Perceived emotional support in family triads: generation and gender differences

The perception of emotional support exchanged within the family is determined by several factors: it is influenced by the personal characteristics of the perceiver, the personal characteristics of the support provider, the relational uniqueness of their relationship, and the family context. No studies have analyzed generation and gender differences within those components of emotional support. In the present research, perceived emotional support was studied in 168 Italian family triads (father, mother, and young adult child) using a round-robin design analyzed with the Social Relations Model (SRM). Generation and gender differences were investigated within that model with the purpose of verifying the invariance of the SRM factors. Results showed that family members similarly perceived emotional support from each other, even if some differences due to the relationship type and the family role were found. Methodological issues have been discussed.