The current study examined how parents’ perceptions of their family’s communication is associated with their expressions of affection, reactions to their child’s negative emotions, and their child’s social self-efficacy. Parents (N = 146), whose eldest child was between 10 and 15 years old, were recruited from Prolific and completed an online survey. Structural equation modeling indicated higher family conversation predicted higher perceptions of affection, adolescent social self-efficacy, more positive responses to negative emotions, and less negative responses to negative emotions. Furthermore, the model indicated that higher reports of conformity predicted more negative responses to negative emotions and fewer positive responses to negative emotions. Examining the impacts of family dynamics on young adolescents adds to the literature and provides further insight for family therapists about the impact of family dynamics.
