Perceived family continuity: Implications for family identification and psychological well-being

Abstract

Research has shown that people tend to perceive the national and regional groups to which they belong as temporally persistent. In this paper we conducted two studies to investigate that the family may also be perceived as having different degrees of continuity through time, and that those perceptions have implications on family identity and psychological well-being. In the first study (N = 149; with a mean age of 23, SD = 5.7), we found that perceived family continuity was positively correlated with several family related variables (e.g., family functioning, perceived family entitativity) and with psychological well-being. Our second study (N = 152; with a mean age of 40.80, SD = 12.68), replicated and extended previous findings by showing that perceived family continuity was also positively related to generative concern. Furthermore, we tested a model which revealed that perceived family continuity had a positive influence on family identification, which in turn enhanced psychological well-being. It is argued that these findings confirm the necessity to treat the continuity of the family group and the implications of family identity on well-being.

Resumen

La investigación ha demostrado que las personas tienden a percibir continuidad temporal en los grupos nacionales y regionales a los que pertenecen. En este trabajo se realizaron dos estudios para analizar la percepción de continuidad de la familia, y sus implicaciones en la identidad familiar y el bienestar psicológico. En el primer estudio (N = 149; media de edad = 23, DT = 5,7) se encontró que la continuidad familiar percibida correlaciona positivamente con diversas variables relacionadas con la familia (p.ej., el funcionamiento familiar, la percepción de entitatividad) y con el bienestar psicológico. El segundo estudio (N = 152, media de edad 40.80, DT = 12,68) replicó y extendió los hallazgos previos; reveló que la percepción de continuidad familiar también correlaciona positivamente con la generatividad. Además, se testó un modelo que demostró que la continuidad familiar percibida influye positivamente en la identificación con la familia, lo que a su vez aumenta el bienestar psicológico. Se argumenta que estos resultados confirman la necesidad de abordar la continuidad del grupo familiar y las implicaciones de la identidad familiar en el bienestar.

Keywords:

• Generativity
• group identity
• perceived family continuity
• positive group functioning
• psychological well-being

Palabras clave:

• Generatividad
• identidad grupal
• continuidad familiar percibida
• funcionamiento grupal positivo
• bienestar psicológico