Data from the National Survey of Children were used to study the relationships between children's perceptions of parental support and control and measures of self-esteem and behavior problems over time. Data were collected in 1976 , when the children were aged 7-11; 1981, when the children were in their early to mid teens (age 12 to 16); and 1987, when the children were in their late teens and early 20s (age 17 to 22). Parenting measures , based on children's reports, were developed for each wave from items included in the data; constructed variables measuring self -esteem and internal and external expressions of behavior problems were also comprised of individual items drawn from each wave of data. Preliminary analyses showed that parental support was positively correlated to children's self-esteem and negatively related to behavior problems. Although the parental control measures had little effect on the outcome variables , the effect that was present showed that parental coerciveness, rejection, and permissiveness were negatively correlated with children's self-esteem, while being positively associated with both internal and external behavior problems. The preliminary results also showed that the parental effects of mothers and fathers differed for daughters and sons. LISREL analyses were done in an effort to more fully investigate the interactive effects between the constructed variables of interest. Generally, the measures were related as expected , although the relationships were not as strong as anticipated. Of the parenting measures, parental support showed the strongest effects on child outcomes; parental control measures had very little effect on children's self-esteem or behavior problems . In 1987, parenting style had virtually no effect on youths' self-esteem or on behavior problems. For this wave, self-esteem was the strongest predictor of behavior problems in young adults.

Research for this thesis investigated factors predictive of how committed married couples are to make positive efforts for their marriage. Respondents consisted of 72 husbands and wives from a semi-urban area. For each gender, correlations were conducted between marital commitment to invest and egalitarian ism, decision-making power, and conflict communication style. Finally, regress ions were conducted with these measures and nine demographic variables. As projected, commitment to invest in marriage correlated negatively with husband demand-withdrawal communication and positively with husband and wife mutually constructive communication. The stepwise regression predicting husband commitment to invest included demand-withdrawal communication and total months knowing one's spouse. For wives, the regress ion consisted of mutually constructive communication. Finally, the couple regress ion included mutually constructive communication and total months knowing one's spouse. The main implication of this thesis is that conflict communication styles may be assessed for and incorporated into marital therapy because of their possible saliency with commitment to invest.

The stress parents feel affects how they fulfill their roles as parents and their own psychological well-being. Social support has been shown to help parents deal with the demands of their parenting roles while maintaining psychological health. Compared to married parents, divorced mothers are most at risk for parenting stress and negative feelings of well-being. Low-income can add further to the levels of stress in parenting and increase the need for sources of social support. This study compared low-income divorced mothers to low-income married mothers. It explored mothers' perceptions of the stresses of parenting and feelings of wellbeing in relation to their use of social support resources. Results indicated that divorced mothers who used informal sources of social support (i.e., relatives or fiiends) were more likely to feel in control of their lives and have a more positive perception of their preschool child. On the other hand, married mothers who used formal sources of social support (i.e., agencies or professionals) felt more positive about interactions with their children and felt less distress in their parenting roles. This study also looked at social support as a moderating variable interacting with marital status to affect feelings of well-being and parenting stress. Social support as a moderating variable was not supported for this sample. It was concluded that researchers must be careful in selecting an instrument used to measure the concept of social support. To assist in clarification of the effects of social support on stress and psychological well-being. measures should encompass not only how often social support is used and the sources of support but also the types and quality of the support received.

