ABSTRACT
Although the term family values has been a staple in the American lexicon particularly since Murphy Brown and Vice President Dan Quayle offered oppositional views on the subject, little empirical research has investigated the communication behaviors associated with family standards. John Caughlin (2003) noted that most studies of family standards do not focus solely on communication nor do they feature specific behaviors. To remedy this shortcoming, Caughlin conceptualized family communication standards as specific ideal behaviors practiced in a family environment. To gather information, participants reported on their ideal family communication standards and Caughlin augmented the measure by contributing additional items. Subsequent to a series of classification and categorization procedures as well as several factor analyses, 41-items-representing 10 dimensions-were identified, resulting in the Family Communication Standards Instrument.
