Conditional Effects Received Parental Support on Emerging Adults’ Relational Satisfaction

Abstract

Grounded in sensitive interaction systems theory, this study examined whether communication competence, emerging adults’ gender, conversation initiation, and stressor appraisal moderated the association between received parental support and emerging adults’ relational satisfaction with parents when discussing a stressor. A cross-sectional, online survey (n = 338, M_age = 20.82, female: n = 190, 56.2%, males: n = 148, 45.8%) was conducted. Results indicated communication competence, more so than parental support, affected relational satisfaction but only under particular conditions. The first condition was when emerging adults initiated the stressor conversation and had lower communication competence. The second condition was when they had similar levels of communication competence as their parent and appraised the stressor as an individual stressor.

Keywords:

• communication competence
• conversation initiation
• emerging adult
• parent–child
• parental support
• stressor appraisal

Disclosure statement

There is no known conflict of interest declared by the author.