Familial contribution to adolescent subjective well‐being

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to obtain a more complete understanding of which familial factors contribute to adolescent satisfaction and ill-being, the latter term originally developed by Alexander Grob. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 19 non-clinical adolescents from the 7th and 9th grades. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Six themes concerning satisfaction arose from the analysis. Teenagers described familial contribution to their satisfaction in terms of experiences of a comfortable home, emotionally warm atmosphere, open communication, familial involvement, possibilities for external relations and a sense of personal significance in the family. Three themes related to ill-being emerged: familial hostility, ill-being or death of a family member, as well as excessive dependency. The findings expand our understanding of the diversity of familial contribution to adolescent life and subjective well-being. They challenge nurses to focus on the adolescent's self-perception of familial effects on well-being and on promotion of familial factors in adolescent health issues.