ABSTRACT
Chaffee, McLeod, and Atkin suggested that how children become socialized to the world partly depends on the ways in which parents and children communicate. The coorientation model also explains family communication patterns (FCP). Socio-oriented families are more oriented to interfamily relations than to external topics. Reliabilities for the two dimensions vary depending on the number of items used and the nature of the sample. The two dimensions of the FCP Scale appear to have face validity. Factor analyses have largely supported the two-dimensional FCP structure. Concurrent validity for the FCP Scale has been shown in the subscales’ relationship to some demographic and media use variables. The FCP Scale has been widely used in several contexts such as mass communication, family relations, consumer research, and instructional communication. It is adaptable for use with parents and children. Abel used FCP statements to code TV families as idea- (concept) or socio-oriented.
