Public concern about teenage pregnancy and the threat of sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS make sex education information vital for today's teenagers. A 1986 Harris survey of 1,000 teenagers cited parents as their primary source of sex education information, but 42% said they would be too nervous or afraid to bring up the subject of contraception or birth control with their parents. States like Kentucky have mandated sex education courses for all public schools to provide necessary instruction for teenagers. This study identifies communication barriers which teenagers say prevent communication with their parents about sex and sex-related topics. Questionnaires were administered to 249 high school sex education students. The majority of teenagers (71%) said they could communicate freely with their parents about most topics, but only half (52%) said they could communicate freely with their parents about sex or sex-related topics. Thirty percent of the teenagers said they could not talk comfortably with their mothers about sex as compared to 47% who said they could not talk with their fathers. Results showed gender differences in the ability to talk with fathers about sex. Fifty-eight percent of the females reported closed communication with fathers about sex topics as compared to 33 percent of males. Teenagers cited 13 main reasons why they could not talk with their parents about sex or sex-related topics: embarrassment (20%), poor communication in general (11%), different values about sex and dating (11%), avoidance of conflict (10%), teenager chooses not to discuss it with parents (10%), it's a topic simply not discussed (9%), parents might accuse them of being sexually active (7%), parents think they are too young (5%), they are too busy to talk about it (5%), parents don't want to discuss it (4%), parents are overprotective (4%), teenager is not close to parents (3%), and parents wouldn't understand (2%). Items which teenagers say would make it more comfortable to discuss sex topics with parents include: parents being more understanding, non-accusing, not embarrassed, willing to listen, closer in age, less old fashioned, more informed about today's teens, open minded and less judgmental.

Approximately 15% of all new marriages in the United States in 2010 were between spouses that shared different racial or ethnic backgrounds from one another. Socha and Diggs (1999) began to examine race as both an outcome of family communication as well as a factor that influences children's communication development in families because of the social pressure multiethnic families endure to fit a nuclear family model. This study utilized dyadic interviews of eleven multiethnic parent couples (N = 22 individuals; 11 dyads) in order to gain a deeper understanding of Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic family systems. Communication in families plays a foundational role in many aspects of society and socialization of the young. However, slim research has addressed how communication in families affects the understandings of ethnicity and the formation of social identities as a social construction (see Hecht, Collier, & Ribeau, 1993; Socha & Diggs, 1999; Socha, Sanchez-Hucles, Bromley, & Kelly, 1995). Researchers in the social sciences, especially in communication, must recognize that the sanctuary of the home may be generating the keys to understanding problems concerning social identity formation and diversity. Thus, there is a need for communication research at the crossroads of ethnicity, family, and identity. This dissertation highlights family factors that may influence Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic children’s social identities as well as family communication within Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic family systems. This study explicates multiethnic families through the lens of communication accommodation theory (CAT; Giles, 1973), social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel & Turner, 1979), and self-categorization theory (SCT; Turner, 1985; Turner, 1987), explicitly overviewing the intersection of interpersonal and intergroup communication (Giles, 2012). This study provides insights to both theoretical expansion and practical application within Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic family systems. Ultimately, this study addresses questions such as: a) How do Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic family systems communicate surrounding topics of race and ethnicity, b) How do Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic families discuss components of social identity (e.g., ethnic identification for multiethnic children), and c) What challenges are unique to Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic family systems?

A new generation, Millennial Generation, is currently staffing summer camp programs. Camp directors need to be aware of the differences in learning styles this generation prefers. The Millennial generation is the first to grow up with the instant accessibility of the Internet. This project was created based on suggestions from Camp Directors and ideas that have been developed from the study of this generation. A pre-camp video game training script has been created and tailored to the Millennial camp staff in order to encourage Millennials to learn and use the information needed to take proper care of campers.

Intercultural romantic relationships have increasingly become more common in the United States between Mexican American and Caucasian American males and females. Predominantly, this study investigates how Mexican Americans and Caucasian Americans in intercultural romantic relationships visualize conflict in their relationship. The research question: What are the intercultural communication differences in romantic relationships between Mexican Americans and Caucasian Americans? Research findings support cultural differences being related to power, cultural gender differences, language barriers, child care, and religion. Although there is a vast amount of research focused on intercultural relationships, it seems there are few studies that have investigated intercultural communication differences between romantic couples. Participants in this study reported intercultural communication differences that involved communication conflict. Themes found in the data where intercultural communication differences occurred are: childcare, power, cultural gender differences, religion, and family influences.

