Examining Family Communication

Title: Examining Family Communication as it relates to Impulsiveness, Self-Efficacy, and Body Image among African American College Students.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family communication, impulsiveness, self-efficacy, body image, and violence. The sample in this study includes 501 African American college students with ages ranging from 18-24. The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 15-short form, General Self-Efficacy Scale, Family Adaptability in Cohesion Evaluation Scale, Body Image Coping Styles Inventory, and Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey were used to assess the five variables. It was hypothesized that (H1) Family Communication and impulsiveness will significantly predict violence,
These hypotheses were partially supported. Family communication was negatively related to the non-planning subscale of impulsiveness. Individuals are more likely to be impulsive when around peers than with family ( Luo, 2005). Family communication was positively related to self-efficacy. Givertz and Segrin (2012), found that parental behaviors that are more authoritative or controlling in nature are more likely to have lower self-efficacy and higher psychological entitlement. Results also showed no significant relationship to body image. It is important to examine the general quality of parent-child communication; the quality of parental communication helps to establish the child self-image including body image. It was hypothesized that family communication and impulsiveness will significantly predict violence, however results did not support this hypothesis. Children who were raised with conformity-oriented family styles are more susceptible to the effects of media violence than children raised in conversation-orientated families. Although this hypothesis was not supported, previous research indicates that people who are naturally impulsive and angry are more at risk for aggressive and violent acts with access to a firearm (Swanson et. al, 2015). Limitations of this study are that a majority of the participants were
Family Adaptability in Cohesion Evaluation Scale (F.A.C.E.S) (Olson, Sprenkle, & Russel, 1979)
•The survey measured family adaptation
•“I feel like my family members are good listeners.”
•5 point Likert Scale: Strongly Disagree- Strongly Agree Body Image Coping Styles Inventory (Cash, Santos & Williams, 2005)
•The survey measured how individuals particularly supervise risks or troubles to self-observation experiences. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBSS) (Kann,et.al., 2013)
•The survey measured the health risk behaviors in young adults
• “Have you been a physical fight in the last 6 months?”
•“Have you ever carried a weapon such as a gun, knife, or club?”
Procedure: African American undergraduate students were recruited from the Psychology, Math, and English departments. Incentives were given throughout the course of the study. Each participant signed an inform consent form and assessments were completed by computer. Once they completed the assessment each participant was debriefed. The assessments were facilitated by student