Il supporto nelle relazioni familiari e il benessere dei giovani adulti: differenze di prospettiva

The present study intended to analyse the quality of relations in families with young-adults and focused on a crucial dimension in this particular stage of the family life cycle: the support. The purpose was twofold: to compare the perceptions of different family members regarding the amount of support existing in the conjugal, parental and sibling relations and to examine the extend to which these different relations are related to young-adults' well-being. The sample was composed of father, mother and two children belonging to 92 families. Subjects were administered a scale that measured the amount of support exchanged between family members. Children also filled out the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Self-image Questionnaire by Offer, Ostrov, and Howard (1982). Results confirmed the central position of mother in the family relational network, according to literature, but also outlined the importance of both conjugal and sibling relations. Young-adults well-being was more related to the support perceived in the father-child relation than to the maternal relation. Moreover, the younger child's well-being was partially associated with the amount of support he/she perceived in the relation with the elder brother/sister.