Abstract
The family is the foundation of any society. To a large extent, how the members of this important social entity interact define it. Interaction among family members is facilitated by communication. Even though the term evokes wide and varying images, there is a wide consensus that families are founded, established, and maintained through communication. Indeed, Humans conceive of social interactions to be the basic foundation of families.
Introduction
There have been vital steps made in the past three decades concerning one’s comprehension of how family interaction is affected by communication, and how communication is also affected by family interaction. Relationships are enacted when family members communicate. Through communication, family members establish mental models of family life and these models endure over time and are passed from one generation to the next through communication. Marriage is the first step in establishing a family and the kind of communication that exists between the partners determines the kind of family that they will establish. The importance of communication in marriage, therefore, goes beyond the couple and extends into the larger realm of family. Communication is, therefore, an important tool to develop a healthy relationship between partners.
Various descriptions by researchers exist concerning those patterns of communication which result in dissatisfaction in marriage. A link has been identified between family communication behavior and certain variables. Again, researchers have demonstrated the way communication patterns of one generation influences the behavior of the next. The way that married couples communicate with each other goes further to determine the relationship between their children. This is very important in shaping not only the future of the children but also the strength of the relationship between the parents.
It cannot be denied that family is a system and that the members and their relationships are interdependent. How the family members interact simultaneously influences one another and a change in one affects others. Due to this interconnectedness, families are better conceived of as wholes and should therefore be assessed according to the interrelationship of their parts. With this regard, it is important to consider individual members in terms of how they relate to one another.
Marriage provides an almost ideal setting within which communication, sexual intimacy, emotional intimacy, and favored degrees of interpersonal relationship can be aligned. Within marriage, an ideal setting is established for frequent and open communication. Both parties normally realize a consensus on the relevant degree of emotional involvement and love. However, there are significant findings that suggest that not everything is well with alignment in such conditions.
Analysis
Marriage and communication
Various studies indicate that effective communication is strongly related to the quality of dyadic satisfaction, adjustment, expression of affection, cohesion, consensus, and marital relationship (Vangelisti, 2004). In other words, communication is important in the success or failure of relationships. Research suggests that generally, communication becomes more ritualized and unsatisfying with time among married couples (Boyd, 2006). There are times and ways in which interpersonal communication may support relational growth and satisfaction instead of dissatisfaction and disintegration in marriage. A strong relationship has been found between various communication behavior and relational growth. These communication behaviors include frequent talks about the good things that have happened during the day; a feeling of being understood by their partners (for example, that their messages are being understood). It may include discussion of things that are conceived to be of shared interest, a rarity in communication break, frequent conversations concerning personal worries, problems, and fears, and frequent employment of words that contain private meaning for the couple. Couples often do general talk over many and diverse subjects and they show sensitivity toward each other’s feelings, openness in discussing intimate issues without shame or constraint, ability to read the kind of day the other partner has had without saying, and a greater degree of non-verbal communication through the exchange of glances.
The conclusion that can be drawn from the above items of communication behavior is that the difference between a happily married couple and an unhappily married couple lies in their mode of communication. Married couples talk to one another more frequently, dissipate the feeling that they comprehend what the other partner is saying, and possess a wider array of subjects available to them. Communication is therefore important in marriage since it is through communication that the couple and understands each other and faces the challenges of life as a couple. Without good communication, understanding may be difficult and this means that the survival of the marriage may not be guaranteed.
Good communication among couples is important to grow healthy marriage relationships. Couples should maintain the channels of communication and keep them open, exude sensitivity, customize their language symbols and invest in supplementary non-verbal ways of communication. All these are for the purpose of marriage survival. The way that married couples communicate directly influences the type of family they are likely to establish. A family that is founded on good communication often has happy members. Children brought up in such families are not likely to experience social problems and are therefore likely to have a healthy social relationship.
Numerous studies also report a powerful link between the various types of communication behavior between partners and marital adjustment (Cushman & Cahn, 1985). Consequently, the best indicators of relational dissatisfaction in marriage have not changed. There remains an absence of consensus between the partners and weak self-concept support. Both of these are consequences of poor communication.
Conclusion
Communication is important in marriage since it determines the survival of the relationship and the happiness among the couples. Communication ensures that the couple understands each other, a vital element in a strong family establishment. Communication in marriage also determines the relationship among the family members. A family that effectively communicates with one another, records increased levels of happiness as compared to a family where communication among the parents is poor. Effective communication in families begins with the parents and this becomes emulated by the children. This implies that communication is very significant in marriage as its impacts transcend the relationship between the couple and enter into the realm of family.
The way that children will be brought up will largely depend on the relationship between the parents and this relationship is determined by communication. The importance of communication in marriage cannot, therefore, be denied as it dictates the kind of people that all those that have entered the institution of marriage bring into the society in terms of children. Good communication in marriage means a good family.
References
- Boyd, D. (2006). Communication in Marriage. New York: Springer
- Cushman, D. & Cahn, D. (1985). Communication in interpersonal relationships. Holland: SUNY Press
- Vangelisti, A. (2004). Handbook of Family Communication. New York: Routledge