Predicting Self-expression of Adolescent Students: The Role of Self-esteem & Family Communication Patterns

Identifying the factors that contribute to the self-expression of teenage students is crucial for facilitating effective individual and interpersonal communication and interactions. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the role of self-esteem and family communication patterns in predicting teenagers' assertiveness.

The research method was descriptive-correlation. The research population included all female students of the first secondary school in Birjand city in the academic year of 2021-2022, of which 204 people were selected as a sample using the available sampling method. The tools used were Rosenberg's self-esteem questionnaires (1965), Koerner and Fitzpatrick's family communication patterns (2002), and Gambridge and Ritchie's self-expression (1975), which were completed by the participants. Data analysis was done with SPSS version 24 software and Pearson's correlation coefficient test and multiple regression simultaneously.

The results showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between self-esteem (r=0.583) and family communication patterns (r=0.582) with self-expression, and self-esteem and family communication patterns explained 41.3% of the variance assertiveness (p<0.01).

The research results demonstrate the significance of self-esteem and family communication patterns in enhancing students' self-expression. Therefore, by nurturing self-esteem and enhancing family communication patterns, it becomes feasible to facilitate the growth of self-expression among teenage students.