This study tests the relationship between a set of predictor variables that offer a possible explanation of communication apprehension and a set of criterion variables closely associated with communication apprehension. The predictor variables, emerging from "the double-bind theory of communication," which is concerned with the pathology-producing capability of dysfunctional communication patterns, consisted of the frequency of inconsistent messages received, the ability to recognize inconsistent messages, the ability to comment on the inconsistencies, and the intensity of the relationship between the parties involved. These variables focused on the parent/child relationship. Criterion variables included communication apprehension of the speaking situation, communication apprehension of the receiving situation, and the related personality traits of anxiety and introversion/extroversion. Results of the study indicate an interrelatedness of the criterion variables, while the double-bind variables are relatively independent of each other. Since the double-bind variables are not related, they serve as independent predictors of criterion variables, and the finding of a significant relationship between the double-bind variables and criterion variables is essentially an extension of the double-bind theory. (Author/RL)