Meta-Analysis of the Relationships Between the Adequacy of Family Resources andPersonal, Family, and Child Well-Being

Abstract

This meta-analysis includes evaluations of the relationships between the adequacy of family resources and seven dimensions of personal, family, and child well-being. Adequacy of family resources was expected to be related to enhanced positive well-being and attenuated negative well-being. Studies were eligible for inclusion if the Family Resource Scale was used to measure family resources, the total scale score was used to measure the adequacy of family resources, one or more personal, family, or child well-being measures was used to assess psychological functioning, and the correlations between the adequacy of family resources and well-being were reported. Forty-four research reports met the inclusion criteria and included 50 independent samples of study participants (N = 8,183). The studies were conducted in six different countries between 1986 and 2019. Results showed that adequacy of family resources was positively related to all seven personal, family, and child well-being measures. The findings provide support for the contention that the adequacy of family resources would be related to enhanced positive and attenuated negative well-being. The strength of the relationships between family resources and the different dimensions of well-being differed as a function of child risk condition but not the number of family resource scale items used to measure the adequacy of family resources. The results are consistent with the basic tenets of different family systems models. Both the strengths and limitations of the research synthesis are described.