Article Synopsis
- Family and friends play a crucial role in our well-being, but their interconnections and how they affect one another haven't been thoroughly studied.
- A research study involving 396 participants explored how the balance of daily contact with family versus friends relates to personality traits from the Big Five model and overall well-being.
- Findings showed that most people prefer family contact, but younger adults experience less positive feelings with family, while older adults benefit more from family interactions if they prioritize friendships.
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Article Abstract
Family and friends are central to human life and well-being. Yet, interdependencies between family and friends have scarcely been examined. How is the relative frequency of daily contact with family and friends (i.e., the friends/family-ratio) related to personality and to well-being? In an experience sampling study with 396 participants ( = 40 years, range 14-88 years, 52% females), we studied how the friends/family-ratio in contact differed along Big Five personality trait scores and was connected to affective well-being across six daily measurements on nine days (average of 55 assessments). Most participants reported more daily contact with family than friends (i.e. they held a family orientation), but individual differences were substantial. More agreeable individuals reported a greater family orientation. More extraverted individuals reported more positive affect in the company of friends than with family. Age moderated the effect of the friends/family-ratio on positive affect. Younger adults reported less positive affect in the company of family, yet older adults reported more positive affect in the company of family, the more they were friendship oriented. We discuss how examining the friends/family-ratio extends previous knowledge on personality differences in social relationships, and how the friends/family-ratio yields promising, yet challenging, future directions in personality-relationship associations.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10038190 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/08902070211072745 | DOI Listing |
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