Date of Award

Summer 2008

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication

First Advisor

Griffin, Robert J.

Second Advisor

Turner, Lynn H.

Third Advisor

Galvin, Kathleen M.

Abstract

What do you want to be when you grow up? From earliest memories, this question resonates, but perhaps at no time louder than when an academic adviser asks it of an undergraduate student as dreams of a distant future morph into goals for the next four years. Post-secondary institutions around the world exist to educate and prepare the next generation of workers for careers that will benefit the global community and provide personal fulfillment. One critical element in the undergraduate advising process is the interpersonal relationship that occurs between the adviser and the advisee - and communication is central to that relationship. The following quantitative study looked specifically at the impact family communication has on students' communication apprehension with academic advisers. A large sample (N = 310) of young undergraduate students (18-20 years old) completed a paper and pencil questionnaire shortly after their spring academic advising sessions. Results suggest that family communication practices correlate with students' communication apprehension in conversations with faculty members who are assigned to serve as their academic advisers.

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