Communication in the families of high-achieving students

Abstract

Good quality communication in the family is a source of positive relations among its members. It is the most important characteristic of a well-functioning family. Very interesting perceptions of communication in the family are held by high achieving students. In those young people, communication in the family correlates negatively with their high grade point average. Also, they evaluate positively communication in the family as a whole but less positively one-to-one verbal interactions with the mother and the father. This observation is explained by the fact that the family forms a system. Moreover, communication is associated with positive relationships and attitudes such as acceptance and autonomy, but correlates negatively with control, over-demanding behaviour, and inconsistency in the parents of high achieving students.