Communication between Parents and their University Offspring and Sources of Personal and Social Support

Abstract

Communication allows the interrelationship of family members and has an influence on the personal and social adjustment of offspring. This research paper analyzes the types of family communication that exist between parents and their offspring and the sources of personal and social support available to university students. The link between the gender and the search for parent-offspring support variables are studied against the types of family communication. A quantitative analysis has been performed based on a descriptive, correlational and comparative design, and taking 906 students from a European university as the sample. The results indicate it was found that, overall, university students had a positive relationship with their parents. It was further discovered that daughters develop more negative behaviors and hurtful attitudes toward their mother than sons. University students tend to value and turn to different sources of support depending on the issue they wish to solve, with differences being noted based on gender. We conclude that university students have an open and satisfactory friendly relationship with both their parents, and value the family support they receive positively when they have personal and social problems.

La comunicación permite la interrelación entre los miembros de la familia e influye en el ajuste personal y social de los hijos/as. Esta investigación examina el tipo de comunicación familiar entre padres/madres e hijos/as y las fuentes de apoyo personal y social que tienen los universitarios. Se estudian las relaciones entre las variables género y búsqueda de apoyo padres/madres e hijos/as con los tipos de comunicación familiar. Realizamos una investigación cuantitativa, con diseño descriptivo, correlacional y comparativo, en 906 estudiantes de una universidad europea. Los resultados indican que chicos y chicas universitarios mantienen una buena comunicación con sus padres y madres. Las chicas, desarrollan conductas más negativas y actitudes hirientes con su madre a diferencia de los chicos. Los universitarios valoran y tienen diferentes fuentes de apoyo según el problema que quieran resolver, encontrándose diferencia según el género. Concluimos que los universitarios mantienen una comunicación familiar abierta y satisfactoria con ambos progenitores, valorando el apoyo familiar de manera positiva ante un problema personal y social.