The functioning of the family system and its relation to the psychological well-being of spouses in the context of their religious commitment

Abstract

The article describes the functioning of family systems and its relation to the psychological well-being of spouses in the context of their religious commitment. The spouses play a very important role, as their mutual relationship affects the functioning the entire family system. Positive mental functioning, or the psychological well-being of husband and wife, can have an impact on these relationships. The aim of the study was to verify the connections between the functioning of the family and the psychological well-being of the spouses and to identify the predictors of the analyzed variables. The study included 130 married couples –  an equal number of men and women making up 65 marriage systems bringing up school-age children. The following measures were used in the study: Family Assessment Scales (SOR) by Andrzej Margasiński (2013), based on the Polish adaptation of FACES IV – Flexibility and Cohesion Evaluation Scales by David H. Olson; Caroll Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scales, as adapted into Polish by Dominika Karaś and Jan Cieciuch (2017); and the Religious Commitment Inventory-10 (RCI-10-PL) by E. Worthington and colleagues, as adapted into Polish by Jarosław Polak and Damian Grabowski (2017). The analyses of the relationship between the variables shows that the more balanced and well-functioning the system is, the higher is the well-being perceived by the husband and wife. The crucial predictors of a “healthy” family include some dimensions of well-being: high self-acceptance, personal growth, and positive relations with others. Some differences in the analyzed variables between husbands and wives were also found.