Family Communication and Family System as the Predictors of Family Satisfaction in Adolescents

Abstract

The current study was conducted to explore the family communication and family system as the predictors of family satisfaction in adolescents. A Purposive sample comprised of 120 adolescents from nuclear (n = 60) and joint family (n = 60) were equally taken comprised of girls (n = 30) and boys (n = 30) having age range of 14 to 19 years. A demographic form was used to obtain the information about variables of interest e.g., age, sex, family system (Nuclear & joint) & education. Family Communication Scale (Olson et al., 2004) and Family Satisfaction Scale (Olson, 1995) were administered to measure family communication and satisfaction respectively. The reliability for FCS was α .60 and for FSC was α .71. Correlation, Multiple Regression Analysis and Independent Sample t-test was performed with SPSS (version 17). The results suggested that family communication is the most significant predictor of family satisfaction in adolescents (β = .37, p < .001). Moreover, family system found to be non significant predictor (β =-.12, p < .001).Furthermore, results of correlation also indicated that there is a significant positive relationship between family communication and family satisfaction (r = .37, p < .001 respectively). However, the non significant differences in the scores of adolescents for nuclear and joint family on FSS and FCS (β = .37, p < .001).These results are consistent with the prior findings of Western countries. The current research findings have implications for the researchers who are interested in the impact of family dynamics in adolescent development.

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Science Journal of Psychology
ISSN: 2276-6278
http://www.sjpub.org/sjpsych.html
© Author(s) 2013. CC Attribution 3.0 License.
Published By
Science Journal Publication
International Open Access Publisher
Research Article
Family Communication and Family System as the Predictors of Family Satisfaction
in Adolescents
¹ Aneesa Akhlaq1 (M.Phil), Department of Psychology, University of Sargodha, Sargodha Pakistan
² Najma Iqbal Malik2 (PhD), Department of Psychology, University of Sargodha, Sargodha Pakistan
(corresponding author: najmamalik@gmail.com)
³ Noreen Aslam Khan3 (M.Phil), Department of Psychology, University of Sargodha, Sargodha
Volume 2013, Article ID sjpsych-258, 6 Pages, 2012, doi: 10.7237/sjpsych/258
Accepted 31 January, 2013
Abstract- The current study was conducted to explore the family
communication and family system as the predictors of family
satisfaction in adolescents. A Purposive sample comprised of 120
adolescents from nuclear (n = 60) and joint family (n = 60) were
equally taken comprised of girls (n = 30) and boys (n = 30) having
age range of 14 to 19 years. A demographic form was used to obtain
the information about variables of interest e.g., age, sex, family
system (Nuclear & joint) & education. Family Communication Scale
(Olson et al., 2004) and Family Satisfaction Scale (Olson, 1995) were
administered to measure family communication and satisfaction
respectively.ThereliabilityforFCSwasα.60andforFSCwasα.71.
Correlation, Multiple Regression Analysis and Independent Sample
t-test was performed with SPSS (version 17). The results suggested
that family communication is the most significant predictor of family
satisfaction in adolescents (β = .37, p < .001). Moreover, family
system found to be non significant predictor (β = ‐.12, p <
.001).Furthermore, results of correlation also indicated that there is
a significant positive relationship between family communication
and family satisfaction (r = .37, p < .001 respectively). However, the
non significant differences in the scores of adolescents for nuclear
andjointfamilyonFSSandFCS(β=.37,p<.001).Theseresultsare
consistent with the prior findings of Western countries. The current
research findings have implications for the researchers who are
interested in the impact of family dynamics in adolescent
development.
Keywords: Family Communication, Family Satisfaction, Family
System
Introduction
Communication within the context of the family appears to
be particularly important during the adolescents’ years.
Family communication research has surged over the past
three decades and has provided important implications for
both academics and practitioners (Galvin, 2004; Zhang, 2008).
Although a focus on youth problems is important, some
scholars have expanded their focus to include positive
indicators of well-being, attempting to shift research, public
discussion, and policy-making efforts toward the promotion
of optimal levels of adolescent health (Peterson, 2006).
