Individual and Relational Correlates of Communication Accommodation and Identity Gaps: An Intergroup Perspective on Interfaith Family Relationships

• In Event: Theorizing Intergroup Dynamics in Families, the Workplace, and the Community

Abstract

Guided by communication accommodation theory and communication theory of identity, the purpose of the current study is to examine the role of parent-child communication in interfaith families—specifically, when a child possesses a different religious identity from that of his or her parents. Young adult participants (N = 181) completed an online survey assessing communication with parents concerning religious difference, self-concept (i.e., identity gaps), relational solidarity, well-being, and interfaith attitudes. Findings demonstrate positive effects for religious specific accommodative behavior and negative effects for nonaccommodative behaviors on the part of parents for most of the outcomes. Mediation analysis supports a pathway in which (non)accommodation amplifies or minimizes personal-enacted identity gaps in the family with implication for individual and relational outcomes.

Authors

• Jordan E. Soliz, U of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Toni Morgan, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Mackensie Minniear, U of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Gretchen Bergquist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln