The Effects of Multimodal Communication Frequency, Geographic Distance, and Coresidence on Parent-Child Relationship Quality During Emerging Adulthood

Abstract

The present study examined the role of three interrelated factors—multimodal communication frequency, geographic distance, and coresidence—in relation to emerging adult college students’ perceptions of parental relationship quality. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that emerging adults’ perceptions of relational closeness and communication satisfaction were related to lower levels of face-to-face interaction and higher levels of phone call interaction with their parents. Controlling for communication frequencies, students who lived separate from their parents reported greater communication satisfaction than those who coresided, yet coresidence was unassociated with relational closeness. Finally, geographic distance was unrelated to emerging adults’ perceptions of parental relationship quality.

Keywords:

• Coresidence
• Emerging Adulthood
• Geographic Distance
• Parent-Child Communication

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Kory Floyd and Dr. Carlos Valiente for their feedback regarding this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Participants’ age and gender and parents’ gender were considered as potential covariates but excluded due to statistically insignificant zero-order correlations with relationship quality indicators.