Adolescence, the transitional stage of development between
childhood and adulthood, represents the period of time during
which a person experiences a variety of biological changes
and encounters a number of emotional issues (Sternberg,
2001).
Families are one of the fundamental units of society and are
the building blocks of social structures and organizations in
every culture. Zabriskie and McCormick (2001) stated that
families are goal-directed, self-correcting, dynamic,
interconnected systems that both affect and are affected by
their environment and by qualities within the family itself.
Nuclear family system is a term used to define a family group
consisting of a father, mother and their children (Reiss, 1988).
Joint or extended family system comprises of father, mother,
and children, one or more grandparents, an Aunt, an Uncle
and even some cousins, live together within the same
household (Reiss, 1988). In Pakistan, the joint or extended
family system has been the prevalent family system (Mason,
1992). However, in recent times, urbanization has led to
alterations in existing family structures in the country,
especially the larger cities. It has been suggested that
urbanization leads to households becoming less extended and
more nuclear and that this trend would be observed in
developing countries (Bongaarts, 2001).
Family communication is the way verbal and non-verbal
information is exchanged between family members (Epstein
et al., 1993). . Communication within the family is extremely
important because it enables members to express their needs,
wants, and concerns to each other. It is through
communication that family members are able to resolve the
unavoidable problems that arise in all families (Peterson &
Green, 2009). The circumplex model of marital and family
systems is a graphic representation of the dynamic
relationships within family systems and emphasizes how
family members and their behaviors are interconnected. The
three dimensions addressed by the model are family cohesion
(i.e., togetherness); family adaptability (i.e., the ability to cope
with change); and family communication (Olson & DeFrain,
2000). Although communication is not pictured graphically
in the model, as a facilitating dimension it helps the families
move between the extremes of the other two dimensions.
According to Olson and DeFrain (2000) "If a family has good
communication skills, they are more likely to be close
(cohesion dimension) and be able to work out problems
(adaptability dimension) when they arise.
Systems theory helps clarify how family communication is an
important part of effective family functioning (Beavers &
Voeller, 1983; Bloom, 1985; Stinnett & DeFrain, 1985; Olson
& DeFrain, 1994). Open communication within families
creates an environment of positive change, understanding,
and growth. Therefore, facilitating open family
communication should encourage the development of
stronger relationships within families. Among those who may
benefit most from improved family communications are
children in their adolescence.
All the coresspondence related to this articles may addressed to Dr. Najma Iqbal Malik, working as an assistant professor nad Incharge Department of Psychology at University of
Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan. Emai: najmamalik@gmail.com

A number of investigators have demonstrated a link between
the communication that occurs in the family and adolescent
developmental outcomes. Positive developmental outcomes
such as school achievement (Georgiou, 1995; Marta, 1997),
self-esteem (Demo, Small, & Savin-Williams, 1987), ability to
resolve difficult life issues (Hops, Tildesley, Lichenstein, Ary,
& Sherman, 1990), moral maturity (Walker, 1991), and taking
an active role in coping with their stress (Day, Bosworth,
Gustafson, Chewning, & Hawkins, 1985) have all been linked
with communication that is perceived as open. Further,
perceived open communication has been associated with the
ability to express opinions and ideas (Cooper, Grotevant, &
Condon, 1983).
Family satisfaction is defined as the degree to which family
members feel happy and fulfilled with each other (Olson &
Wilson, 1982). Anderson et al. (2001) consider both relational
and group satisfaction research to better understand how
group members’ satisfaction is affected by communication
within their group. Satisfaction has previously been linked to
family communication environments. The impact of
communication within families has been examined with
family satisfaction (Schrodt, Soliz & Braithwaite, 2008).
Schrodt (2009) found that the family expressiveness
environment was positively associated with satisfaction and
structural traditionalism and conflict avoidance were
inversely related to family satisfaction. Anderson et al. (2001)
consider both relational and group satisfaction research to
better understand how group members’ satisfaction is
affected by communication within their group. Satisfaction
has previously been linked to family communication
environments. The impact of communication within families
has been examined with family satisfaction (Schrodt, Soliz &
Braithwaite, 2008). Schrodt (2009) found that the family
expressiveness environment was positively associated with
satisfaction and structural traditionalism and conflict
avoidance were inversely related to family satisfaction.
