Exploring Appropriateness as a Topic Avoidance Motivation: The Influence of Familial and Social Norms During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A key motivation underlying topic avoidance is the belief that talk would be inappropriate. The current research teases apart the sources of this belief by testing family communication patterns (FCP) and perceived social norms as drivers of topic avoidance. Individuals planning to attend family holiday gatherings (N = 229) were surveyed in mid-December 2021 about family topic avoidance regarding COVID-19 holiday safety. Conformity orientation had an indirect, positive association with family topic avoidance via perceived social norms. Surprisingly, conversation orientation did not significantly affect perceived social norms or topic avoidance and did not significantly interact with conformity orientation. Theoretically, findings suggest that FCP influence perceptions of societal norms and values regarding communication. Practically, conformity orientation could increase health risks moving out of the COVID-19 pandemic by promoting silence around family health safety.