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Journal Reflection Chapter 12 - Relationships with Family Members

 A family is a network of people who share their lives over long periods of time, are bound by blood, marriage, or commitment, consider themselves family, and share a significant history and anticipated future (McCornack and Morrison 327). Families often possess a strong sense of family identity and share intense complex emotional bonds. There are several different types of families and family dynamics. How families communicate is dependent upon the family communication pattern. The family communication pattern is influenced by two dimensions: conversation orientation and conformity orientation. Conversation orientation is the "degree to which family members are encouraged to discuss a variety of topics" (McCornack and Morrison 334). Conformity orientation is the "degree to which families believe communication should emphasize similarity or diversity" (McCornack and Morrison 334). Dependent on where your family stands on these two dimensions will decide your family communication pattern. There are four family communication patterns: consensual families, pluralistic families, protective families, and Laissez-faire families (McCornack and Morrison 335). Understanding the communication pattern specific to your family is important.

For example, my family communication pattern is pluralistic. The pluralistic family communication pattern consists of high conversation and low conformity. Because I understand this, I am able to navigate conflict with my family better. To conclude, understanding your family communication pattern is important in order to better navigate and maintain healthy familial relationships. 



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