This study primarily examined the relationship between role model choices and body image of female adolescents. More specifically this study sought to examine the relationship between the reasons that adolescent females give for choosing a role model and body image. Because body image dissatisfaction has been found to be associated with self-esteem and eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa, these variables also were investigated. Body image was examined by using two measures of the body image construct· the Figure Rating Scale and the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ). Both were used in order to capture a greater portion of the body image construct, as well as to examine possible differences between the measures. Eating disordered behaviors were measured using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) and self-esteem was measured with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Participants were asked to list one role model within their family and one role model outside of their family, and to list why they selected those specific people as their role models. Role models were coded based upon the reasons provided by participants. Those who listed physical reasons such as "she has a good body," "she is beautiful ," or "she is skinny" were coded as "Group 1 - Physical," and those who chose all other reasons were labeled "Group 2- Non-physical." Females, ages 13-15 and 18-23, voluntarily participated in this study. The majority participated in exchange for extra credit in specific courses at their freshman center or university A prepared packet (including consent forms, instructions, and questionnaire) was sent home with willing participants to fill out and return. In total, 159 packets were returned. Statistical analyses indicated that body image is highly correlated with eating disordered behaviors and low self-esteem. Those scoring high on the measure of eating disordered behaviors (EAT-26) had, on average, even lower self-esteem as indicated by scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). However, statistically significant differences between body image and reasons for choosing a role model {physical vs. non-physical) appeared only on weight and/or shape-related aspects of the body image measures. It is not known whether differences between type of role model and body image occurred due to actual weight I Body Mass Index (BMI), or if those with greater weight and/or shape-related concerns chose more physical role models. Age differences among participants appeared on type of role model chosen. with the younger participants, ages 13-15, choosing more role models based upon physical characteristics than those ages 18-23. However, no differences were found between age of participant and level of body 1mage.

Fear of crime and the public's satisfaction with police has been a focus of criminologists for a number of years. Most studies, however, have focused on the general population as a whole. What is not known is how fearful American youth are of the crime in their neighborhoods and how they perceive those in law enforcement. The purpose of this study was to explore this subgroup of the population and to begin the investigation of youths' fear of crime and their perceptions of law enforcement. Using a national sample of 1,897 youth ages 16-25 collected from 12 cities throughout the United States, data were analyzed to explore the strength of demographic and community variables as they related to youths' fear of crime and perceptions of law enforcement. Results for fear of crime indicate that in general, American youth are not very fearful of crime in their neighborhoods. Older youth (18-25) tended to be more fearful than younger youth (16-17), females were more fearful than males, married youth were more fearful than non-married youth, youth living in the Northeast census region were the most fearful of the four census regions, and all non-White youth were more fearful of crime when compared to Whites. Youths' overall satisfaction with police indicated that in general, American youth were satisfied with police in their neighborhoods, with White youth and those youth with some college education being most satisfied with police. When addressing the variance explained by demographic and community variables, youths' perceptions regarding their quality of life accounted for the most variance in both fear of crime and satisfaction with police. The strength of this predictor variable was so strong in fact, that other demographic and community variables were negligible by comparison.

Low interpersonal skill level in younger youth has shown to lead to higher rates of delinquent behavior in older adolescents. Utah State University Extension established a program titled Youth and Families with Promise (YFP). This is a research-based mentoring program where mentors were screened, matched to individual youth, and activities planned that focus on 8 of the Search Institute's 40 assets. The program provided services for 156 at-risk youth ages 7 to 16 in six Utah counties, 66 of whom completed a pretest and posttest assessment. This research-based, intervention/prevention program has shown that the interventions used were effective in building skills in youth, assisting them in planning for the future, making better decisions, and resolving conflict nonviolently. This research evaluates three of those eight assets: problem solving, decision making, and peaceful conflict resolution. Participating college-age mentors from the same six counties were matched with one or two at-risk youth. Group family activities based on the three assets were held monthly. By using a youth self-assessment pre- and posttest survey and a posttest survey for parents, teachers, and mentors, the program was evaluated. This research project is a study of the YFP at-risk youth mentoring program during an 8-month period. Although results were not statistically significant, youth gained more assets and had a higher score on the posttest, with the exception of four items: avoidance of making decisions, hanging out with troubled friends, doing what friends want even if it will get them into trouble, and pushing back when they themselves are pushed.

