Circumplex model of family functioning in Turkish culture: Western family systems model in a Eurasian country1

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to investigate the cross-cultural validity of major hypotheses of Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems in Turkish culture. A total of 1613 university students agreed to participate in the study. The findings strongly supported the major hypotheses of the Circumplex Model indicating as the balanced levels of cohesion and flexibility increase, family communication and family satisfaction increase as well. On the other hand, remarkable culture-specific findings emerged in the current study. Enmeshed dimension, defining the unbalanced level of family cohesion, emerged as a facilitating dimension relatively contributing to family functioning in collectivistic Turkish culture. Additionally, it would be more appropriate to conceptualize family communication as a reflective mechanism in family functioning, instead of considering it a means of change or regulation for Turkish family system. © Journal of Comparative Family Studies.