Similar but Different: Argentinean Parent-Adolescent Relationships.

ALICIA FACIO; SANTIAGO RESETT

Filadelfia

Congreso; XIII Biennial Meeting de la Society for Research on Adolescence; 2010

As Oyserman and colleagues’ (2002) meta-analysis showed,  people from Latin American countries, including Argentina, resemble European Americans in their level of individualism but differ from them in their higher level of collectivism. Familism—defined as relatedness to family, seeking harmony with family members, or supporting and seeking advice from family— has been considered by some scholars  as separate from collectivism whereas others contend it is the essential core of collectivism or an important element, distinct from a non-kin–focused type of collectivism. Whichever were the relationship between collectivism and familism, many authors as Suárez-Orozco, Cauce & Demenech-Rodriguez, García Coll, Fuligni -among others- have reported that Latinos living in the United States strongly endorse the values of close family connections and support. However, research directly examining the central role of family cohesion in the well-being and adjustment of adolescents and emerging adults living in Latin America is sparse. As Argentina is not the exception: even at 25 years old, parents provide not only love, understanding, emotional support but money and accomodation. This could explain not only Argentinean young people optimism about their personal future amidst the worst economic and institutional crisis underwent by the country in the last 100 years but also their high level of life satisfaction, similar to the one found by Diener and Diener (1995) in more prosperous and foreseeable countries like the United States and Canada. The findings here presented with regard to family cohesion in adolescence and emerging adulthood are compatible with the contention of  cross-cultural researchers that higher social closeness and support -a prominent feature in Latin American countries- is the factor that explains a level of life satisfaction higher than could be expected taking into account the difficult political and economic context in which our young people develop.