Relationship between Undergraduates' Perceptions of Family Communication and their Parents' Marital Relationship and their own Borderline Tendencies

Abstract

　　The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between university students' perceptions of family communication and their parents' marital relationship and their own borderline tendencies. Questionnaires were administered to 198 undergraduate college students (91 males, 107 females). Multiple regression analysis revealed that conflictual communication was related to borderline tendencies in male undergraduates. Analysis also revealed that avoidant communication was related to identity diffusion and isolation/abandonment anxiety. In female undergraduates, conflictual communication was related to borderline tendencies and labile affect/impulsiveness. Avoidant communication was related to borderline tendencies and all subfactors except for a sense of inadequacy in interpersonal relationships/low self-esteem. Clear communication and borderline tendencies were not significantly related. Results revealed that conflict resolution by one's parents had a significant inverse relationship to borderline tendencies in both male and female undergraduates. Conflict resolution by one's parents was inversely related to labile affect/impulsiveness in male undergraduates and to identity diffusion in female undergraduates. Findings suggest that interventions to encourage family communication and conflict　resolution by parents of undergraduates will likely prove effective in reducing borderline tendencies in those students.