Marital timing (early, on time, and late) literature generally compares social status, education, or future plans to age at marriage. In the present study, a new dimension of marital timing was explored. A wider eco-systems view which focused on the influence of families in the marital timing of their offspring was considered. Specifically, a hypothesized family life balance was considered to be disrupted by certain family events. Friedman, drawing heavily on Bowen Family System Theory, suggested six major balance disrupting events in families of origin: birth, death, marriage, divorce, retirement, and geographical move. It was further suggested that the resultant disruption of balance then triggers marriage of family offspring during the following 12 months. Using chi square and contingency coefficient analyses with a sample of 313 college students, the hypothesis of balance disrupting events in families of origin leading to marriage of offspring was supported. Family cohesion, birth order, gender, and race were also empirically related to the marital timing of subjects following one of the six balance disrupting events in families of origin. Implications of this family influence on the marriage of offspring are discussed for family research, family therapy, and family life education. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-02, Section: A, page: 0657. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between family problem solving and the adolescent's individual problem solving ability. Thirty volunteer families and their adolescents played a problem solving game and completed an instrument to identify family type. Parents also completed a measure of attitudes toward child rearing practices and their adolescents completed three Piagetian problem solving tasks as well as measures of self-esteem and locus of control. Effective and ineffective problem solving families were identified based upon scores of a laboratory problem solving situation. Results of the data analysis indicated no significant differences in family type, adolescent problem solving ability, or adolescent self-esteem between the two family groups. However, adolescents from effective problem solving families were significantly more internally directed than were those from ineffective problem solving families. Authoritarian child rearing practices showed a significant negative correlation with the adolescents' problem solving scores. / Adolescents from effective problem solving families showed significant positive association between internal locus of control and problem solving ability; this correlation was positive, but not significant for adolescents from the ineffective group. There was a trend toward higher scores on the self-esteem measure and family problem solving ability for adolescents in the effective group, but an opposite trend was evident for adolescents from ineffective problem solving families, as these adolescents tended to score lower on self-esteem as family problem solving scores increased. Self-esteem and individual problem solving ability were positively correlated for the adolescents in the effective group, but this relationship was negative and nonsignificant for adolescents in the ineffective group. Trends also indicate that adolescents from effective problem solving families solve concrete, practical problems which are most often learned within the family context more effectively than those adolescents from ineffective problem solving families. Both groups did less well on tasks involving more abstract, science-related content. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-08, Section: A, page: 2664. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.

This study is concerned with the relationship between marital problems and the use of formal and informal networks. A total of 780 problems that were identified with eight different categories were reported by 305 subjects. All of the subjects were employed, married, and had same-race spouses. / The purpose of the study is to describe in an exploratory manner the use of social networks, generally, and informal and formal networks, specifically, in discussing marital problems by subject characteristics: informal network involvement, gender, race, presence of children, socioeconomic status, and the subject's rating of problem seriousness. Organizational linkage theory serves as the theoretical reference for the conceptualization and construction of the research questions that are investigated in this study. / Forty-eight percent of the reported marital problems are not discussed with anyone. However, 47 percent are discussed with members of informal social network members, and five percent are discussed with formal network members. Problems that are experienced by females and whites are discussed with network members (informal or formal) significantly more frequently than are problems experienced by males and blacks. In addition, problems that are perceived to be more serious are discussed significantly more frequently than are problems perceived to be less serious. Furthermore, there is greater differential use of networks when the problems are perceived to be more serious. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-04, Section: A, page: 1218. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.

