The Health of the Discipline: Examining the Past, Present, and Future of Family Communication Studies

• In Event: Reflections on Research, Theory, and Method in Family Communication

Abstract

Family communication officially became a division of the National Communication Association (then the Speech Communication Association) in 1989. Since its inception, family communication research has become an important part of the communication discipline. The purpose of this analysis is to comment on the health of the family communication discipline. In this analysis I briefly document the history and assumptions of family communication studies, describe the history and limitations of systems theory, provide a case for the integration of life-course and developmental theories, and discuss future trends in family communication research. Overall this examination of the past, present, and future of family communication studies illustrates the essential role that this discipline fills when attempting to understand the complexities of the family.

Author

• Andrea N Lambert, University of Denver