HOW CAN I USE THIS BOOK?

Despite how often many people communicate with their families, family life is rife with both conflict and joy. Communication can create or destroy family relationships and almost always is an essential part of family maintenance. This textbook will help you understand the importance of family communication and provide you with tools to help improve your family lives.

This book is unique, and it was designed with you, the reader, in mind.

Your textbook authors have both been teaching about family communication for many years and we recognize that our students prefer information in short, concise bursts as opposed to long comprehensive summaries. That is exactly why we wrote this textbook. This book includes 33 short chapters that can be paired together to build a unique and tailored family communication course. The chapters are on classic theories like family communication patterns theory and cutting‐edge research topics like difficult family conversations (Chapter 13), family distancing (Chapter 15), and in‐law relationships (Chapter 24). Each chapter includes Background Information followed by the Key Concepts needed to understand the research in a given area. Next, we chose exemplary research studies to highlight in a section called Interesting Research Findings. Practical Implications and Things to Consider comes next. This section provides a little more information on the topic, connecting communication research with the “real world,” often asking the reader to think about these connections. Key Terms highlights the most important terms and concepts in the chapter. Finally, many of the chapters include in‐class activities, discussion questions, a case study, or a podcast episode to supplement the content of the chapter.

In addition, some chapters include a case study written by other family communication scholars with particular expertise on the chapter’s topic. These case studies, available in 13 of the chapters, could be helpful to spark class discussion or be something you respond to before class. In our classes, we like to ask students to read the case study before coming to class. We then assign a worksheet that consists of a series of questions to get our students thinking about how the case study relates to the reading and the information taught in class that week and/or that semester/quarter. Once in class, we ask our students to discuss the case with their classmates. We find that sitting in a circle works best for this discussion. Throughout the semester/quarter we make sure each student has a chance to lead discussion with their small group. After the discussion, we ask students to use the back of their worksheet to reflect on how their opinion of what happened in the case changed based on the class discussion, if at all, and what points their classmates made changed their minds. Overall, we hope that these case studies help you see how what you learn in class has implications and uses outside of it.

Because the chapters are designed to mix and match, they are listed in alphabetical order within each section rather than grouped by topic or in any prescribed order. We encourage instructors to choose chapters that work well together for their students, and supplement these chapters with scholarly articles or popular press readings, videos, or podcasts (e.g., news stories, TED talks, or a podcast like Relationship Matters, https://journals.sagepub.com/page/spr/podcasts/relationship‐matters).

WHAT CAN I FIND IN THIS BOOK?

Part I of this textbook contains seven chapters focused on the most commonly used family communication theories. These theories range from well‐established grand theories such as family systems theory to newer theories like affection exchange theory. Nevertheless, we chose the theories that are most often used by family communication researchers to inform their work. Although many other theories appear throughout the textbook, these are the only chapters dedicated to one specific theory. We encourage you to keep a look out for other important communication theories like relational turbulence theory that you can find in the chapter about uncertainty management (Chapter 18), or attachment theory which you can find in the chapter on parent–child relationships (Chapter 27).

Part II contains two sections: foundational processes and major family transitions. Foundational processes include process‐based topics relevant to family communication such as caretaking, conflict, coping and resilience, distancing, support, and uncertainty management. The chapters included in the major family transitions section represent “normative” progression through the family life cycle: cohabitation and marriage, the transition to parenthood, divorce, and remarriage. The transition to parenthood chapter is a good example of how this textbook is capturing cutting‐edge research by including research on delaying or forgoing the transition to parenthood (e.g., childfree couples).

Part III covers family and relationship types such as adoptive families, in‐laws, intergenerational relationships, LGBTQ families, and sibling relationships, among others. Part III also contains a section on family communication in the context of other communication research areas including health communication, organizational communication, and new technology.

HOW FAMILY COMMUNICATION INSTRUCTORS USE THIS BOOK

Dr. Amanda Holmstrom: “I used the textbook in my Fall 2018 upper‐division family communication class at Michigan State University. I used it as a supplement to another textbook that I had used in the past. However, Dorrance Hall and Scharp’s book would work well as a stand‐alone text, particularly if instructors bundled related chapters each week – which I did on multiple occasions. I highly recommend this text as an up‐to‐date, focused introduction to pertinent topics and theories in the field. Students found it very accessible.”

