In addition to parent-child communication, there is also a growing trend to look at in-law communication. My colleague, Dr. Ashleigh M. Day and I took some of my dissertation and looked at how children-in-law were talking about health issues with their parents-in-law. Seeking social support from in-laws can be challenging, but if supportive communication is received, the relationship can flourish. Using the Health Belief Model, we looked at how children-in-law and parents-in-law seek social support when dealing with a health issue (either the child-in-law’s or the parent-in-law’s). I interviewed 30 children-in-laws who were in positive relationships with their parents-in-laws and they suggested that social support within conversations surrounding health topics are important to the relationship growth, but also influence individuals’ health beliefs and, ultimately, decisions. Our participates noted that it is not always easy to talk about health issues either their own issues or their parent-in-law’s issue, but it is necessary for the relationship to positively grow. We used the health belief model to look at what children-in-law and parents-in-law are talking about and it usually stemmed from an illness such as cancer or infertility, but it also was talking about issues they wanted to look out for in their children, such as hereditary things like diabetes. If this study interest you, then go to the Texas Speech Communication Journal and search for the 2021 study titled, “I needed her and she needed me”: Understanding Children-in-law and Parents-in-law relationships through the health belief model.
Flashcards
Abstinence rules
sometimes called ” no-tolerance rules” ) involve messages that forbid a certain activity, such as, ” Don’t drink alcohol until you are 21.
Actors
believing they can make personal changes and co-create desirable relational change
Contingency rules
involve context-dependence guidelines for conditions in which behaviors are regulated, such as ” If you do drink, don’t drive.”
Cyberbullicide
was coined to describe ” suicide directly or indirectly influenced by experiences with online aggression.”
Cyberbullying
represents a particularly dangerous form of harm because, in contrast to former decades when home provided sanctuary from taunting peers, cyberbullying has become a 24/7 experience for many pre-adolescents and adolescents
Diet culture
which is ” a system of beliefs that equates thinness, muscularity, and particular body shapes with health and moral virtue
Division of responsibility in feeding model
allows children agency in deciding what and how they like to eat
Eating competence model
describes the spectrum of attitudes and behaviors surrounding children’s eating habits
Family life education
are defined as ” any educational activity . . . designed to strengthen relationships in the home and foster positive individual, couple, and family development.”
Family therapy
where a therapist seeks to identify family patterns that contribute to a behavior disorder or mental illness and help family members break those habits.
Healthcare advocates
people who help each other by attending each other’s doctor’s appointments at critical times
Passive nondisclosure
when information is not passed on
Proband
or the first person in the family to be diagnosed with the genetic condition, has a major impact on when or if family members learn about their risk, and furthermore, if they decide to get tested.
Reactors
people who take no responsibility for their contribution to problems in a relationship or for their responsibility to improve relationships
Sexting
defined by the American Academy of Pediatrics as “electronically sending, receiving or forwarding messages or photographs that are sexually explicit.”
