A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Family Communication Patterns and Conflict Between Young Adults and Parents

摘要

Young adults in Japan (n = 173) and the United States (n = 131) completed surveys including Ritchie and Fitzpatrick's (1990) revised family communication patterns instrument, Rahim's (1983) conflict styles scale modified for the family setting, and a family communication satisfaction measure. Individual preferences for each conflict strategy (i.e., integrating, compromising, dominating, obliging, and avoiding) were examined in relation to his or her cultural background and family communication patterns. Results showed that the consensual family type was most common in the United States, while the laissez-faire family type was most common in Japan. Across cultures, high conversation orientation was associated with the young adult's preference for integrating and compromising strategies in conflict with their parents, while high conformity orientation was associated with avoiding and obliging strategies. A strong positive correlation between conversation orientation and communication satisfaction was observed for both countries, while a strong negative correlation between conformity orientation and communication satisfaction was found for Americans. Possible explanations, implications and limitations of the studies are discussed.