One of our authors, Dr. Schrodt and his colleague Dr. Afifi, examined the associations among family members’ reports of negative relational disclosures and their feelings of being caught in their study titled “Untying the ties that bind” in the Journal of Family Issues in 2018. Participants included a mother, father, and young adult child from 170 families. Social relations analyses revealed positive associations between each family member’s actor effect for negative disclosures (i.e., each member’s individual disposition to perceive receiving negative disclosures across all family relationships) and their feelings of being caught between the other two members of the family triad. The child’s actor effect for receiving negative disclosures from parents was positively associated with both parents’ feelings of being caught between their child and spouse. Important patterns of association emerged between unique relationship effects of receiving negative disclosures and family members’ feeling caught. Whereas negative disclosures in parent–child dyads were positively associated with feeling caught (especially for mothers and children), in spousal dyads, they were inversely associated with feeling caught.
Schrodt, P., & Afifi, T. D. (2018). Untying the ties that bind: Dispositional and relational patterns of negative relational disclosures and family members’ feelings of being caught. Journal of Family Issues, 39, 1962–1983. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X17739050
Flashcards
Accommodation
which occurs when some family members consent to a decision not because they totally agree but because they believe that further discussion will be unproductive
Affective resources
reflect involvement, commitment, nurturing, and the power to give or withhold affection.
Cognitive resources
refer to perceptions of power that family members have to influence their own and others’ actions and to affect others
Confirming message
or messages that acknowledge and validate the feelings and perspective of the receiver, may be used to gain power when one tries to get another to identify with them, or when one tries to give rewards in order to gain power
Consensus
is a type of decision-making process that occurs when family members continue the discussion until agreement is reached
De facto decision
one made without direct family approval but nevertheless made to keep the family functioning
Decision-making
is the communicative process by which family members make choices, reach judgments, or arrive at solutions
Disconfirming message
which refers to any sort of message that rejects, invalidates, or disrespects the feelings and perspective of the receiver
Economic resources
refer to the monetary control exerted by family members as persons designated to make financial decisions.
Goals
are desired end states we want to attain or maintain
Influence
occurs when family members use their power to try to change or modify each other’s behavior or beliefs
Interaction goals
refer to the desired end states that require communication and coordination with others to achieve
Normative resources
refer to the family’s values and to the cultural or societal expectations of where authority lies
Personal resources
refer to a family member’s individual characteristics that afford certain kinds of power, such as personality, physical appearance, and role competence
Power
can be defined as ” the ability (potential or actual) of an individual to change the behavior of other family members.
Power outcomes
which refer more generally to who makes decisions and is able to influence others in the family
Power processes
refer to how power is used in family interactions more generally, as well as to how power is used in family communication practices that influence family discussions, arguments, and decision-making, specifically
Resources
consist of whatever is perceived as rewarding to an individual or a relationship
