Association between Familism and Mental Health in College Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cecilia Mayorga-Muñoz, Leonor Riquelme-Segura (), Elisa Delvecchio and Saulyn Lee-Maturana
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Cecilia Mayorga-Muñoz: Departamento de Trabajo Social, Facultad de Educación, Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4780000, Chile
Leonor Riquelme-Segura: Departamento de Trabajo Social, Facultad de Educación, Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4780000, Chile
Elisa Delvecchio: Department of Philosophy, Social and Human Sciences and Education, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy
Saulyn Lee-Maturana: Escuela de Psicología y Filosofía, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica 1000000, Chile

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-9

Abstract: Familism, also known in the literature as allocentrism, is the cultural propensity of a society to place the family at the center of its value system. Adherence to this value has been related to less depressive symptomatology in young people; however, these results are not conclusive, since it has also been found that the influence of familism on depressive symptoms is more indirect than direct. This study aimed to explore the direct relationships between familism (allocentrism and idiocentrism) and mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress). Methodologically, the study had a non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational design. A sample of 451 Chilean university students responded to an instrument composed of the subscales allocentrism, idiocentrism, depression, anxiety, and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed that family allocentrism was positively and significantly associated with depression ( γ = 0.112, p < 0.05), anxiety ( γ = 0.209, p < 0.001), and stress ( γ = 0.212, p < 0.001), and family idiocentrism was negatively and significantly linked with depression ( γ = −0.392, p < 0.001), anxiety ( γ = −0.368, p < 0.001), and stress ( γ = −0.408, p < 0.001). These findings contribute to supporting actions to reduce negative symptomatology and promote greater well-being in university students.

Keywords: familism; allocentrism; idiocentrism; mental health; adolescents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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