Family vacations are a way of life for many families. Now those family vacations are changing due to the change to a Year Round School (YRS) calendar and other changes within the family. The YRS calendar is being implemented in a greater number of schools around the United States each year. The change to the YRS calendar could possibly affect family vacation habits and patterns in regards to the travel party, when travel takes place, travel destination, length of travel, whether travel is taking place or not, mode of transportation, and the decision making process. The leisure travel industry is also becoming aware of the changes that are occurring to the family vacation in response to the implementation of the YRS calendar. The industry and the family working together, the best possible experience for family travel will be achieved. / Master of Science

Family cohesion, or emotional bonding, is important to family functioning. Shared activities such as family vacations offer opportunities for strengthening the family unit which can improve cohesion. Additionally, parenting style has direct influence on the family unit and family cohesion. This study’s purpose was to assess to what extent the perception of the family vacation experience predicted the perception of family cohesion and whether that relationship was moderated by parenting style. An online survey was conducted, resulting in 97 adult participants responding to items regarding their last family vacation, family cohesion, and parenting style. Using hierarchical multiple regression, a medium effect size was found for the predictive ability of a participant’s perception of their last family vacation on family cohesion. Findings also indicated a negative correlation between an authoritarian parenting style and perception of family cohesion, but a positive relationship between the interaction of family vacation experience and authoritarian parenting to family cohesion. Stronger predictive abilities were found for those with children in the 3-11 age group. Results may encourage parent and family educators to use family vacation as a tool in assisting families with the processes of building strong and cohesive families.