An exploratory study of family characteristics as predictors of communication apprehension

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between family characteristics and communication apprehension. McCroskey (2009) has argued that communication apprehension is the brain's response to a threat to self. Hsu (1998) asserts that the family of origin is one of the primary factors influencing an individual's proclivity to develop communication apprehension. That is, one's family of origin has the power to shape the development of positive and negative affects including anxiety about communication. Consequently, this study examined the influence of familial factors, such as birth order and family communication patterns, on communication apprehension. Results suggest that there is a relationship between family communication patterns, birth order, and communication apprehension. Future research should continue to examine birth-order from both a traditional and modified perspective and its relationship to an individual's tendency to develop trait anxiety and how a family's communication pattern reinforces the development or prevention of such.