Semester
Summer
Date of Graduation
2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MA
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Communication Studies
Committee Chair
Christine E. Rittenour
Committee Co-Chair
Matthew M. Martin
Committee Member
Matthew M. Martin
Committee Member
Scott A. Myers
Abstract
The goal of this thesis was to further the literature on mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships by directly employing Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) to examine relationships between categories of accommodation and relational quality in these relationships. Daughters-in-law (N= 677) were solicited via private Facebook groups to complete an online survey regarding accommodation (their own and their mothers-in-law’s), their feelings of shared family identity, and their relationship satisfaction in their relationship with their mothers-in-law. Results demonstrated relationships between mothers-in-law’s accommodation, overaccommodation, and underaccommodation of their daughters-in-law and daughters-in-law’s feelings of shared family identify and relationship satisfaction. Additionally, relationships were present between daughters-in-law’s feelings of shared family identity and relationship satisfaction and their accommodation (active and inactive), nonaccommodation, and reluctant accommodation of their mothers-in-law. These results confirm that CAT is directly applicable to mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships in thatbothwomen’s accommodation coincides with daughters-in-law’s perceptions of satisfaction and feeling like a family. Additional findings assert the importance of mediated communication, warrant further study of the nature of in-law dynamics, and invite researchers to reconsider the conceptualization of relationship satisfaction in mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships.
Recommended Citation
Shelton, Erin Claire, "The Role of Communication Accommodation in Mother-in-Law/Daughter-in-Law Relationships" (2019). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 4048.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/4048
Included in
Communication Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Theory, Knowledge and Science Commons
