Familism and psychological health: The intervening role of closeness and social support.

Abstract

Familism, a cultural value that emphasizes warm, close, supportive family relationships and that family be prioritized over self, has been associated with psychological health. The goal of this work was to fill a gap in the literature on how familism contributes to psychological health. Drawing from conceptual links between familism and close relationship processes, we hypothesized that familism contributes to better psychological health by facilitating closeness and social support. A university sample of U.S. women and men of Latino (n = 173), European (n = 257), and Asian (n = 642) cultural backgrounds completed measures of familism, closeness to family members, general perceived social support, and psychological health as indexed by perceived stress, general mental health, and depressive symptoms. Structural equation multiple-group modeling analyses found direct effects of familism on closeness to family members and perceived social support and an indirect effect of familism on better psychological health via greater closeness to family members and greater perceived social support. These effects did not differ by cultural background. Consistent with previous research, however, Latinos reported the highest levels of familism of the three cultural groups, and women reported higher familism and support as well as poorer psychological health than men. Discussion is focused on the implications of these findings for understanding the association of familism with psychological health and the relevance of the familism construct for diverse U.S. groups.

Health care experiences of pregnant, birthing and postnatal women of color at risk for preterm birth

“…Even with these supports, participants described experiences of stress, disrespect and inconsistent social support. Previous research has shown structural factors such as social support during the prenatal and postpartum periods (Rosenthal et al, 2015), group prenatal care (Ickovics et al, 2011), familism (Campos et al, 2014), and religious and/or spiritual connection (Cheadle et al, 2015) have a significant impact on maternal stress and mediate the stress experienced by women of color when seeking pregnancy-related care. Our findings expand this work by providing data from women seeking social support services that more or different structural solutions are warranted to improve healthcare experiences, particularly the stress of multiple appointments, increased monitoring and care for other children when women are categorized as high risk during pregnancy.…”

Familism: The Transitional Journey of a Latina LIS Doctoral Student

“…The poetic narrative of the participant supports the research on "familism" which suggests the significance of a strong attachment and identification to the nuclear and extended family among Latinos/as (Campos, et al, 2014). The poetic condensed transcription in Table 1 revealed that the participant experienced three phases of retention (1. at risk, 2. uncertainty, and 3. a sense of belonging) and that the Latino/a cultural value of familism played an important role in the participant's geographical transition and academic retention experiences.…”

“…Familism places emphasis on interconnectedness, social support, closeness, and mutually obligatory social networks (Aron, Aron, Tudor, & Nelson, 1991;Gable & Reis, 2006;Sawer, 2000). Research shows that Latinos report higher mean levels of familism than other cultures in the US (Campos et al, 2014). In addition, the literature on familism also suggests that women may have higher levels of familism than their male counterparts given that women are often more likely to maintain family bonds (Campos et al, 2014).…”

“…Research shows that Latinos report higher mean levels of familism than other cultures in the US (Campos et al, 2014). In addition, the literature on familism also suggests that women may have higher levels of familism than their male counterparts given that women are often more likely to maintain family bonds (Campos et al, 2014).…”

“…This study is guided by the concept of "familism," which is defined as a strong identification with the attachment to nuclear and extended family (Bardis, 1959;Campos et al, 2014). Familism places emphasis on interconnectedness, social support, closeness, and mutually obligatory social networks (Aron, Aron, Tudor, & Nelson, 1991;Gable & Reis, 2006;Sawer, 2000).…”