With the contemporary influx of women into the workforce and the resulting prevalence of dual-career families, relocation has become a traumatic family issue. In utilizing primarily the theoretical tenets of family stress theory, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of family strains, family hardiness, family coherence, and coping response upon the quality of life and marital satisfaction of dual-career couples who did and who did not utilize trailing spouse job assistance in making their most recent relocation. A survey research design was employed which utilized a nation-wide sample of recently relocated dual-career couples (n = 122). T-test statistical analyses were employed to test mean differences while restricted and saturated path analyses were utilized to examine theoretical tenets. Results indicated that there were no significant differences between relocating dual-career couples who did and did not utilize trailing spouse job assistance in their quality of life, marital satisfaction, coping response, hardiness, coherence, and level of vulnerability. Quality of life for dual-career couples who used trailing spouse job assistance in the restricted and saturated path analyses was not predicted by any variable. However, for dual-career couples who did not use trailing spouse job assistance, marital satisfaction was predictive of quality of life in both restricted and saturated causal models and level of vulnerability predicted quality of life in the saturated model. Furthermore, restricted path analyses indicated that for dual-career couples who utilized trailing spouse job assistance, coherence and coping response were predictive of marital satisfaction while for dual-career couples who did not employ trailing spouse job assistance, hardiness was predictive of marital satisfaction. Saturated path analyses for both groups replicated / the findings of the restricted path analyses and in addition, demonstrated that vulnerability was predictive of marital satisfaction. Since these findings suggest that the limited services provided by current trailing spouse job assistance programs may be inadequate, further support in relieving relocation stress and facilitating family coping strategies is recommended. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-07, Section: A, page: 2561. / Major Professor: Carol Anderson Darling. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The primary purpose of this study was to compare the effects of using a structured cognitive postseparation/postdivorce adjustment group to a contrasting structured noncognitive postseparation/postdivorce adjustment group in reducing reactive, unipolar depression and increasing adjustment. The effectiveness of both treatment groups also was compared to a no-treatment comparison group. / The sample was composed of subjects volunteering for postdivorce counseling, and separated and divorced subjects not seeking treatment who were solicited for research participation. After stratifying for sex and level of depression, 22 persons who were seeking counseling were randomly assigned to group therapy; 11 to a structured noncognitive group and 11 to a structured cognitive group. Twelve persons were selected for inclusion in the no-treatment comparison group. The group treatment sessions were conducted by two different teams of advanced doctoral level marital and family therapy students. Each team consisted of a male and a female member. The treatment groups met once each week for two hour sessions for a 10 week period. A pretest-posttest experimental design was employed with the Raschke Postdivorce Problems and Stress Scale used to measure divorce adjustment and the Beck Depression Inventory utilized to measure depression. / Paired samples t-test revealed that all three groups achieved significant amounts of change in improving adjustment and decreasing depression levels during the 10 weeks. Analysis of covariance, with the pretest scores as the covariate, revealed no significant differences among any of the groups existed. There was a trend in the data, however, suggesting that the structured cognitive group members improved more on divorce adjustment than the comparison group members. / Multiple regression analysis revealed that being the spouse who suggested the divorce led to being better adjusted. Those persons with fewer resources, i.e. less income and education, experienced more depression and had a more difficult adjustment to the divorce. The responsibility of parenting, especially having custody, increased the adjustment problems during separation/divorce. / This study provides additional support for the effectiveness of short-term structured group treatment models to facilitate divorce adjustment and relieve depression. Questions were raised, however, regarding the adequacy of group treatment alone to meet the needs of moderately and severely depressed, poorly adjusted persons who experience separation and divorce. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-07, Section: A, page: 2462. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

This exploratory study's focus was to investigate the process divorced or widowed displaced homemakers experience as they assume the provider role after loss of spouse-provider. The family developmental approach was utilized in conjunction with the A + B + C (--->) X model of family crisis adjustment through the process change concept. The factors in the model are as follows: The A factor is the nature of the stressor event; the B factor is the resources the family control and utilizes in coping; and the C factor is the family's definition of the seriousness of the crisis situation. The process concept uses three sequential periods of disorganization, adjustment and reorganization of family structure after crisis. / The problem was to discover the adjustment patterns that emerge for women who sought either employment, education/training, or decided to remain homemakers. Nine objectives determined economic adjustments of women by marital status or occupational choice. Issues included: Temporal adjustment; perceived severity; reasons for choice of provider option; resources; outcomes. / The instrument was semi-structured, containing 47 items. Interviews took approximately one and one-half hours per respondent. Of the total population of 46 women, 34 were randomly sampled, 31 consented to be interviewed and 29 were interviewed, yielding a return rate of 88%. / Results suggest that adjustment patterns differ by marital status and by choice of provider option. / Divorced and widowed women were found to differ significantly on percepts of crisis and financial problems faced and dealt with. Thus, we cannot assume that these marital status groups are similar and can be singularily categorized as single parents with similar problems. / Divorced women were more concerned with fulfilling immediate financial needs while widows were more concerned with future destitution. All women did not seek employment immediately. Some returned to school first and a small group remained homemakers. / While the vast majority had developed employment skill, few returned to work in these capacities because pay was too poor. / The adjustment process was not found to be sequential. Events tended to overlap for both marital status groups. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-10, Section: A, page: 3428. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

A basic purpose of this study was to test whether self-esteem and/or adjustment of separated or divorced persons can be improved by participation in a postseparation/postdivorce counseling group. An additional objective was to examine whether a professional-directed format or a self-directed format is more effective in fostering these changes. An experimental pretest-posttest design was followed. The Raschke Postdivorce Problems and Stress Scale was used to measure the dependent variable of divorce adjustment. The Tennessee Self Concept Scale was utilized to measure the dependent variable of self-esteem. / The sample was composed of subjects volunteering for counseling. After stratifying for sex, the sample was randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups: 11 subjects were assigned to a professional-directed (PD) group, 11 subjects to a self-directed (SD) group, and 11 subjects to a minimal contact (MC) group. The treatment groups met for an eight week period. / The PD group met with professionally trained therapists and followed the format designed by Kessler for her "Beyond Divorce" groups. The SD group met without a professionally trained therapist and followed the same format as the PD group. / Analysis of covariance, with pretest scores as the covariate, revealed a significant difference among the three groups in improved divorce adjustment. The Least Significant Difference (LSD) procedure was used as a multiple comparison test, and revealed that the PD group experienced significantly greater mean improvement than did the MC group. A linear association among the three groups was noted, with the PD group realizing the greatest mean improvement, followed by the SD and the MC groups. / Analysis of covariance, with pretest scores as the covariate, revealed a significant difference among the three groups in self-esteem improvement. The LSD procedure revealed that both the PD group and the SD group were significantly different from the MC group. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-07, Section: A, page: 2260. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

