April 28, 2025

Doctoral Programme in Psychology

Ana Paula Relvas , Isabel Narciso e José Tomás da Silva

The study of conjugality and the African family is a little explored area with little impact in the scientific world (Jamison,2018). Inspired by their cosmological vision, African marriage occupies a central place in the construction of social life (Pazvakawambwa et al.,2013; Whitehouse,2018), especially for women (Calvès,2016; Pauli, 2011). Faced with the myriad social transformations and sociocultural conditions marked by poverty, economic and political difficulties, as well as globalisation processes (Arowolo,2010; Carvalho,2002; Januário et al.,2018 ), which consequently end up significantly changing family structure and dynamics, the scientific community has encouraged and reinforced the need to continue developing studies with African samples, in an African context, with a view to valuing the role of culture in the variability of human behaviour, as well as examining the importance of its meanings and experiences (Berry,2004; Nobles,2015). In this context, the general objective of this research was to fulfil the gap regarding the scarcity of studies on African marital relations and to investigate conjugality and family functioning in an Angolan sample, in an Angolan context. Specifically, the literature review aimed to (I) characterise the empirical research carried out on conjugality in samples of African ethnic origin and (II) present its main results in African countries. From an empirical point of view, the aim was (III) to contribute to the methodological advancement of research in Angola by adapting and studying the psychometric properties of the empathy scale (IRI), and also (IV) to analyse the contribution of sociodemographic, individual, marital and family variables to marital satisfaction, as well as assessing its mediating role in the relationship between marital relational patterns (communication and marital conflict resolution) and family functioning.

Keywords: marital satisfaction; family functioning; marital communication; empathy; African marriage