Third, the data collection was restricted to Greek university students and therefore excluded the less educated. Students tend be more individualistic compared to the working-class subcultures existing within the same country. The idiosyncratic nature of the sample may have been the reason for the significant inverse relationship between the two family communications styles, as studies in individualistic countries generally show that these dimensions are relatively uncorrelated.For this reason, inclusion in the sample of the less financially astute may have provided different findings regarding the impact of family disruptions on SES and the use of family communication styles. Future research needs to examine the materialistic triggers of non-student populations. Furthermore, the present study examined the effects of family communication styles without examining any differences between the two genders (i.e. mother and father). Fourth, the study examined the interpersonal communication agents of parents and peers, leaving out other possibly influential agents. Thus, the limited influence of peers uncovered in the present study may be ascribed to the influence of other, less personal, socialization agents such as internet-based social networks that may be more instrumental in transmitting symbolic consumption norms. Thus, further research could enrich our understanding of the role of alternative socialization agents such as Twitter and Facebook across diverse cultural settings.