Marital quality is examined with sexual behavior and interest, morale, and sex role orientation for two groups of men and women, aged 60 years and older, living in a retirement community or in the community-at-large. Analysis of data from 488 men and women indicates that their marital quality is not related to their residential location. The respondents claiming the highest quality marriages are significantly more likely to be sexually active and to report the highest frequencies of intercourse. The "younger" men express more sexual interest and feelings than do the women and the "older" men. Those expressing the most sexual interest are also the most active sexually. Current patterns of sexual behavior and interest reflect gradual declines from their early married years. Individuals with high morale also express high marital quality, high sexual interest, and greater sexual activity. Previous reportings relating morale to residential location, education, and sex role sharing are not supported. Marital quality is not related to sex role orientation among these elderly respondents who are all healthy, well-educated, financially stable, and religiously-oriented. Those living in the retirement community are significantly more egalitarian in their sex role beliefs and enactments than are the residents in the community-at-large. Retirement community members think they are more egalitarian than they should be; whereas, community-at-large respondents think they are less egalitarian than they should be. Those who are the least traditional in their sex role orientation report the highest levels of sexual activity during their early married years. Previous research linking sex role orientation to marital quality and education is not supported. Finally, no differences are found between members of the two residential environments in activity levels or friendships as / reported previously. Abelson's Constancy Theory is supported by the finding of a positive correlation between age and marital quality controlling for residential location. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-07, Section: A, page: 2258. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

The primary purpose of this investigation was to measure and compare the perceptions college students have regarding cohesion, adaptability and stress in their varied family forms. Secondary purposes were to provide demographic descriptions of family forms from which students come, determine variables of blended and single-parent families which may carry predictive value for cohesion and adaptability and to examine relationships between the cohesion, adaptability, and family stress measuring scales. / The sample consisted of 631 college students aged 18-22 years attending Central Missouri State University. Of the sample, 502 students were from intact families, 79 from single-parent and 50 from blended families. / Responses on a 68-item questionnaire formed the units of analysis. The instrument used for measuring perceptions of family dynamics were the Cohesion and Adaptability Scales of FACES II and the Index of Family Relations Scale. Thirteen demographic items were included. / Major conclusions to be drawn from the study include (1) students from blended and single-parent families viewed their families as less closely bonded and much more stressful than did intact family students; (2) demographic variables of blended and single-parent families (including size, composition, gender, ages at transition points and tenures in phases of change) may vary widely but are not useful in indicating how members feel about their families (with the possible exception of natural parent gender); (3) measures of cohesion, adaptability and intrafamilial stress were strongly related for the entire sample with high stress locked to distant and non-flexible family types. / This study provides initial data regarding how college students view transactional processes in their families, specifically comparing groups from different family forms. The implication is that the dramatic systemic alterations which are inherent in family dissolutions and reformations leave members vulnerable to stress and distancing as perceived by young adult children. Family life educators, researchers, and clinicians aware of the potential susceptibilities of a rapidly growing proportion of American families may wish to develop programs, materials and further information designed to strengthen these families. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-09, Section: A, page: 2899. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

Current theory on the stress associated with family life events suggests that such events are intrinsically stressful, and that their impact on levels of psychosocial functioning can best be determined through use of a self-report scale, the Family Inventory of Life Events (FILE), reflecting (a) the raw total of events occurring, or (b) the sum of standardized weights obtained from a representative group sample. Using FILE as a model, a survey was conducted to determine whether capturing individual perceptions of the stressfulness of family life events through idiographic assessment would increase the proportion of the variance explained in psychosocial outcomes. Psychosocial functioning was assessed with the current health subscale of the Health Perceptions Questionnaire, the Generalized Contentment Scale (measuring non-psychotic depression), and the Index of Family Relations. The Index of Clinical Stress was introduced as an alternative self-report measure of stress not directly associated with family life events. A convenience sample of 265 subjects, including patients and family members of patients at a family practice residency clinic, completed the survey instrument. Findings demonstrated that idiographic scoring of FILE significantly improved the prediction of depression and family relations scores. Assessing subjects' perceived adequacy of available resources further increased the explanation of these dependent measures. Implications include a reassessment of the stress concept and its measurement, and an operationalization of the social work person-in-environment model. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-08, Section: A, page: 3198. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.