Urban Families in Southern Angola: What Makes Them Work? The Empirical Validation of a Family Life Cycle Model

Abstract

In this study, we sought to empirically validate the model of development of urban families in Southern Angola. The study was carried out with a sample of 256 participants ( n = 130, 50.78% women; n = 126, 49.22% men) from urban centers of Southern Angola, aged between 18–79 years. We aimed, particularly, to identify women’s and men’s perceptions of their family functioning (SCORE-15), family vulnerability to stress (FILE), family strengths (FSQ), and family investment in rituals and routines (FRQ-R). The results from the structured additive regression models (STAR) demonstrated the adequacy of this model to explain and organize the data from the sample studied. Moreover, the results identified the perception of an adjusted family functioning, despite the high levels of family vulnerability to stress and low levels of family strength, compared with international studies. This study also showed a great investment in family rituals and routines. Results from STAR highlight the consistency of women throughout family evolution, and greater fluctuations in the results presented by men, particularly those who are in the stages of families with an adolescent or a young adult child and families in the “sandwich” generation. These results contribute to the enrichment of Simões and Alberto’s model and a better understanding of the family reality in urban Southern Angola.

Family functioning in the Mozambican context: Results of a psychometric study of the SCORE‐15 scale

“…Previous empirical studies using the SCORE‐15 have not reported significant gender differences in family functioning (e.g., Carr & Stratton, 2017). Nonetheless, the literature in the African context highlights that women are more vulnerable to family stress (often associated with hostility and family and community violence) and also chiefly responsible for domestic and parenting tasks (Simões et al, 2021). Future studies ought to examine gender differences in perceptions of communication quality in families in this specific context.…”

“…As far as research in Africa is concerned, to our knowledge, very little has been developed on family functioning using the SCORE‐15. An exception has been the Angolan context, where preliminary studies with this instrument have been performed (Simões et al, 2021). Across Africa, and specifically in Mozambique, validation and availability of instruments that assess family functioning and allow for the advancement of research on this variable is sorely needed, as this is one of the major influences on individuals' health and wellbeing.…”