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Links between family cohesion and subjective well-being in adolescents and early adults: The mediating role of self-concept clarity and hope

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Abstract

This study examined the associations among family cohesion (i.e., the extent to which family members are concerned and committed to the family), self-concept clarity (i.e., having a clear, confident and coherent sense of one’s own identity), hope (as a general disposition to engage in conscious efforts to obtain goals), and subjective well-being (containing emotional and cognitive well-being). 2792 adolescents and early adults with an age range of 11–24 years (Mage = 16.45, SD = 2.62, 43.2% boys) in China completed the Family Environment Scale, the Self-Concept Clarity Scale, the Children’s Hope Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. Two serial mediation models revealed that self-concept clarity and hope independently mediated the effect of family cohesion on subjective well-being. More importantly, family cohesion could influence subjective well-being through the chain mediating effect of “self-concept clarity–hope”. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the links between these factors and suggest that high level of family cohesion may promote subjective well-being through the high level of self-concept clarity and hope.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31771237), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. SWU1709106).

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  1. School of Psychology, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road No. 2, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Guangcan Xiang, Qingqing Li, Xiaoli Du, Xinyuan Liu, Mingyue Xiao & Hong Chen

  2. Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Guangcan Xiang, Qingqing Li, Xiaoli Du, Xinyuan Liu, Mingyue Xiao & Hong Chen

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  1. Guangcan Xiang
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Xiang, G., Li, Q., Du, X. et al. Links between family cohesion and subjective well-being in adolescents and early adults: The mediating role of self-concept clarity and hope. Curr Psychol 41, 76–85 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00795-0

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