A Cross-Cultural Examination of the Mediating Role of Family Support and Parental Advice Quality on the Relationship Between Family Communication Patterns and First-Year College Student Adjustment in the United States and Belgium

Abstract

This study examines how college students’ family communication environments influence their adjustment during the first year of college in two distinct cultures: Belgium (n = 513) and the United States (n = 431). Three structural equation models were tested to determine the mediating effects of (a) perceived family support, (b) quality of academic advice from parents, and (c) quality of social advice from parents on associations between family communication patterns (FCPs) and student adjustment. Although most relationships are more complicated than predicted based on FCP theory and research, several patterns occur across models and populations. Conversation orientation tends to foster positive adjustment for both cultures while conformity orientation promotes negative adjustment for Belgian students. In addition, perceived family support and advice quality mediate several relationships between FCP and academic self-efficacy, college stress, and loneliness. Differences between the two cultures, theoretical implications for FCP, and practical implications for academic counselors are discussed along with avenues for future research.