Urban Families in Southern Angola: What Makes Them Work? The Empirical Validation of a Family Life Cycle Model

In this study, we sought to empirically validate the model of development of urban families in Southern Angola. The study was carried out with a sample of 256 participants (n = 130, 50.78% women; n = 126, 49.22% men) from urban centers of Southern Angola, aged between 18–79 years. We aimed, particularly, to identify women’s and men’s perceptions of their family functioning (SCORE-15), family vulnerability to stress (FILE), family strengths (FSQ), and family investment in rituals and routines (FRQ-R). The results from the structured additive regression models (STAR) demonstrated the adequacy of this model to explain and organize the data from the sample studied. Moreover, the results identified the perception of an adjusted family functioning, despite the high levels of family vulnerability to stress and low levels of family strength, compared with international studies. This study also showed a great investment in family rituals and routines. Results from STAR highlight the consistency of women throughout family evolution, and greater fluctuations in the results presented by men, particularly those who are in the stages of families with an adolescent or a young adult child and families in the “sandwich” generation. These results contribute to the enrichment of Simões and Alberto’s model and a better understanding of the family reality in urban Southern Angola.