Dr. Kaitlin Phillips: “I use this family communication textbook to serve as an overview of the content we are covering that week. I set up my class as a once a week discussion‐based class, and I assign a textbook chapter or two that provides the students with an overview of the topic and theory they will read about in the journal articles. In addition, I really appreciate the activities and case studies included in the book, I use them to help supplement our class discussions and prompt additional discussion about the readings for the week.”

Dr. Tiffany Wang: “Communication in Family Contexts: Theories and Processes provides a clear and straightforward introduction to family communication that is an excellent fit for the undergraduate classroom. I especially like how each chapter is concise enough that the instructor has the flexibility to add additional readings and activities that complement each chapter.”

Elizabeth Dorrance Hall (PhD, Purdue University) is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Michigan State University and a Director of the Family Communication and Relationships Lab (www.familycommlab.com). Elizabeth’s research focuses on communication processes in close relationships, especially in the context of family. She is interested in difficult family conversations and relationships including the “black sheep” of the family. She is also interested in the power of family support and how childhood patterns of family communication influence people long after they have grown into adults. Elizabeth’s research has appeared in Communication Research, Communication Monographs, Health Communication, the Journal of Family Communication, and the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. She writes articles about family and interpersonal communication for Psychology Today (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/conscious‐communication). You can find her on Twitter @edorrancehall and at www.dorrancehall.com. Elizabeth is the youngest of four children and has her parents and many siblings to thank for her interest in family communication. Elizabeth lives with her husband and their fur family of two rescue pups and a miniature black cat named Luna.

Kristina M. Scharp (PhD, University of Iowa) is an Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Washington (Seattle) and a Director of the Family Communication and Relationships Lab (www.familycommlab.com). She researches difficult family transitions such as parent–child estrangement, adoption, and disability diagnoses as well as the processes by which family members cope with their distress. Featured in journals such as Communication Research, Human Communication Research, Family Relations, and the Journal of Family Communication, she is particularly interested in ways people navigate entering and exiting the family. Her research has won top papers at both the International and National Communication Associations and has garnered attention from outlets such as The New York Times, PBS, NPR, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. Kristina and her younger brother were both internationally adopted to two loving and hilarious parents who frequently show up as examples when she teaches about family communication. Kristina also is the adoptive mom of her fur baby Holly, a black lab mix rescue with a big personality!

Jenny L. Crowley (PhD, University of Iowa) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication Studies at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Jenny’s research focuses on stigma and its impact on relational and family communication processes, including information management and supportive communication. Her research also examines how alternative families communicate in ways that manage or resist stigma. Jenny is a first‐generation American and fondly remembers traveling overseas as a child to visit “the family.” Jenny and her husband live with their two cats, Archimedes and Spaghetti.

Patricia E. Gettings’ (PhD, Purdue University) research explores how individuals communicatively negotiate the intersections of their personal and professional lives, and how these negotiations are associated with individual, relational, familial, and/or organizational outcomes. A specific area of focus is how couples transition into retirement. As mother to Greta and Elisabeth, wife of Ryan, and Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Indiana University Southeast, Patricia regularly finds herself navigating intersections of the personal and professional areas of her own life.

Lisa M. Guntzviller (PhD, Purdue University 2013) is an Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign. Lisa has broad interests in interpersonal, family, and health communication, such as how parents give their adult children advice or how bilingual adolescents interpret for their Spanish‐speaking parents. Lisa is biologically an only child, but has two fictive kin siblings, Jonah and Alexa. Lisa is extremely grateful to her parents for all their love and support.

Sylvia L. Mikucki‐Enyart (PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa. Sylvia’s research examines family communication during periods of anticipated (e.g., transition to extended family) and unanticipated change (e.g., late life parental divorce and remarriage). Sylvia enjoys eating copious amounts of nachos and spending time with her family, which includes her husband, son, and two dogs, Sophie “McSopherson” Enyart and Rudy “Rudy Gumdrop” Enyart. Rudy prefers her nachos with extra sour cream. Sophie is lactose intolerant.

