Patterns of communication in three types of reentry relationships: An exploratory study

This study examined 173 student sojourners’ perceptions of their communication in three types of reentry relationships (with parents, siblings, and friends). Students who had returned from living abroad were asked in a survey questionnaire to (1) evaluate their current communication and (2) describe specific communication changes in these relationships. Their responses were content-analyzed, revealing six dimensions of communication change which support, in part, previous findings on communication in relationships that are in transition. Subsequent statistical analyses revealed that the dimensions of communication change varied with the three types of relationships, contributing to an understanding of the role of communication in reentry relationships.