Relation of the Family Representation and Family Identity to Emotional Well-Being in Teenagers

The article is devoted to the description of the results of the investigation of relations between family representation and family identity in adolescents with their emotional state which was diagnosed with Beck Depression Inventory. Family representation was investigated with the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES-III) and modified projective methods “What is my family?” by M. Kuhn and T. McPartland. 249 boys and girls at the age of 10 to 17 took part in this research. There was revealed the relation of teenager’s emotional well-being to the specifics of their family values experience, family emotional estimate, idea of its cohesion and adaptability. The more points the subject had on the Beck Depression Inventory, the more negative family representation one demonstrated: there were more negative characteristics while family description, his dissatisfaction of family cohesion and adaptability level was higher. In addition the more negative emotion condition was diagnosed, the less cohesive and adaptive was his family for the teenager. Thus the relation between teenager’s family representation and family identity and his emotional well-being was confirmed.