Engaging Theories in Family Communication

Bringing together the work of 60 contributors who represent both leading voices in family communication scholarship and an inspiring new generation of scholars shaping the field’s future, this third edition is a comprehensive and accessible overview of the theories that form the foundation of the family communication field.

The book begins with an overview chapter including an updated empirical analysis of family communication research from 1990 to 2024. Twenty-seven theory chapters follow. Each chapter is dedicated to a single theory and follows a consistent structure, allowing readers to engage deeply with individual theories and draw comparisons between multiple theories. The third edition offers two new sections. (Meta)Theoretical Perspectives includes critical feminism, discourse dependence, systems theory, social constructionism, and natural selection. Looking Ahead features a multi-authored chapter that addresses emerging developments in the study of Black families, Indigenous perspectives, the Global South, Latina/o/x perspectives, and quantitative criticalism. This third edition features ten theories new to this edition, six of which were developed within the discipline of communication studies.

Ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying family communication, this text is also relevant for scholars and students of personal relationships, interpersonal communication, and family studies.
Theories from the second edition that are not included in this third edition can be downloaded from the book’s website: www.routledge.com/9781041013181.

Elizabeth A. Suter is professor and director of undergraduate studies in the department of communication studies at the University of Denver, USA.

Kory Floyd is professor and chair of human development at Washington State University, USA.

Elizabeth A. Hintz is assistant professor of communication at the University of Connecticut, USA.

Dawn O. Braithwaite is Willa Cather Professor Emerita of communication at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA.