The purpose of this research was to explore resource management of unemployed women. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between earner status and changes in household consumption expenditures as they relate to interaction with the primary support network. Food and energy were the two categories selected for assessing changes in household consumption spending. The family was viewed from an ecosystems perspective in which the managerial subsystem functions as a regulator of resource exchange. / The sample was a subsample of a data set of families experiencing unemployment in Louisiana during 1985 and 1986. There were a total of 216 women who returned the Effects of Unemployment questionnaire. Three scales were selected for analysis: two subscales of the Consumption Cutbacks Scale and the Scope of Assistance Scale. / Analysis of the data revealed a positive relationship between seeking assistance and receiving assistance from the primary support network. Single-earner women were more likely to seek assistance than women who were not the sole earner. Sources of support were defined as parents, relatives other than parents, friends, and spouse's parents. Types of support were emotional, informational, and financial. Neither source nor type of assistance was related to the number of earners in the family. Reductions in expenditures for food and energy were more likely to occur in single-earner households than in multiple-earner families. Consistent with previous research, parents were the most common source of support. Emotional support was more often received than financial or informational support. / Future investigation of women's experiences with unemployment should be directed toward efforts to extend understanding of the resource network. Examination of types of assistance sought in conjunction with types received would provide a more complete picture of the interaction process. Further attention could be given to changes in household expenditures as a function of earner status. Theoretically, further elaboration of the management model is needed through study of the managerial subsystem and the personal subsystem functioning as complementary components of the family system. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-05, Section: A, page: 1133. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76100 |
| Contributors | RETHERFORD, PATRICIA SAMUELS., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 134 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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