In the past decade, both public and private interest in the father's role in child rearing has increased dramatically. There is now a large body of literature regarding fathers with a recent emphasis being given to the "new" father, defined as one who is highly nurturant toward his children and increasingly involved in their care. In comparison, the "traditional" father has been depicted as one who believes that mothers have the majority of responsibility for child care. / The theory of reasoned action was utilized to examine the choice between traditional versus more involved fathering styles. This choice was predicted from beliefs and attitudes related to outcomes of adopting a given fathering style (attitude component) and specific others who might pressure one to adopt a given parenting style (subjective norm component). / The sample was comprised of 190 male undergraduate students who intended to be fathers. Two path models were used for analyses, a restricted path model and a saturated path model, with the saturated model found to be more useful for explaining the data. / Two predominate findings were noted. First, there appeared to be significant inter-relationships between components of attitude and subjective norm. Secondly, the attitude components were generally found to be more useful in the prediction of intention than were components of subjective norm. / Significant differences related to age, satisfaction with their own fathers' roles, and parenting choice intention were found between groups of subjects who described their fathers as being either traditional or more involved parents. Finally, implications were presented. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-03, Section: A, page: 0959. / Major Professor: Carol Anderson Darling. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

This study examined the influence of variables such as age, gender and family adaptability and cohesion as they influence styles of conflict management utilized between parents and adolescents. A convenience sample of thirty families from the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area was selected in order to participate in a simulation format for the purpose of studying the process of filial conflict and how such conflict is managed. A modified version of Osmond's Reciprocity Game provided a structural arrangement whereby conflict processes could be monitored by both audio-tape and written form. Categorization of such variables as age and gender were derived from demographic information, while family cohesion and family adaptability scores were measured by the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES III). Conflict styles were based upon those styles set forth by Kilman and Thomas (1975). In this study, participants tended to utilize the style of accommodation (i.e., the tendency to give in to demands of others) and competition (i.e., the tendency to push for one's own demands over those of others). In addition, a mixed style was used in which one equally used accommodation and competition. / Research questions were explored by the use of Chi-square and discriminant analysis. Findings included the following: (1) adolescents tend to compete rather than accommodate in "balanced" families in terms of cohesion and adaptability; (2) female adolescents tend to compete with parents at an earlier age than adolescent males, especially when in conflict with fathers; (3) mid teens tend to compete heavily with younger parents; (4) fathers tend to compete more with sons than with daughters; and, (5) mothers tend to compete more with early teen daughters than do fathers. Although there were too few cases to reach any definite conclusions concerning families typed as "rigid" in adaptability, from cases which were presented it was found that fathers in rigid families who perceived their families as less adaptive or emotionally distant tend to compete, while fathers who perceived their families as emotionally connected tend to accommodate. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-07, Section: A, page: 1899. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

This study examined family of origin variables and length of courtship, as related to mate selection patterns and marital satisfaction. The instruments used were the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), the Personal Authority in the Family System Questionnaire (PAFS) and a demographic data sheet. Subjects selected for participation in this investigation met the following criteria: couples in their first year of a first and only marriage, no children, with one or both spouses attending the university. A list of marital couples was obtained from the Registrar's Office, graduate departments, and Alumni Village (university married student housing) at Florida State University. / From these lists the researcher, in person, contacted couples and proceeded to identify those who met the specified criteria. Sixty couples (meeting the specific criteria) were asked to participate in a research project designed to investigate aspects of their families of origin and their current marital relationships. Each couple was then administered the questionnaires and asked to complete them independently. The couple was assured of the confidentiality of their scores. / Following the administration and collection the questionnaires were then scored and the data analyzed through a Pearson Product-Moment correlation, a one-way analysis of variance, and a multiple regression analysis. / Three hypotheses were put forth for examination in this study: a relationship would exist between the PAFS and length of courtship; a relationship would be demonstrated between the PAFS and marital satisfaction (DAS); and a relationship would exist between marital satisfaction (DAS) and length of courtship. All hypotheses were tested at the p < .05 level of significance. Partial support was found for hypothesis 1. Specifically two scales of the PAFS (spousal fusion scale and spousal intimacy) were related to length of courtship. Hypothesis 2 was partially supported. Hypothesis 3 failed to be confirmed through several analyses. / Further analyses and results are discussed with regard to their implications for therapy and future research. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-12, Section: A, page: 4520. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