Leslie R. Nelson (PhD, University of Missouri) is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Leslie’s research examines how communication affects and reflects identity, sense‐making, and well‐being in diverse family forms. Currently, much of her research focuses on the role of communication in constructing, maintaining, negotiating, and deconstructing foster and adoptive family relationships. Leslie is lucky to be a member of a rather large (okay, very large) family that is reminiscent of the contexts she loves to focus on in her studies: adoptive, foster, transracial, and interfaith families. Leslie’s “little family” consists of her partner and their Great Pyrenees, Piper.

Kelly G. Odenweller (PhD, West Virginia University) is an assistant teaching professor in the Communication Studies program at Iowa State University. Kelly’s research focuses on family and gender communication. She is interested in how communication within and about families can socialize its members’ gendered attitudes, values, and behaviors. Kelly appreciates her husband and two children for giving her many opportunities to use communication to teach (and be taught) about social change for men and women.

Joshua R. Pederson (PhD, University of Iowa) is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Alabama. Josh’s research focuses on relational repair, supportive communication, and coping with challenging life experiences. He has studied how parents and adolescent children talk about responding to experiences of bullying. Josh is grateful for having a loving and supportive family environment growing up and he plans to continue that legacy with his spouse and two smart, strong, and courageous daughters.

Kaitlin E. Phillips (PhD, University of Nebraska‐Lincoln) is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies in the Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Department at Utah State University. She received her PhD in Interpersonal, Family, and Intergroup Communication. She teaches courses in interpersonal communication, family communication, and communication theory. Kaitlin researches the interplay between family and personal identity focusing on how people create family identity and solidarity, and the perceptions of difference in relational quality across family members. Kaitlin is the oldest of four children, and became interested in studying siblings based on her own sibling relationships and those of her parents.

Leah M. Seurer (PhD, University of Denver) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of South Dakota. Her work takes a critical approach to intersections of family and health communication by examining how relational and cultural discourses circulating within the family construct meanings for familial relationships and illness within the family. Her work has been published in journals such as Communication Monographs and Journal of Family Communication.

Samuel Hardman Taylor (PhD, Cornell University) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Sam’s research sits at the intersection of digital media and interpersonal communication. He studies how mobile phones and social media affect personal relationships and psychological well‐being. Sam is the second to youngest in a big Mormon family of 11 children, and he has nearly 30 nieces and nephews. Sam currently lives with his partner, Kory, and their cat, Kiki.

Lindsey J. Thomas (PhD, University of Iowa) is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Illinois State University. Lindsey’s research primarily focuses on discursive processes of family (de)construction and (de)legitimation and the ways that talk privileges some relationships while undermining others. In particular, her work has focused on the experiences of formerly fostered youth, communication surrounding pregnancy and motherhood, family estrangement, and companion animals as family members. Coincidentally, Lindsey grew up on a farm in the rural Midwest, where she developed a deep appreciation and love for nonhuman animals, and she currently shares her life in Normal with three weird cats.

Lisa Van Raalte (PhD, Arizona State University) is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Studies Department at Sam Houston State University. Lisa is interested in how communication in close relationships influences psychological, physiological, and relational health. She is specifically interested in how affection is communicated in romantic and family relationships. Lisa hopes to continue her program of research investigating specific forms of nonverbal affection such as cuddling, hugging, hand‐holding, and kissing. Lisa’s family lives in New Zealand and, to her benefit, were always very affectionate with each other.

The authors would first like to thank all of the family communication scholars who contributed to this textbook. We appreciate the time you took writing case studies, providing feedback, and recording podcasts. Your words and voices bring family communication scholarship to life! Thanks to our mentors who taught us about the power of family communication and encouraged our development as scholars and teachers, especially Leslie A. Baxter and Steven R. Wilson. Thanks to the team at Wiley for supporting our project from the beginning and allowing our vision for a different kind of family communication textbook to become a reality, and to John Seiter for encouraging us to pursue this project. We would like to recognize Amanda Holmstrom, Kaitlin Phillips, and Tiffany Wang for piloting our book in their Family Communication courses. We would also like to thank our family and friends who supported us as we engaged in this new endeavor. Last, but not least, we would like to thank our students over the years who shared our interest in and enthusiasm about family communication. This textbook is for you!