Researchers have discovered a strong link between
communication patterns and satisfaction with family
relationships (Noller & Fitzpatrick, 1990). Studies have found
that during adolescence, life satisfaction is strongly influenced
by life experiences and relationships, particularly within the
context of the family (Gohm et al., 1998; Rask et al., 2003;
Edwards & Lopez, 2006). Across the full range of adolescence,
students’ ratings of the quality of their family relationships
have been shown to be of greater significance to their overall
life satisfaction than peer, school, or community-level ratings
(Dew & Huebner, 1994). Despite increasing amounts of time
spent with peers, the quality of family relationships appears
to be most important to adolescents’ lives.
A family who has good family communication will be better
able to alter their cohesion and flexibility to meet
developmental and situational demands that arise (Olson &
Gorall, 2003). Family systems with poor communication tend
to have lower functioning in regard to cohesion and flexibility,
whereas family systems with good communication tend
function higher (Olson, 2000). Research has demonstrated
that families function best during adolescent development
when families are adaptable and cohesive (Henggler, Burr-
Harris, Borduin, & McCallum, 1991; Gaughan, 1995).
Pakistan has one of the largest cohorts of young people in its
history, with approximately 25 million adolescents and young
people aged 15 and 24 years (Government of Pakistan, 2001).
As in most countries, there is the awareness that the health
and well-being of the current and subsequent young cohorts
is profoundly important for the social, political, and economic
development and stability of the country (Sathar et al., 2003).
Research on adolescents is still relatively new in Pakistan.
Only recently have studies been conducted on the lives of
adolescents in Pakistan (Durrant, 2000; Sathar et al., 2003),
however, they provide only limited data on adolescent’s
family communication and family satisfaction.
It is common knowledge that cultures seem to have different
types of family systems. In the United States and Canada and
the countries of northern Europe the nuclear family, father,
mother and the children, appears to predominate. In almost
all of the rest of the world, extended families, the
grandparents, father, mother, children, but also aunts, uncles,
cousins, and other kin are considered to be "family”. The 20th
century has seen the greatest upheaval in history of family
change. Family system has already been explored with
reference to different variables. Taqui et al, (2007) conducted
a study in Pakistan on depression and family system and
found that residing in a nuclear family system is a strong
independent predictor of depression in the elderly people.
Method
Research Design
Survey research design was used in this research project.
Sampling Strategy
Non-probability purposive sampling strategy was used. The
following inclusive criteria were used to draw the sample.
1. The adolescents lived in the joint and nuclear family
systems.
2. Education base line was of Matric.
3. The age range of the participants was 14 to19.
4. Willingness of the adolescents to participate in the
current research.
Sample
The sample was composed of 120 adolescents. The sample
was divided into 2 categories in terms of family system. Each
category comprises of 60 participants (n = 60). Category 1
consisted of the adolescent from nuclear family. Category 2
comprised of adolescent from joint or extended family. Both
categories included equal number of girls and boys (n = 30)
who met the above-mentioned inclusive criteria. The
distribution of sample is described below:
Instruments
Three instruments were used for this study to operationalize
the constructs of interest:
1. Demographic Form
Science Journal of Psychology (ISSN: 2276-6278) Page 2
How to Cite this Article: Aneesa Akhlaq, Najma Iqbal Malik, Noreen Aslam Khan “Family Communication and Family System as the Predictors of Family Satisfaction in Adolescents”
Science Journal of Psychology, Volume 2013, Article ID sjpsych-258, 6 Pages, 2012, doi: 10.7237/sjpsych/258

2. Family Communication Scale FCS (Olson et al., 2004)
3. Family Satisfaction Scale FSC (Olson, 1995).
1. Demographic Form
A demographic form was formulated to obtain the required
information such as age, sex, family system, and education of
every participant. The entire participants were assured that
the information shall be kept confidential.
