Chinese middle-aged parents. Conversation orientation was a positive predictor of scientific discussions and preventive behaviors, whereas conformity orientation was a negative predictor of knowledge, but a positive predictor of intergenerational discussions and negative emotions. Intergenerational discussions mediated the relationships between media exposure and preventive behaviors, as well as between FCP and preventive behaviors. Health communication efforts require the help of adult children as intergenerational communication serves as an important amplifier in terms of influencing the health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of middle-aged and elderly populations.

Arguing about social distancing and family relationships

With the COVID-19 pandemic, families are having to coordinate their behaviors to face new challenges, such as negotiating the social distancing measures that the family will or will not take in their daily interaction. This study utilizes Family Communication Patterns Theory to examine conversations that young adults reported having with their family members about social distancing measures and what factors predicted the outcomes of these disagreements. A family’s level of conversation orientation and the interaction of conversation orientation and conformity orientation predicted change in relational closeness due to the argument and the perceived positivity level of predicted outcome value levels for future interaction with these family members. Additionally, level of conformity orientation predicted perceived relational harm from disagreements about social distancing.

Family communication patterns and relationship quality between emerging adults and their parents

Few researchers have examined how family communication patterns influence child help-seeking behaviors and child help-providing behaviors in relation to the parent-child relationship during the period of emerging adulthood. In the current study we utilized a latent profile analysis to determine family communication pattern types from two standard communication orientations (i.e., conversation orientation and conformity orientation). We also examined how pattern types were associated with parent-emerging adult relationship quality and help/support seeking/providing behavior within the family during the period of emerging adulthood as reported by emerging adults ( n = 129) and one of their parental figures ( n = 129). The data supported two family communication types (i.e., protective and pluralistic) created from conversation and conformity orientation scores and we utilized them to differentiate between relationship qualities and help/support seeking/providing behavior when those behaviors were reported by emerging adults but not their parental figures.

From Job Resources to Idea Implementation: A Moderated Sequential Mediation Model

Considering the motivational path of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, this study investigates a multistep process by which contextual job resources might have an indirect effect on idea implementation. Among 187 shop floor employees of a manufacturing company, we found support for a model whereby job control has an indirect effect, over a 5-month time frame, on idea implementation through employee work engagement and personal initiative. In addition, we found that the indirect effect of job control on idea implementation is stronger when employees have a higher conformity orientation. Support was not found for the hypothesized indirect effect of coworker social support on idea implementation. Our findings support the usefulness of the JD-R theory for understanding how increased idea implementation occurs at work, especially when the additional factors of personal initiative and employee conformity orientation are integrated into the model.

Speaking-out or Remaining Silent? The Importance of Interplay Between Personal Attitudes and Perceived Group Norms in Outspokenness

Europeans’ attitudes and perceived group norms on immigration were examined from social psychological and semantic approaches. While overall personal attitudes are neutral and significantly different from perceived norms (mismatch), a small minority with extremely negative attitudes was observed. As predicted, the mismatch shaped outspokenness and identification with Europe moderated it. A conformity orientation among low identifiers and a resistance among high identifiers were revealed. Such resistance might is partly due to robust and vocal minority of opponents to the immigration. The need of distinguishing between attitudes and norms is discussed in regards to explanation of rising intolerance to migration.

Conformity builds walls, conversation breaks walls: Actor-partner interdependence analysis on communication patterns and perceived political similarity in Hong Kong young adults and their parents

Recent research found that the effect of conversation orientation on political similarity was mediated by a downward influence from the parents to the children. Nevertheless, whether a parent's perceived political similarity is influenced by their children’s communication orientation remains an open question. The present study adopted the actor-partner interdependence modelling (APIM) to examine the reciprocal effects between Chinese young adults and their parents in Hong Kong. One-hundred and ninety-three parent-child dyads (Parents’ Mage = 52.80; Children’s Mage = 21.96) completed online surveys that measured family communication styles and perceived political similarity. We found that conversation orientation increased one’s own and partner’s perceived political similarity, whereas conformity orientation decreased one’s own but not partner’s perceived similarity. Our findings highlight the importance of viewing political socialization from a communication perspective. Open and candid communication is essential to facilitate the communication of political differences in the era of political polarization.

Speaking-out on the migration crisis or remaining silent? The importance of the interplay between personal attitudes and perceived group norms

Europeans’ attitudes and perceived group norms on immigration were examined from social psychological and semantic approaches. While overall personal attitudes are neutral and significantly different from perceived norms (mismatch), a small minority with extremely negative attitudes was observed. As predicted, the mismatch shaped outspokenness and identification with Europe moderated it. A conformity orientation among low identifiers and a resistance among high identifiers were revealed. Such resistance might is partly due to robust and vocal minority of opponents to the immigration. The need of distinguishing between attitudes and norms is discussed in regards to explanation of rising intolerance to migration.

The Effects of Family Communication Patterns on Family Satisfaction in Family Business

The main goal of the study is to investigate the effects family communication patterns (the orientation of communication and conformity) of family member employees that work in family businesses have on family satisfaction. The population of the study was determined as the employees of 260 family businesses with head offices in the Konya province of Turkey, which operate for at least 25 years, and which have annual returns of over 5,000,000 Turkish Liras (TL). The data were analyzed with structural equation model (SEM) by using AMOS 24. The research results show there is a relationship between family communication patterns (communication and conformity orientation) and family satisfaction.

Children’s Empathy and Family Income: The Mediating Role of Family Communication Pattern

The research examined whether the communication patterns in the family by conversation and conformity orientations served as mediators of the relation between children’s empathy and family income. The research was conducted to parents of children age six to eight years old as the participants (N = 233) in Jakarta, Indonesia. The parents’ completed parent’s questionnaire for children’s empathy, family income, and family communication pattern. The relation analyzed using PROCESS Hayes. The results that the family communication pattern partially mediated the children’s empathy and family income. This research result shows a couple of findings. First, the children who come from a low-income family with family conformity orientation have lower empathy. The second finding is that the children with the family who have family conversation orientation have higher empathy. This second finding works for both low and high incomes family. Besides, only conformity orientation is found to mediate the effect of family income on child’s empathy. This research finds there are connections between family environment and children’s behavior. Developing the children’s empathy going to be positive for their social-emotional outcomes in the future is paramount because the children learn to express and regulate their emotion in a positive way when they have higher empathy.