This book is accompanied by a companion website:

www.wiley.com/go/dorrance:hall/communication‐in‐family‐contexts 

The website includes:

• Sample Syllabus
• In‐class activities

Family relationships are some of the most important and long‐lasting ones we will have in our entire lives. Although many other disciplines study family relationships, we focus on the power of communication in family contexts. Indeed, how we create a family, maintain family relationships, and even distance ourselves from family members requires communication. In this chapter, we answer three questions to orient you, the reader, to this book and to the study of family communication. First, we answer “what is a family” followed by “what is family communication.” Last, we describe “how to use this book.”

WHAT IS A FAMILY?

Traditionally, family communication scholars define the family in one of three ways: (1) structurally based on form, (2) functionally based on task, or (3) transactionally based on interaction. Structural definitions rely on specific criteria (e.g., blood ties, law) to determine family membership. For example, the U.S. Census (2010) claims a family “consists of two or more people [one of whom is the householder] related by birth, marriage, or adoption, residing in the same housing unit,” and scholars argue that the dominant North American ideology identifies a “real” family as the nuclear family, comprised of a heterosexual couple and their biological children. If you think of the show Modern Family, the family that most clearly fits the structural definition of family consists of Phil, Claire, Haley, Alex, and Luke. Phil and Claire are a mixed‐sex couple with three biological children. Communication researchers have found that many people privilege blood ties when thinking about family, especially those that unite parents and children (Baxter et al., 2009).

Although structural definitions of family dominate research literature and policy, functional and transactional definitions are sometimes used to illuminate different facets of familial relationships. For example, functional definitions rely heavily on the tasks members perform. Segrin and Flora (2011) contend that functional definitions “view family as at least one adult and one or more other persons who perform certain tasks of the family life such as socialization, nurturance, development, and financial and emotional support” (p. 6). Leslie Baxter and her colleagues (2009) suggest that functional definitions afford more flexibility than structural definitions but still tend to highlight reproduction and child‐rearing: what others have called a biological or genetic focus. On Modern Family, Cameron, Mitchell, and Lily represent a family based on function since Cameron and Mitchell, a same‐sex couple, provide support for one another and are actively helping Lily, their adopted daughter, develop through socializing and nurturing her.

In addition to structure and function, family communication scholars use the criteria of “transaction” to define what it means to be a family. A transactional definition emphasizes the communication among family members and the subjective feelings, typically positive, generated by interaction. Baxter et al. (2009) argue that transactional definitions emphasize the role communication plays in constituting what it means to be a family. They explain, “Relationships are familial, according to this approach, to the extent that members feel and act like a family” (p. 172). Thus, biology and law hold little relevance when thinking about a family using a transactional definition. The whole extended family on the show Modern Family can be seen through a transactional lens if we examine how they feel about each other and how they communicate about being a family. The characters clearly feel and act like a family, and this alone makes them a family, no matter how they are connected through law or blood.

In brief: there are three ways to answer the question “what is a family” and each definition draws different lines around who is “in” and who is “out” with structural definitions of family being the most black and white and also limited. The transactional definition is the most flexible of the three ways.

Although many researchers have privileged structural definitions and view family as a nonvoluntary relationship, some scholars across multiple disciplines are beginning to question and challenge the structural definition of family. For example, Judith Stacey (1996) argues that “No longer is there a single culturally dominant family pattern, like the ‘modern’ one, to which a majority of citizens conform and most of the rest aspire” (p. 7). Instead, Stacey contends that the postmodern family, or today’s family, is characterized by a variety of arrangements, which are constantly changing across the lifespan. Thus, a postmodern family is one that exemplifies the contentious, ambivalent, fluid nature of contemporary family culture and invites the possibility of different family formations. Throughout this textbook we invite you to learn about many different types of families and family relationships.