Advancements in technology have altered how and when communication occurs between individuals in a relationship. Although research has investigated how new information communication technologies (ICTs) affect peer relationships and parents’ communication with their young children, how ICTs influence parent–adult child relationships is less clear. Based on media multiplexity theory (MMT), this study tested whether the number of media used to interact influences communication and relationship satisfaction for emerging adult children. Results indicated that the number of media parents and emerging adult children utilize to maintain their relationship does modestly influence communication and relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, these results imply that utilizing additional media can offset a parent’s low communication competence. These findings extend MMT to family relationships and underscore the importance of communication competence in communication and relationship satisfaction.
AikenL. S.WestS. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
2.
AndersonT. L.Emmers-SommerT. M. (2006). Predictors of relationship satisfaction in online romantic relationships. Communication Studies, 57, 153–172. doi:10.1080/10510970600666834
3.
ArnettJ. J. (1998). Learning to stand alone: The contemporary American transition to adulthood in cultural and historical context. Human Development, 41, 295–315. doi:10.1159/000022591
4.
ArnettJ. J. (2007). Emerging adulthood: What is it, and what is it good for?Child Development Perspectives, 1, 68–73. doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00016.x
5.
ArnettJ. J.EisenbergN. (2007). Introduction to the special section: Emerging adulthood around the world. Child Development Perspectives, 1, 66–67. doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00015.x
6.
ArroyoA.SegrinC. (2011). The relationship between self- and other-perceptions of communication competence and friendship quality. Communication Studies, 62, 547–562. doi:10.1080/10510974.2011.580037
7.
BaymN. K.ZhangY. B.LinM. (2004). Social interactions across media: Interpersonal communication on the internet, telephone, and face-to-face. New Media & Society, 6, 299–318. doi:10.1177/1461444804041438
8.
BeattyM. J.DobosJ. A. (1992). Adult sons’ satisfaction with their relationships with fathers and person-group (father) communication apprehension. Communication Quarterly, 40, 162–176. doi:10.1080/01463379209369831
9.
ChenY. F.KatzJ. E. (2009). Extending family to school life: College students’ use of the mobile phone. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 67, 179–191. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2008.09.002
10.
CohenJ.CohenP.WestS. G.AikenL. S. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
11.
CoyneS. M.Padilla-WalkerL. M.HowardE. (2013). Emerging in a digital world: A decade review of media use, effects, and gratifications in emerging adulthood. Emerging Adulthood, 1, 125–137. doi:10.1177/2167696813479782
12.
DevittK.RokerD. (2009). The role of mobile phones in family communication. Children & Society, 23, 189–202. doi:10.1111/j.1099-0860.2008.00166.x
13.
DimmickJ.KlineS.StaffordL. (2000). The gratification of niches of personal email and the telephone: Competition, displacement, and complementarity. Communication Research, 27, 227–248. doi:10.1177/009365000027002005
14.
DunleavyK. N.WanzerM. B.KrezmienE.RuppelK. (2011). Daughters’ perceptions of communication with their fathers: The role of skill similarity and co-orientation in relationship satisfaction. Communication Studies, 62, 581–596. doi:10.1080/10510974.2011.588983
15.
Emmers-SommerT. M. (2004). The effect of communication quality and quantity indicators on intimacy and relational satisfaction. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 21, 399–411. doi:10.1177/0265407504042839
16.
GottmanJ. M. (1999). The marriage clinic: A scientifically-based marital therapy. New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
17.
HaythornthwaiteC. (2002). Strong, weak, and latent ties and the impact of new media. The Information Society, 18, 385–401. doi:10.1080/01972240290108195
18.
HaythornthwaiteC. (2005). Social networks and internet connectivity effects. Information, Communication, & Society, 8, 125–147. doi:10.1080/13691180500146185
19.
HechtM. L. (1978). Toward a conceptualization of communication satisfaction. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 64, 47–62. doi:10.1080/00335637809383411
20.
HendrickS. S. (1988). A generic measure of relationship satisfaction. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50, 93–98. doi:10.2307/352430
21.
IshiiK. (2006). Implications of mobility: The uses of personal communication media in everyday life. Journal of Communication, 56, 346–365. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00023.x
22.
JinB.PenaJ. F. (2010). Mobile communication in romantic relationships: Mobile phone use, relational uncertainty, love, commitment, and attachment styles. Communication Reports, 23, 39–51. doi:10.1080/08934211003598742
23.
KimH.KimG. J.ParkH. W.RiceR. E. (2007). Configurations of relationships in different media: FtF, email, instant messenger, mobile phone, and SMS. Journal of Computed-Mediated Communication, 12, 1183–1207. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00369.x
24.
KleinbaumD. G.KupperL. L.MullerK. E. (1988). Applied regression analysis and other multivariable methods. Boston, MA: PWS.
25.
ManciniJ. A.BliesznerR. (1989). Aging parents and adult children: Research themes in intergenerational relations. Journal of Marriage and Family, 51, 275–290. doi:10.2307/352492
26.
MiczoN.MarianiT.DonahueC. (2011). The strength of strong ties: Media multiplexity, communication motives, and the maintenance of geographically close friendships. Communication Reports, 24, 12–24. doi:10.1080/08934215.2011.555322
27.
NelsonL. J.Padilla-WalkerL. M.CarrollJ. S.MadsenS. D.BarryC. M.BadgerS. (2007). ‘If you want me to treat you like an adult, start acting like one!’ Comparing the criteria that emerging adults and their parents have for adulthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 665–674. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.21.4.665
28.
NelsonL. J.Padilla-WalkerL. M.ChristensenK. J.EvansC. A.CarrollJ. S. (2011). Parenting in emerging adulthood: An examination of parenting clusters and correlates. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 40, 730–743. doi:10.1007/s10964-010-9584-8
29.
Padilla-WalkerL. M.NelsonL. J.CarrollJ. S.JensenA. C. (2010). More than just a game: Video games, internet use, and health outcomes in emerging adults. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 103–113. doi:10.1007/s10964-008-9390-8
30.
Punyanunt-CarterN. M. (2007). Using attachment theory to study satisfaction in father-daughter relationships. Human Communication, 10, 103–120.
31.
RamirezA.JrDimmickJ.FeasterJ.LinS. (2008). Revisting interpersonal media competition: The gratification niches of instant messaging, email, and the telephone. Communication Research, 35, 529–547. doi:10.1177/0093650208315979
32.
RubinR. B.MartinM. M. (1994). Development of a measure of interpersonal communication competence. Communication Research Reports, 11, 33–44. doi:10.1080/08824099409359938
33.
SeridoJ.ShimS.MishraA.TangC. (2010). Financial parenting, financial coping behaviors, and well-being of emerging adults. Family Relations, 59, 453–464. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2010.00615.x
Van CleemputK. V. (2010). “I’ll see you on IM, text, or call you”: A social network approach of adolescents’ use of communication media. Bulletin of Science, Technology, & Society, 30, 75–85. doi:10.1177/0270467610363143
36.
WalshJ. L.FielderR. L.CareyK. B.CareyM. P. (2013). Female college students’ media use and academic outcomes: Results from a longitudinal cohort study. Emerging Adulthood, 1, 219–232. doi:10.1177/2167696813479780
37.
YoonK. (2003). Retraditionalizing the mobile: Young people’s sociality and mobile phone use in Seoul, South Korea. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 6, 327–343. doi:0.1177/13675494030063004
