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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74948 |
| Contributors | CROSSMAN, SHARYN MARIE., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 195 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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