2. Family Communication Scale
The Family Communication Scale (Olson et al., 2004) is a
self-report measure of family communication for the age of
12 year and over. It consists of 10 items. Each item has five
optional responses which are scored, as follows:
The range of scores is from 10-50 whereas 10 indicate very
low family communication and 50 indicate very high family
communication. The FCS was found to be internally consistent.
The results given in Table 2 indicate statistically significant
reliability (α = .60) for FCS which was used to assess the
degree to which family members feel unconstrained and
satisfied with the communication in their family (Olson et al.,
2004).
Optional Responses Scores
Strongly Disagree 1
Generally Disagree 2
Undecided 3
Generally Agree 4
Strongly Agree 5
Table 1: Reliabilities Analysis of Family Communication Scale FCS
Scale No. of items α
FCS 10 60
3. Family Satisfaction Scale
The Family Satisfaction Scale (Olson, 1995) is a self-report
scale specifically designed to assess the level of satisfaction
family members have with their families functioning. The
scale currently assesses ten aspects of family functioning in a
10 item format for age 12 and over. These ten items when
taken together reveal a single satisfaction factor. For each
item, participants rated on a 5-point Likert scale:
Optional Responses Scores
Very Dissatisfied 1
Somewhat Dissatisfied 2
Generally Satisfied 3
Very Satisfied 4
Extremely Satisfied 5
Following Olson (1995) recommendation, the total score was
used as an index of satisfaction with family functioning. Based
on a sample of 2,465 family members, the 10 item family
satisfaction scale has an alpha reliability of .92 and test re-test
of .85 (Olson, 1995).
Table 2: Reliabilities Analysis of Family Satisfaction Scale FSS
Scale No. of items α
FSS 10 0.71
Procedure
The current study was conducted to explore the family
communication and family system as the predictors of family
satisfaction in adolescents. The sample was approached
individually at their relevant places. The participants of the
study were briefed about the purpose of the research.
Informed consent was obtained from participants since the
study has no risk for them as well as they were ensured that
their responses will be kept confidential. The scales
containing 10 items of Family Communication scale (Olson et
al., 2004) and 10 items of Family satisfaction scale (Olson,
1995) were administered on 120 individual from nuclear and
joint family. There was no restriction of the time for the
completion of scales. The desire personal information was
obtained on the demographic form. In the end the participants
were thanked for their kind cooperation.
Statistics
The SPSS (version 17) was used to perform correlation to find
out relationship between family communication and family
satisfaction among adolescents. Independent t-test was also
used to check the mean difference between the two variables.
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How to Cite this Article: Aneesa Akhlaq, Najma Iqbal Malik, Noreen Aslam Khan “Family Communication and Family System as the Predictors of Family Satisfaction in Adolescents”
Science Journal of Psychology, Volume 2013, Article ID sjpsych-258, 6 Pages, 2012, doi: 10.7237/sjpsych/258

Furthermore, multiple regression analysis is applied in order
to get the clear cut picture of predictability of the variables
that which variable proved to be a better predictor.
Results
The results given in Table 3 suggest statistically significant
positive relationship between family communication and
Table 3: Correlation between Family Communication Scale and Family Satisfaction Scale (N=120)
***p < .001
Scale FCS FSS
FCS 0 37***
However, Multiple Regression Analysis revealed that family
communication, F (10.43) = p < .001, had R = .37 and R² =.15
as the most significant predictor of family satisfaction. The
family system came out to be a non significant predictor of
family satisfaction as shown in Table 4.
