Family First: Evidence of Consistency and Variation in the Value of Family Versus Personal Happiness Across 49 Different Cultures

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology • Vol/Iss. 54(3) • SAGE Publications • • Published In • Pages: 54(3) •
By Krys, Kuba , Haas, Brian W., van Osch, Yvette, Kosiarczyk, Aleksandra, Kocimska-Zych, Agata, Torres, Claudio, Selim, Heyla A., Zelenski, John M., Harris Bond, Michael, Park, Joonha, Miu-Chi Lun, Vivian, Maricchiolo, Fridanna, Vauclair, Christin-Melanie, Poláčková Šolcová, Iva, Sirlopú, David, Xing, Cai, Vignoles, Vivian L., Van Tilburg, Wijnand A. P., Teyssier, Julien, Sun, Chien-Ru, Serdarevich, Ursula, Schwarz, Beate, Sargautyte, Ruta, Røysamb, Espen, Romashov, Vladyslav, Rizwan, Muhammad, Pavlović, Zoran, Pavlopoulos, Vassilis, Okvitawanli, Ayu, Nadi, Azar, Nader, Martin, Fariza Mustaffa, Nur, Murdock, Elke, Mosca, Oriana, Mohorić, Tamara, Barrientos Marroquin, Pablo Eduardo, Malyonova, Arina, Liu, Xinhui, Xinhui , Lee, J. Hannah, Kwiatkowska, Anna, Kronberger, Nicole, Klůzová Kráčmarová, Lucie, Kascakova, Natalia, Işık, İdil, Igou, Eric R., Igbokwe, David O., Hanke-Boer, Diana, Gavreliuc, Alin, Garðarsdóttir, Ragna B., Fülöp, Marta, Gamsakhurdia, Vladimer, Esteves, Carla Sofia, Domínguez-Espinosa, Alejandra, Denoux, Patrick, Charkviani, Salome

Abstract

Following the research question "How much people tend to value their own versus their family’s well-being?", this study compares cultures across 49 countries to see how much they might differ in their emphasis on the pursuit of happiness. The authors explore the idealization of happiness rather than actual happiness and have a focus on the correlation between 'ideal happiness' and 'relational mobility'. The results show that the preference's strength of family's well-being over personal happiness is small; however, it is shown in 98% of the countries surveyed. In addition, cultures with high relational mobility show a relatively minimal preference for family over personal happiness, while cultures with low relational mobility show a moderate level. This supports the idea that there is a negative correlation between relational mobility and preference for family happiness. There is no strong support for traditional theories in cross-cultural psychology that link collectivism to a greater emphasis on family over the individual.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
Self-reports surveysResearcher's ownSelf-reports from 12,819 participants across 49 countries (data collected from 2017 to 2019).

Hypotheses (2)

HypothesisSupported
There will be a preference for family happiness over personal happiness across cultures.Supported
There will be a negative correlation between relational mobility and the idealization of family over personal happiness.Supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: stefania.becerralavado