Abstract

Both parents and adolescents have adopted a wide range of technologies in their daily lives. Most scholars are interested in the consequences of individuals’ technology addiction and relational development while little attention is given to their family relationships through the communication of new media. Drawing from the perspectives of media uses and gratifications, this study develops an empirical model by investigating the connections between adolescents’ communication motives and their perceptions of relational maintenance and intimacy with their parents. The uses of media technologies, family communication patterns and parents’ gender are also included to examine the multiplicity of their relationships. A group of 400 parents with adolescents at home are recruited in the survey and research variables are analyzed by statistical methods. The results show parents initiate communications with their adolescents derived from various motives, facilitated by relational maintenance and achieved different aspects of intimacy. Parents’ communication motives and intimacy are also shaped by the effects of family communication patterns (FCPs) and parents’ family role (e.g. Father or Mother). The research implications may provide opportunities for further exploration toward parent-adolescent communication and dyads relationship.

Key words: Examination, parent-adolescent communication motives, relational maintenance, intimacy, communication technologies.