Table 4: Multiple Regression Analysis for Predictors of Family Satisfaction (N = 120)
R² = .15, F = 10.43
***p = < .001, p = n.s.
The results given in Table 5 revealed the non significant differences in the scores of adolescents for nuclear and joint family on
FSS and FCS
Table: 5 Mean Scores of Adolescents of Nuclear and Joint Family on FCS & FSS (N=120)
p = n.s., df = 118
Predictor BSE β
Constant 20.28 5.13
Family Communication 0.51 0.12 .37***
Family System -1.13 0.83 -0.12
Scale Family system n M SD t
Nuclear family 60 43.17 3.85
FCS -0.32
Joint family 60 43.32 3.41
Nuclear family 60 40.98 4.25
FSS 1.18
Joint family 60 39.93 5.45
Science Journal of Psychology (ISSN: 2276-6278) Page 4
How to Cite this Article: Aneesa Akhlaq, Najma Iqbal Malik, Noreen Aslam Khan “Family Communication and Family System as the Predictors of Family Satisfaction in Adolescents”
Science Journal of Psychology, Volume 2013, Article ID sjpsych-258, 6 Pages, 2012, doi: 10.7237/sjpsych/258

Discussion
The present study is conducted to explore the family
communication and family system as the predictors of family
satisfaction in adolescents. The main objective of the study
was to predict the family satisfaction on the basis of family
communication and family system in adolescents. It was
hypothesized that family communication will be the
significant predictor of family satisfaction as compare to
family system. In order to get the clear cut picture of the
variables step wise regression analysis was used to see the
level of predictability of different variables. This analysis
revealed that family communication is the most significant
predictor of family satisfaction in adolescents. Moreover,
family system came out to be a non significant predictor (see
Table 4). Furthermore, results of correlation also indicated
that there is a significant positive relationship between family
communication and family satisfaction (see Table 3).
These results are consistent with the earlier works of different
researcher. Researchers have discovered a strong link
between communication patterns and satisfaction with family
relationships (Noller & Fitzpatrick, 1990). Research suggests
that parent-adolescent communication impacts family
functioning and adolescents’ psychosocial well-being (Shek,
2000). During the time of adolescents change, communication
is critical for healthy adjustment (Hart, Olsen, Robinso, &
Mandleco, 1997). Schrodt (2009) found that the family
expressiveness environment was positively associated with
satisfaction and structural traditionalism and conflict
avoidance were inversely related to family satisfaction.
Studies have found that during adolescence, life satisfaction
is strongly influenced by life experiences and relationships,
particularly within the context of the family (Gohm et al.,
1998; Rask et al., 2003; Edwards & Lopez, 2006).
Another hypothesis of the study was that there would be
significant difference in the scores of adolescent from Joint
family and Nuclear family on Family Communication Scale
and Family Satisfaction scale. But contrary to the hypothesis,
results revealed the non significant differences in the scores
of adolescents for nuclear and joint family on FSS and FCS (see
Table 5). Although these results are contrary to the hypothesis
yet are consistent with some of the previous researches.
Zimmerman et al., (1995) found non-significant differences
in global life satisfaction across five different types of families,
including intact, single-mother, mother and extended family
members, stepparent, and extended family only. Thus, the
impact of family structure on adolescent life satisfaction is
unclear. Grossman and Rowat (1995) observed no differences
in overall life satisfaction between adolescents in intact versus
non-intact families.
Conclusion
Family communication is a key to successful family
functioning. Researchers agree that clear, open, and frequent
communication is a basic characteristic of a strong, healthy
family. Families that communicate in healthy ways with the
adolescents are more capable of problem-solving and tend to
be more satisfied with their relationships. The summative
information of the present study was suggestive of a
significant positive relationship between family
communication and satisfaction. On the other hand family
system was the non significant predictor of family satisfaction
in adolescents.
Implications
The findings of this research have implications for the
researchers who are interested in the impact of family
dynamics in adolescent development. Moreover, the findings
of the study can be very helpful for the persons who are
interlinked with psychological fields e.g. psychologists,
counselors and psychiatrists. This study will give a better
indication of what is influential in promoting adolescents’
family satisfaction and why differences exist within subgroups
of the population.
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Science Journal of Psychology (ISSN: 2276-6278) Page 6
How to Cite this Article: Aneesa Akhlaq, Najma Iqbal Malik, Noreen Aslam Khan “Family Communication and Family System as the Predictors of Family Satisfaction in Adolescents”
Science Journal of Psychology, Volume 2013, Article ID sjpsych-258, 6 Pages, 2012, doi: 10.7237/sjpsych/258