In this study, the relationship between metabolic control and family characteristics among couples with one partner diagnosed with Type II, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus was explored within the framework of systems theory. The sample included 62 diabetic individuals and their partners. Most of the subjects came from the lower-middle socioeconomic class, were male and of the Caucasian race, and had a mean age of 62. / Mean blood glucose levels of the diabetic partner, used to measure the dependent variable, were correlated with couples' combined scores on all subscales of the Moos Family Environment Scale. A significant relationship was found in only one variable, Moral-Religious Emphasis (r = .26, p = .02). The positive direction of this relationship suggests that lower blood glucose levels will be found in those partners whose relationships reflect a greater emphasis on Moral and ethical issues and values. / Correlations between the dependent variable and partners' incongruence scores on all subscales of the same instrument also revealed significance in only one variable. Organization was inversely related to blood glucose levels (r = -.28, p = .01). It can be conjectured that greater disagreement among couples in the planning and structure of daily activities and responsibilities will contribute to lower bood glucose levels in the diabetic partner. / Other relationships, explored between blood glucose levels and demographic and clinical variables, are reported in the study, with the strongest correlations shown in the variables of Age and Income. Such findings suggest that lower blood glucose levels are characteristic of younger individuals with higher incomes. / Limitations of the study include problems of instrumentation and uniform data collection. Implications suggest that additional research is needed to explore family variables in Type II diabetes mellitus with other populations, other forms of instrumentation and greater methods of control. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-05, Section: A, page: 1896. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

The purpose of this study was to determine the contribution of parental patterns of chemical abuse, family of origin stress management style, family of origin use of ritual, gender role identity and family of origin role identity to the intergenerational transmission of chemical abuse and dependency problems and specifically, alcoholism. / One hundred adult alcoholics and one hundred adult nonalcoholics were given a questionnaire which asked them to retrospectively assess their families of origin on stress management style, the continuity of rituals and routines and the character roles they had played in their families as adolescents. Also, subjects were asked to assess their current gender role identity. The quantitative data obtained were analyzed through discriminant analysis and analysis of covariance. / The findings of this study revealed that all but two of the nine variables contributed significantly to the explanation of variations in alcohol use patterns among the subjects. The Mascot family role identity and gender role identity were the two exceptions. It was also found that predispositional family of origin patterns were different for males and females. Females were more affected by stress management style and rituals and males by parental chemical abuse, especially when compounded with a Scapegoat or Lost Child role identity in the family of origin. Finally, a list of optimal discriminators was derived for each sex which could be used to assess the likelihood of chemical abuse problems in children and adolescents. For females the list included Scapegoat role identity, Stress Management Style, Lost Child role identity and Father's Chemical Use. For males, Scapegoat role identity, Father's Chemical Use, Lost Child role identity, and Mother's Chemical Use combined to make-up the optimal list of discriminators. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: A, page: 1588. / Major Professor: Mary Hicks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

