The Relationship between Family Communication Patterns and Positive Youth Development among Adolescence Students: The Mediating Role of Hope

Introduction: During adolescence, students face important changes in physical, cognitive, and psychological dimensions, which lead to a decrease in their motivation and academic performance. Education specialists can prevent this decline in motivation among adolescents by providing educational environments that respond to their developmental needs. The positive youth development approach helps these professionals achieve positive results in the academic field by providing beneficial opportunities, establishing positive relationships, and offering the necessary support to reinforce the strengths of adolescent students.
    Considering that students spend most of their time at home, it is necessary to examine the role of mutual relations between family members as an external resource in their development. Family communication patterns examine how family members communicate with others and how they interpret these relationships within the family environment. Among these patterns, the orientation of conversation refers to the family's ability to provide a safe and supportive environment where all members can participate freely and without tension in family discussions and decisions, expressing their opinions. Conversely, family conformity orientation puts pressure on members to assimilate opinions, beliefs, and views.
    Hope, as one of the internal resources of an adolescent student, is a positive motivational state; it instills a sense of agency and helps them develop plans toward achievable goals while maintaining their enthusiasm and motivation. Considering the effect of the family environment on the growth and emotions of students, along with the close relationship between hope and positive development, it is possible that family communication patterns, through hope, affect the positive development of students. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the relationship between family communication patterns (conversation and conformity) and positive development in students, with the mediating role of hope.
Method: This study employed a correlational design in which the relationships between variables were investigated using structural equation modeling. The research participants were 423 secondary high school students (228 girls and 195 boys) in Shiraz during the academic year 2023-2024, who were selected using a multi-stage cluster sampling method. First, districts one and two were selected from the four education districts of Shiraz. Then, eight schools (three boys' schools and five girls' schools) were randomly selected from among the secondary schools in these areas. Finally, 16 classes were randomly selected from these schools, and all the students in each class completed the questionnaires. The tools used in this study were the revised Family Communication Patterns Questionnaire, the Positive Youth Development Questionnaire, and the Hope Scale.
Results: The fit indices of the final model in this study were within the acceptable range. Data analysis revealed that among family communication patterns, conversation orientation had a direct and positive effect on the positive development of adolescent students, whereas conformity orientation did not significantly predict positive youth development. Additionally, conversation orientation positively and significantly predicted hope, while conformity orientation showed no significant effect on hope. The findings also indicated that hope played a positive mediating role in the relationship between conversation orientation and positive development of adolescent students. Consequently, conversation orientation indirectly influenced positive youth development through hope.
Discussion and conclusion: This model emphasizes constructive and beneficial mutual relations between youth and family resources as essential for positive development. A supportive family environment, serving as an external resource, can enhance the development of internal resources such as school commitment, positive future expectations, and purposeful self-regulation, which are manifested in the structure of hope. The positive emotional interactions within the family environment between parents and children form the foundation for the healthy development of adolescent students.
    The results of this study, consistent with the perspective of positive youth development, highlight the fundamental role of external and internal developmental resources in adolescent students' growth. These findings suggest that implementing training courses to improve family interactions and fostering hope among students could facilitate their path towards positive youth development. Future research should explore additional mediating factors and examine the long-term effects of family communication patterns on adolescent development.