The Association Between Family Rituals, Family Functioning, and Student Well-being Among Asian Undergraduates

Abstract Family rituals and routines are associated with family dynamics and children’s well-being. However, no study examines the specific family ritual and routine settings related to family functioning and student well-being. This study explores the association of family rituals and routine settings- such as dinnertime, weekends, and annual celebrations—on family functioning and student well-being. Likewise, it investigates whether family functioning mediates the association between family rituals and student well-being. This non-experimental quantitative research involved 622 undergraduate students from Thailand, Vietnam, India, and the Philippines with 71 percent female, and 29 percent male participants. The participants completed an online survey that included the Family Ritual Questionnaire, McMaster Family Functioning Scale, and the Student Well-being Scale (Five-Factor). Path analysis was conducted using the PROCESS module within the SMART-PLS environment to examine the proposed model. Results indicate that weekends and annual celebrations are positively associated with overall student wellbeing, whereas dinnertime is not. However, dinnertime, weekends, and annual celebrations are positively associated with family functioning. Family functioning served as a mediating factor for the positive associations of all three settings on student well-being, controlling for the effects of gender and country differences. Additionally, the study found variations in well-being across countries and variations in family functioning by gender and by country. These results emphasize the importance of fostering and maintaining family rituals and routines to enhance overall family dynamics and student well-being within Asian contexts.