Understanding Young Adults’ Reports of Contact with their Parents in a Digital World: Psychological and Familial Relationship Factors

Findings from cross-sectional studies from the 2010s suggest that phone calls and texting were far more prevalent than other forms of communication among parents and college students.

“Findings from cross-sectional studies from the 2010s suggest that phone calls and texting were far more prevalent than other forms of communication among parents and college students (Abar et al., 2012;Sax & Weintraub, 2014;Stein et al., 2016).”

Most college students communicate frequently with their parents.

“Most college students communicate frequently with their parents (e.g., Small et al., 2011;Stein et al., 2016) and parent-student contact is positively related to relationship quality (Lowe & Dotterer, 2018).”

Most prior work examining parent-student communication during college is comprised of cross-sectional studies examining quantity and/or mode of parent-student communication.

“Most prior work examining parent-student communication during college is comprised of cross-sectional studies examining quantity and/or mode of parent-student communication (e.g., Wolf et al., 2009;Stein et al., 2016).”

The present findings are consistent with primarily cross-sectional findings that parental communication is positively correlated with relationship quality among emerging adult students.

“Results are consistent with primarily crosssectional findings indicating that parental communication is positively correlated with relationship quality among emerging adults students (Gentzler et al., 2011;Harper et al., 2012;Stein et al., 2016).”

The study's findings on mode of communication contrast with research studies conducted in the 2010s.

“Findings related to mode of communication are in contrast to research studies conducted in the 2010's (e.g., Sax & Weintraub, 2014;Stein et al., 2016).”