In this descriptive study the researcher sought the association between participation in A.A., family stress levels, family member attendance of Al-Anon, family functioning, and abstinence patterns in a convenience sample of 50 A.A. members. Two instruments as well as a demographic form were given to A.A members in eight cities of the states of Florida and Georgia. These were completed by the participants and mailed to the researcher. The two instruments used were: (1) The Index of Family Relations which is a 25 item measure of reported family stress, and (2) The Family Assessment Device which is a 60 item measure of reported family functioning on seven scales (communication, problem solving, roles, affective involvement, affective responsiveness, behavior control, and general functioning). The demographic form was designed to obtain information on basic characteristics of the sample and their participation in A.A. and any family member's participation in Al-Anon. / It was discovered that a family member's duration of attendence in Al-Anon had a significant correlation with lower reported intra-family stress for the A.A. member and the Al-Anon member. The number of months a family member was in Al-Anon was also positively correlated with the number of months the A.A. member had been abstinent, and better reported communication, problem solving, and general functioning scores on the Family Assessment Device. / A.A. attendance appeared to be helping the subjects maintain sobriety. Length of abstinence was significantly correlated with length of continuous attendance of A.A. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: A, page: 1588. / Major Professor: Eileen Earhart. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to examine the linkage between the family system and parent-adolescent relationship quality. The basic question was: "Which types of family systems are more and less conducive to high quality parent-adolescent relationships?" Family systems theory suggested the two major dimensions of the family on which this project focused: (1) family cohesion--the degree to which the family binds itself together (i.e., encourages separateness vs. togetherness) and is either open to or isolated from the outside world, (2) family adaptability--the degree to which a family is able (and/or willing) to change its roles, rules, or strategies in response to internal and external needs and goals. / For this study, adolescents' perceptions of family cohesion, family adaptability, and parent-adolescent relationship quality were utilized. Data were extracted from a larger study, the Profile of Today's Youth Project, at the Florida State University. Purposive sub-sampling procedures were used to select out the responses of 541 black and white adolescents who were living with both biological parents. / The major findings of this study were: (1) a positive relationship existed betwen adolescents' perceptions of family cohesion and their evaluations of parent-adolescent relationship quality; (2) a positive relationship existed between adolescents' perceptions of family adaptability and their evaluations of parent-adolescent relationship quality; (3) adolescents did not differ by sex or social class in their perceptions of family cohesion or adaptability; (4) a slight negative relationship existed between adolescents' age and their perceptions of family cohesion and adaptability; (5) adolescents did not differ by race in their perceptions of family cohesion, but black adolescents reported higher levels of family adaptability than did white adolescents. / In essence, adolescents reported the highest quality parent-adolescent relationships when they perceived their families as high in cohesion and adaptability. Family cohesion proved to be the strongest independent variable for predicting parent-adolescent relationship quality. The theoretical and research implications of these findings are outlined. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-08, Section: A, page: 2804. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

The Blalock and Wilken social exchange model of decision making guides this research on predictors of wife employment for a random sample of North Carolina women. It was proposed that the three goals influencing wives' employment decisions are (1) sufficiency of income, (2) maternal care of young children, and (3) employment/nonemployment as a source of personal fulfillment. The influence of these goals on employment decisions is based on their importance relative to each other goal; that is, if income level is low, wives are expected to be employed even if they have young children. Similarly, given sufficient income, wives with young children are not expected to be employed even if they have modern sex role attitudes (a proxy for personal fulfillment through employment). It was also proposed that husband's support of wife employment and presence of adult female kin in the household is positively associated with wife employment. Logistic regression equations including these independent variables were run on the dichotomous dependent variable of employment/nonemployment, controlling for wife age and education. It was found that husband's income and husband's support of employment were the strongest predictors of wife employment in all equations. Sex role attitudes and presence of female kin were not related to wife employment in any equation. The hierarchical ordering of the three goals was partially supported in that age of children was not related to employment when income was low, but was positively related to employment when income was high. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-02, Section: A, page: 0589. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

The purpose of this research was to explore the presence of a value paradigm in the family. A consensus of values was defined as a family structure which organizes patterns of daily living for family members and as such serves as a paradigm. This paradigm was examined with three objectives in mind; to determine how much agreement there is between the values of family members, to determine if one family subsystem evidences greater agreement than the other subsystems, and to determine if value agreement influences other family structures. / Rokeach's Value Survey and FACES II were administered to fathers, mothers, and one adolescent of 106 families obtained from an educational research school affiliated with a southern university. The results indicate that there is a value paradigm for both terminal and instrumental values operating in families with adolescents. The terminal value paradigm is not affected by the sex, race, or age of the adolescent, the socioeconomic status, religiosity, or size of the family, the employment of mothers, the ordinal position of the child, or the age differentials between children and their parents. Of these variables, instrumental value agreement was affected by paternal employment. No significant differences between the value agreement of family subsystems were indicated although the consensus within the parental dyad was noticeably higher than between either parent and adolescent with regard to terminal values. The values of family subsystems were significantly correlated indicating that the consensual level of one subsystem affects the consensual level of other subsystems. The value paradigm did not significantly affect the family structures of cohesion and adaptability as evaluated by FACES II. / The findings of this study support the concept of interdependence and interrelatedness of family members which is generated by General Systems Theory. Implications for further research include the development of a family typology using the value paradigm and further exploration of this paradigm and its effect on (1) the family during different phases of the family life cycle and (2) other family structures. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-02, Section: A, page: 0588. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 30-02, Section: A, page: 0844. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1968.