This study examined the effects of the Youth and Families with Promise mentoring program on family relationships; specifically, whether aspects of the youth's relationship with parents and siblings changed while he/she was involved in the mentoring program, and whether parent functioning and behavior became more effective and positive. Family systems theory and the social systems model of family stress provided the theoretical frameworks for the analysis. Several aspects of the mentoring relationship were examined to understand their impact on family outcomes. These factors included the intensity of the mentoring experience, family involvement in program activities, and the unique aspects of the Youth and Families with Promise mentoring program. Qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were utilized to provide a more complete picture of the program outcomes. Survey data were collected from parents, youth, and mentors approximately eight months after youth were enrolled in the program. Qualitative data were collected through focus group interviews with parents, mentors, and grandmentors to identify specific changes observed in the youth. Additional data were collected through individual youth telephone interviews to understand how the youth perceived the program and its beneficial components. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests and a content analysis of the qualitative data. Comparisons were also made between youth actively involved in the program with an assigned mentor and youth who were enrolled but had little contact with their mentor or program activities. Analyses showed that participation in this program had a positive impact on parent-child relationships, parent functioning, and sibling relationships for approximately one third of the youth and their families. This study suggests that the benefits of mentoring programs may extend beyond the mentored youth into the family system. To fully understand the impact of a mentoring program, these changes must be evaluated.

This study describes levels of asset development and involvement in at-risk behaviors among 4-H youth. To collect the data, 202 4-H teens participating in the 1996 Utah State 4-H Contests completed surveys. Results reveal numerous differences between males and females. Females scored significantly higher on 18 of 29 assets. Males reported significantly higher levels of involvement on 8 of 10 at-risk behaviors. Significant differences existed between types of 4-H clubs on 4 of 29 assets and 1 of I 0 at-risk behaviors. No significant differences were found based on grade in school, years in 4-H, number of 4-H project areas, and number of 4-H events. The study revealed that these 4-H members have developed personal assets related to family, education, individual skills, and involvement in positive activities. The majority have never participated in at-risk activities (drugs- 90%; sexual intercourse- 85%; criminal activities- 80%; and alcohol or shoplifting- 77%). These 4-H youth are laying solid foundations for their futures.

The financial management habits and perceptions of young married couples were examined, as well as their financial problems and perceptions of their problems' magnitude in an attempt to assess the relationship of these financial factors to marital satisfaction. A survey was delivered to 604 residents of family student housing at Utah State University. The spouse who predominantly handled family finances was asked to complete the survey. By using an incentive for completing the survey, a response of 51.32% was obtained. It was hypothesized that both financial management practices and problems would be related to a couple's reported satisfaction with their marriage. It was further hypothesized that there would be a difference in how husbands and wives would report the relationship between financial management, financial problems, and marital satisfaction. As hypothesized, financial management behaviors as well as perceptions of how well finances were managed were found to be significantly correlated with the respondents' marital satisfaction. Likewise, financial problems and perceived magnitude of financial problems were found to be significantly related to marital satisfaction. According to a regression analysis, perceptions may be more predictive of marital satisfaction than actual financial management practices. Contrary to the hypothesis, there were no consistent, clear differences between husbands and wives in the effect of financial variables on marital satisfaction for this sample. In general, these findings support the widely accepted, but rarely studied, assumption that finances can affect a marital or committed couple relationship. These effects involve actual behaviors as well a s perceptions of behaviors.

In 1950 Bossard and Boll published their pioneering work on family rituals entitled Ritual in Family Living. Since then, numerous researchers have examined family rituals using various research designs. This study was done in the tradition of Bossard and Boll by closely examining the personal written accounts of 493 college-age students from a western university. Comparisons were made between the current sample and the sample of Bossard and Boll. Numerous changes in family rituals were identified. Christmas was found to be the most discussed ritual, but Christmas Eve rituals were more often discussed than Christmas Day rituals. The importance of family rituals from the perspective of respondents was discussed as well as the meaning behind them.