The Public and Private Dialogue about the American Family on Television

Though research on TV family portrayals exists and family images have been criticized in public arenas, there is a lack of research on parents and children's responses to family portrayals. For this study, I interviewed parents and children in order to examine connections between the public and private dialogues about TV family portrayals. The private dialogue closely approximated the public dialogue by focusing on TV family realism, structure, and relationship models. Implicit in participants' arguments was a social learning model. Most participants argued that family portrayals affect expectations for family life, valued features of family, and communication with family members. This article discusses the connections between public opinion and family communication.