Citation

Matsunaga M. Hum. Commun. Res. 2009; 35(2): 221-247.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, International Communication Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1468-2958.2009.01345.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Discrepancy between bullied victims’ experience and their parents’ understanding indicates underutilization of family support system, and thus presents an important risk factor. An online survey (N = 300 child-father-mother triads) was conducted to establish a framework that helps distinguish families with different child-parent discrepancy levels. This family-level variability was modeled by profiling child-father-mother triad’s family communication standard (FCS) orientations. This “FCS profile” indeed distinguished families with different levels of discrepancies. Further, SEM analyses revealed that those discrepancies presented a distinct risk factor vis-à-vis effects of bullying reports per se. Finally, FCS profile had an indirect association with victims’ well-being via mediation by child-parent discrepancy. These findings are discussed with regard to the role of family communication in bullied individuals’ coping processes.