An individual's struggle with "self," which consists of personal identity and social identity, can create both intra- and interpersonal conflict. In this study, I explored how such struggles inform identity-based conflict and how such conflicts are addressed by intergroup dialogue. A dialogue was conducted with University students, consisting of discussions about participants' struggles with "self" and social identity. These conversations were analyzed using a mixed methods and content analysis approach. The study revealed that identities such as gender play significant roles in creating conflict within "self" and with others. National origin, race, and ethnicity also affect personal identity; however, these identities have greater influence on participants' relationships with others. Four different stages of dialogue were crucial in determining changes in the perceptions of participants. It was learned that dialogue helped participants to give new meaning to their identities. Individual "self"--personal identity--defines each person's ability to understand others, not the social identity. Participants reported their level of trust, openness, and willingness to engage with people not from their own identity group increased and improved because of their participation in the dialogue. Therefore, dialogue can be a valuable tool to understand and transform identity-based conflicts.

The study sought to explore the emerging adult sibling dyad through qualitativeinquiry. By doing so, the collected data bring new meaning to why and how emerging adult siblings communicate. Also, by including both siblings, this study sought to highlight a different perspective of sibling communication. Extant research on the emerging adulthood stage of life is limited. The current study explored the sibling dyad during this phase of life, and three themes emerged: siblings become friends, changes during emerging adulthood, conflict negotiation, and taking a parental role.

This research explored how mission trip volunteers assume various roles throughout their volunteer experience. By seeing the various roles that emerge in mission volunteer work, the identities that they construct based upon these roles are revealed. Discovering the ways in which these roles and constructed identities affect the way that mission trip volunteers could potentially help colleges improve their recruitment messages and distinguish themselves from other institutions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain data from the participants, and the data were analyzed through a thematic, constant comparative method. Findings revealed the types of stories heard from other mission trip volunteers prior to serving, the impact of those stories on decisions to volunteer, the various identities that emerge while serving on a mission trip, and how mission trip volunteers make sense of their experiences after serving. This study applies several well-known aspects of organizational communication to the context of mission trip volunteers, offering new and interesting data. This study also provides practical implications for mission trip coordinators and individuals who might be interested in being a mission trip volunteer.

Music is everywhere. From formal occasions to a person’s morning run. Music is available on cell phones, computers, in religious ceremonies, at concerts and venues. Music is seen by society to be important and a person’s choice of music can be used to present an identity. The question considered in this article is how people talk about music and how they present identity through their discussion. The current study examines eight focus groups of three actors instructed to simply talk about music. The discussions were recorded and analyzed in a conversation analytic style to identify the structures of the conversations and how these were used to present and regulate identity. Participants also provided background information about their music preferences and experiences as well as their goals in managing their self-presentation. The results of the study focus on the general question of “What kind of music do you listen to?” and how participants managed their answers. Particular attention is given to actors’ management of opportunities to create an in-group identification and avoid inference rich categorization. This study focuses primarily upon different ways this can be managed. Examples include three part list use, storytelling, subgenre specifications, and the use of phrases like “I listen to all kinds of music.” It is argued that these devices can be used by an actor to present themselves as a member of the current in-group while avoiding being categorized in a possibly negative way based on their music choices.

Previous research indicates a high rate of long distance relationships, especially among young adults. Yet, research in this area is lacking, particularly regarding the role of video chatting. Through the lens of the media richness theory and the hyperpersonal model, this qualitative study explores how video chatting impacts idealization and disillusionment in young adults’ long distance dating relationships. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with both partners of six heterosexual couples. Data was analyzed using the constant comparative approach and following the basic framework of open, axial, and selective coding used in grounded theory research. Results indicate that video chatting helps partners feel close to one another, though partners must still manage the differences between feeling close and actually being close. Couples use idealization and uncertainty management to reduce disillusionment, and couples who anticipate changes manage those changes more successfully. These findings suggest that video chatting mimics in-person communication more accurately than any other technology, though it cannot replace true geographic proximity. Nonetheless, video chatting appears to help minimize disillusionment by promoting healthy idealization for couples who use it throughout their long distance dating relationship.

This paper lays the historical background for why women and leadership is an important topic today in order to discuss gender differences in communication styles, influence tactics, and leadership styles. This paper also outlines barriers women face when trying to attain and succeed in leadership positions. The analysis should provide a greater understanding of how men and women differ, especially in leadership and management positions, and what companies can do to help women overcome gender bias and discrimination in the workplace.