Family Communication Types

Family communication styles play a crucial role in determining whether individuals will seek treatment and maintain long-term recovery.

The foundation of FRAA research originated from Jack McLeod and Steven Chaffee’s Family Communication Patterns Theory (1972), which focuses on how families establish stable communication and attitudes between parents and children, as well as their social reality. Lori Ritchie, Mary-Anne Fitzpatrick, and Ascan Koerner have continued to revise and expand the theory. Tom Socha and Adam Pyecha adapted the Ritchie, Fitzpatrick, and Koerner revised theories, creating an adult-child survey specific to the concept of recovery as families experience the disease of alcoholism and addiction. Listed below are Koerner and Fitzpatrick’s descriptions, incorporating media television families to help give a more vivid illustration.

A color photo of a group of adults and children gathered in a living room, with one woman in a green dress speaking to a man in a gray suit, and a black-and-white photo of a man with five children, all smiling.

CONSENSUAL FAMILY

The consensual family resembles the families depicted in shows like The Cosby Show or Keeping Up with the Kardashians. These families are likely to foster 'family’ recovery and promote sustained, long-term recovery for the LNC. This underscores the significant role of family dynamics in the context of substance abuse.

The protective family has low conversation and high conformity. They are characterized by authoritarian parent-child relationships that emphasize consistency, obedience, and conformity. TV shows that illustrate this type include The Bernie Mac Show, All in the Family, and The Sopranos. There is no guarantee that family members will all conform, and this family type may increase the LNC’s desire to relapse.

A promotional slide for The Bernie Mac Show, featuring a logo, a family photo of a father with three children, and a woman with a girl and a boy standing in front of a house, with bullet points about low conversation orientation and authoritarian parent-child relationships.

PROTECTIVE FAMILY

Collage of three images from popular 1990s TV shows with text overlay and bullet points. Top left shows characters from 'The Addams Family', top right from 'That 70s Show', bottom left from 'The Middle'. Bullet points list 'Open conversations', 'Child independence', and 'Minimal parental control'.

PLURALISTIC FAMILY

The pluralistic family fosters open communication and child autonomy with minimal parental oversight, like The Brady Bunch, The Addams Family, The Middle, and That '70s Show. This family may have inconsistent communication patterns, which can inadvertently enable and spoil the LNC, setting family members up for disappointment when the LNC refuses treatment or relapses continuously. This underscores the need for balanced family dynamics in the context of substance abuse.

Two photos: one of a diverse family group in front of a gray background, and one of a group of young adults sitting on stairs outside a house. The slide mentions abnormal communication, conformity, and minimal parental control.

LAISSEZ-FAIRE FAMILY

Laissez-faire families often lack clear communication norms, including those between parents and children. With this family type, alcoholics may neglect their family and work responsibilities. They may also become verbally and physically abusive. The TV shows The Simpsons, Married with Children, and Shameless all demonstrate this type of family communication pattern.

FRAA Research reports….

A research chart with data on coping and resilience, including bar graphs showing mean scores for group coping (CP) and group resilience (RS). It also includes demographic tables with information on sex, ethnicity, and age (generation).
Bar chart titled 'Family Type Desire to Relapse Score' showing four categories: Protective, Laissez-faire, Pluralistic, and Consensual, with Protective having the highest score and Consensual having the lowest.
Graph comparing family types and recovery status with bar chart showing percentages of P recovering and N not recovering across different family types, including consensual, protective, and pluralistic.
Table showing research content about family communication patterns influencing participation in FSG, categorizing families into pluralistic, consensual, protective, laissez-faire, and plural-contradictory types, and their preferences for sought treatment or recovery, with tally totals for each family type.