Family communication patterns, rebelliousness, and adolescent reactions to anti-drug PSAs

Abstract

Research suggests that adolescents' family communication patterns should predict their reactions to anti-drug messages. The authors propose that the impact of such patterns is contingent upon the extent of adolescent rebelliousness. Fifty-one adolescents saw six anti-drug PSAs, and assessed whether they considered the messages believable and likely to persuade them and people they knew. Respondents were split into high/low groups with respect to conformity-orientation (authoritarian family communication patterns), conversation-orientation (open family communication patterns), and rebelliousness. As predicted, rebellious adolescents from the more authoritarian, conformity-oriented families considered the messages relatively less believable than did the non-rebellious adolescents from authoritarian, conformity-oriented families. Predicted negative relationships between family conversation-orientation and assessments of anti-drug PSA believability and persuasiveness were not found. Youth who had experimented with drugs, as predicted, did assess the anti-drug PSAs as less persuasive than those who did not.