Parental Confirmation and Affection as Mediators of Family Communication Patterns and Children's Mental Well-Being

Abstract This study examined the extent to which parental confirmation and affection mediate the associations among family communication patterns (i.e., conversation and conformity) and young adult children's mental well-being (i.e., self-esteem, perceived stress, and mental health). Participants included 567 young adult children from both first-marriage and postdivorce families. Results supported most of the hypothesized relationships among family conversation and conformity orientations, parental confirmation and affection, and young adult children's mental health and well-being. No significant differences emerged in the associations among mothers' and fathers' communication behaviors and children's well-being. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that parental confirmation and affection partially mediates the effects of conversation orientations, and fully mediates the effects of conformity orientations, on young adult children's self-esteem and perceived stress. For mental health symptoms, however, parental confirmation fully mediated the effects of conversation and conformity orientations.