Abstract

• The main purpose of this study was to investigate family communication patterns and resilience of students from universities in Sagaing District. The quantitative research design and survey method were used in this study. A total of 997 students were randomly chosen. Revised Family Communication Patterns (RFCP) Instrument developed by Koerner and Fitzpatrick (2002) measuring two underlying dimensions of family communication patterns: conversation orientation and conformity orientation was used to identify the students’ family communication patterns and Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) developed by Friborg et al. (2003) to measure the resilience of students. The results showed that students’ family communication patterns were consensual (29%), pluralistic (22.4%), protective (22.6%) and laissez-faire (26%). There was no association between gender and family communication patterns of students according to chi-square analysis. However, education level of students and mother’s education affected family communication patterns of students. The overall results revealed that students were high in resilience. There was no gender difference on resilience. However, there were significant differences in resilience according to education level and across universities. And, students’ resilience was significantly different according to their family communication patterns. It was found that students of consensual families possessed the highest resilience followed by pluralistic families. The result of multiple regression analysis revealed that 32.8% of resilience of students can be predicted by the combination of two family communication dimensions. It was stated that conversation orientation had the larger effect on resilience than conformity orientation. According to findings of the study, parents need to create a more hospitable and open atmosphere in their families encouraging family members to express and discuss their ideas and feelings to be more resilient.