Youths who live in a disrupted family environment might avoid interactions with their peers on consumption matters due to embarrassment caused by their family situation (e.g. reluctance to bring friends to a disrupted home). Such a tactic may help preserve these young adolescents’ self- image and possibly protect them from any further social stigmatization (see Puhl and Joerg, 2012). However, this finding could also be attributed to the extended family sup- port (i.e. grandparents) that strongly characterizes Mediterra- nean family settings (Deković et al., 2004). For example, it has been estimated that almost one third of families living in the greater Athens area receive some sort of assistance in the rearing of their offspring on a daily basis (Symeonidou et al., 1992). This notion supports the Mediterranean cul- tural norm that appreciates strong familial solidarity and which is not consistent with North American values that in- stead place emphasis on the individual (Cova, 1999).