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Abstract
This research stresses the need to examine the relationship between topic avoidance and relational correlates (e.g., satisfaction and emotional closeness) from a message production theoretical perspective. Our approach—strategic topic avoidance—offers additional explanatory capabilities as the strategies with which interactants in close relationships avoid topics may be associated with perceptions of the relationship (after accounting for topic avoidance frequency). Moreover, relational correlates may also vary by the combination of overall topic avoidance frequency and certain topic avoidance strategies. The current research, therefore, assessed individuals' topic avoidance frequency levels and the frequency of using topic avoidance strategies in relation to satisfaction and closeness across three different relational types (i.e., significant others, mother–young‐adult, and father–young‐adult relationships). Results suggested that avoiding certain topics, such as current relational concerns, predicted levels of satisfaction and closeness across relationship types; however, cross‐relational differences also emerged. Strategies employed to avoid topics accounted for additional variance in satisfaction and closeness for relationships with significant others and mothers but not fathers. Analyses also demonstrated that overall topic avoidance frequency interacted with topic avoidance strategy use.
Notes
Nicholas A. Palomares (Ph.D. Candidate, University of California, Santa Barbara) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Davis. René M. Dailey (M.A., University of Wyoming) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Authorship order was determined randomly. This paper was presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association, Miami Beach, FL, November 2003. The authors thank Shannon Sarming for entering a substantial portion of the data. Address correspondence to either Nicholas A. Palomares, Department of Communication, One Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. or René M. Dailey, Department of Communication, 4840 Ellison Hall, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106‐4020, USA. E‐mail: [email protected] and [email protected].
Statistics traditionally used for construct measurement, such as alpha reliabilities and factor analysis, are appropriate for effects indicator measures (i.e., a measure for which the underlying construct is a latent variable which influences responses to the items corresponding to the measure). These statistics, however, are not appropriate for causal indicator measures (i.e., a measure for which the underlying construct is composed of specific behaviors), as there is no theoretical reason for items of causal indicator measures to be highly intercorrelated (Bollen & Lennox, Citation1991). Alpha reliabilities and a factor analysis need not be conducted on the topic avoidance frequency items, as they are causal indicator measures of specific behaviors of avoiding topics. Other topic avoidance research (e.g., Caughlin & Gollish, Citation2002) treats these measures similarly.
To further support this claim, we converted the unit of analysis from the individual to the tactic and ran correlations based on the tactical ratings of directness and rudeness. First, the mean ratings of directness and rudeness for significant other, mother, and father were determined. We expected that if relational type did not matter for these two ratings, then the correlations would be extremely high for the tactics' characteristics across relational types. Correlations between the three different relational types using the tactics' directness ratings resulted in extremely high numbers, all of which were significant and above .97. Correlations between the three different relational types using the tactics' rudeness ratings also resulted in extremely high numbers, all of which were significant and above .98. Thus, much support exists for using tactics' directness and rudeness ratings across the three relational types, as relational type does not influence the directness or rudeness ratings of the tactics.
Similar to the topic avoidance frequency measures, alpha reliabilities and a factor analysis do not need to be conducted on the topic avoidance tactic frequency items, as they are causal indicator measures of specific behaviors used to avoid topics (Bollen & Lennox, Citation1991).
For the interaction of overall topic avoidance and strategy 3, the slope for lower levels of topic avoidance was significant (β=−.801, t=−3.142, p=.002). For the interaction of overall topic avoidance and strategy 5, the two slopes for the mean level and higher levels of topic avoidance were significant (β=−.174, t=−2.086, p=.040; and β=−.335, t=−2.935, p=.004, respectively). All other slopes were not significantly different than zero.
For the interaction of overall topic avoidance and strategy 8, the two slopes for the mean and higher levels of topic avoidance were significant (β=−.229, t=−1.952, p=.054; and β=−.541, t=−.2.733, p=.008, respectively). All other slopes were not significantly different than zero.
