MEASUREMENT OF FAMILY COMMUNICATION PATTERNS

Analysis of a three-wave panel study of parent-child pairs examined indicator reliability, longitudinal stability, and parent-child similarity of family communication patterns. Estimates of reliability and intergenerational similarity were obtained using a multiple indicator model (LISREL) that treats individual measures as indicators of an underlying latent construct. Analyses were performed for single items measured at three time points and for multiple items at single time points, both revealing considerable measurement error. With unreliability taken into account, there was substantial dissimilarity in the perceptions of parents and children within the same family. A reconceptualization of research on family communication patterns focusing on the antecedents of family norms and the dynamic character of family interaction was discussed.