ABSTRACT
In this chapter we review a number of influential theories of family communication and relationships. A theory is simply an explanation of a fact pattern. Although not all of the theories discussed in this chapter were explicitly developed as theories of family interaction per se, each has been widely and fruitfully applied in the scientific study of families. This chapter contains a presentation and analysis of family systems theory, uncertainty reduction theory, social learning theory, attachment theory, and the dialectic perspective. These theories are presented because they provide basic and abstract conceptualizations of family processes that have application to a number of different family phenomena, and will therefore appear repeatedly in other chapters in this book. These theories appear throughout the remainder of the book because they are among the most popular theories of family communication.
