Tested the hypothesis that sequenced patterns of interaction in which mothers deferred control to their sons and sons assumed control would discriminate high- and low-problem single mother-son dyads. In high-problem dyads, compared to low, mothers' submissive communication was more likely to elicit sons' dominant communication and sons' dominant…

A study investigated whether routine, everyday communication in parent-child relationships affects relationship satisfaction as well as how conflict might fit into the relational picture. Fifty-two mothers (38 married and 14 single) with sons 5-14 years of age completed the Iowa Communication Record (ICR) to provide information about routine…

Contributes to scholarship on family communication, finding that fathers' perceptions of the appropriateness and effectiveness of tactics with oppositional sons was largely a function of their level of trait verbal aggressiveness, which was (1) negatively related to perceptions of appropriateness and effectiveness of supportive tactics, and (2)…

Finds that fathers' verbal aggressiveness was inversely related to both the appropriateness and effectiveness of plans they generated (in response to a five-phase scenario) for interacting with oppositional sons. (SR)

Finds that approximately 40% of the variance in adult sons' reports of fathers' messages (sarcasm, criticism, and verbal aggressiveness) was attributable to fathers' self-reported argumentativeness and verbal aggression. (SR)