Communalism, familism, and filial piety: Are they birds of a collectivist feather?

Abstract

The present studies examined the extent to which (a) communalism, familism, and filial piety would pattern onto a single family/relationship primacy construct; (b) this construct would be closely related to indices of collectivism; and (c) this construct would be related to positive psychosocial functioning and psychological distress. In Study 1, 1,773 students from nine colleges and universities around the United States completed measures of communalism, familism, and filial piety, as well as of individualistic and collectivistic values. Results indicated that communalism, familism, and filial piety clustered onto a single factor. This factor, to which we refer as family/relationship primacy, was closely and positively related to collectivism but only weakly and positively related to individualism and independence. In Study 2, 10,491 students from 30 colleges and universities in 20 U.S. states completed measures of communalism, familism, and filial piety, as well as of positive psychosocial functioning and psychological distress. The family/relationship primacy factor again emerged and was positively associated with both positive psychosocial functioning and psychological distress. Clinical implications and future directions for the study of cultural values are discussed.

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

“…However, when Schwartz et al (2010) administered the Steidel and Contreras (2003) Attitudinal Familism scale to diverse university samples across the United States, they found familism to be comprised of one overall factor that encompassed all the conceptually distinct subcomponents. Further, they found that familism and two related measures, communalism and filial piety, that respectively reflect family primacy in African and Asian cultures, clustered into a single latent factor.…”

Do parents’ collectivistic tendency and attitudes toward filial piety facilitate autonomous motivation among young Chinese adolescents?

“…The type of collectivism observed in China, for example, is markedly different from the types of collectivism observed in Mexico, India, and Iran. On this point, Schwartz et al (2010) discussed variations in collectivism across different cultural groups. For example, communalism (emphasis on social ties over individual achievements) is known to be an important value orientation among individuals of African descent.…”

Family Relationships and Parenting Practices: A Pathway to Adolescents’ Collectivist and Individualist Values?

“…The contribution of family and parental variables to adolescents' value acquisition has been a subject of interest for the scientific community (Bengtson et al 2002;Friedlmeier and Friedlmeier 2012;Grusec et al 2000;Pinquart and Silbereisen 2004;Schwartz et al 2010). A large body of studies points to family relational climate and parenting practices as operative mechanisms in the formation of children's values and the familial transmission of values (Bengtson et al 2002;Grusec 2002;Pinquart and Silbereisen 2004;Roberts et al 1999;Roest et al 2009a;White and Matawie 2004;Yi et al 2004).…”

“…A large body of studies notes that beyond a family system's protective function, CV also have protective functions for individuals, such as promoting self-esteem and well-being (Ghazarian et al 2008), and protecting against anxiety and depression and distress (Zhang et al 2007). Schwartz et al (2010) hypothesized that CV facilitate the development of supportive relationships and a greater connectivity to social systems (e.g., family) and encourage persons to be responsible for their behavior and its consequences on others.…”

“…Second, collectivism and individualism have been investigated extensively in recent cross-cultural research (Oyserman et al 2002;Tulviste and Gutman 2003), which has considered different cultures' general values orientation, or the priority or position of the self in relation to others (Singelis et al 1995;Schwartz et al 2010;Triandis 1995). Schwartz' theory of basic individual values proposes the order of the values around the circular motivation continuum (Schwartz 1992).…”