Father-Daughter Communication

Punyanunt-Carter NarissraNarissra Maria Punyanunt-Carter, is an associate professor ofCommunication Studies at Texas Tech University in Lubbock,Texas. Her research areas include mass mediaeffects, father-daughter communication, mentoring, familystudies,and interpersonal communication. She has published over30 articles that have appeared in several journals.

Father-daughter relationships are very importantbecause of the impact that fathers can have on theirdaughters. Past research has shown that daughterswho are dissatisfied with their communicationinteractions with their fathers are more likely tobe involved in bad peer relationships, haveunpleasant romantic endeavors, and make poor life-threatening decisions compared to daughters who aresatisfied with their communication interactions withtheir fathers. The objective of this study was totest a model of father-daughter communication inwhich attachment style and family communicationpattern are possible determinants of relationshipmaintenance behaviors, interpersonal communicationmotives, and, ultimately, satisfaction.Two hundred and seven father-daughter dyadsparticipated in the study. Daughters completeditems concerning their attachment styles and familycommunication patterns. Both fathers and daughterscompleted items on interpersonal communicationmotives, relationship maintenance behaviors,communication satisfaction, and relationshipsatisfaction.