The purpose of this study was to examine the differences between family pet owners and family non-pet owners utilizing the variables of cohesion and adaptability along with elements of the human constructed environment. In addition, for family pet owners, it was questioned whether family functioning could be predicted from elements in the human-constructed environment which consisted of family demographics and pet related variables. The Ecosystems Approach and General Systems Theory provided the theoretical orientation for this research. A survey research design was utilized in which 132 clinical members of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy in six southeastern states distributed questionnaires to 307 clients and family members who returned them to the researcher. A family property was formed from the individual data from each family, which consisted of two to five members, using the Additive Model. This yielded a sample of 141 families of which 116 were pet owners and 25 were non-pet owners. Two other models, the Discrepancy and Modified Disjunctive Models, were also utilized to examine the family data to determine which approach was most sensitive to significant differences in the sample data. The family properties for pet owners were analyzed using a multiple regression analysis. Results indicated that 24% of the variance in family adaptability could be accounted for from the independent environmental variables with the Additive and Modified Disjunctive Models. However, family cohesion was not significantly predicted using any of the models. Analyses revealed there were marked similarities between family pet owners and non-pet owners. The FACES III scale used in the questionnaire indicated that 54.6% of the families were of the Balanced type. Implications for research, theory and family therapy are presented. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-01, Section: A, page: 0307. / Major Professor: Carol Darling. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_78410 |
| Contributors | Cox, Ruth Pinnix., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 272 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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