Irene Hulick

Publication Date

1968

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Reed, Mary Frances, 1906-||Rockwood, Catherine

Degree Name

M.S. (Master of Science)

Legacy Department

Department of Home Economics

LCSH

Family life surveys

Abstract

This was a study of 492 seventh and eighth grade students in a small Illinois community to try to discover a relationship, if any, between the familial problems as expressed by the students (on a 45 item Problem Check List) and seven factors:(1) sex, (2) broken homes, (3) employed mother, (4) ordinal position, (5) number living in the household, (6) parents' years of formal education and (7) self-rating of the student as to his behavior and attitude in school. The students filled out a page of information about themselves and their families, and then the Check List, which the investigator had adapted from the Mooney Problem Check List, Form J, Replies were anonymous. Previous to administration of this questionnaire, a trial study had been conducted using 32 seventh and eighth grade students in another community who were re-tested two weeks later. Their consistency of response averaged 61.5 per cent. Major study results were processed at the University Computer Center, then the test of chi-square was applied to determine levels of significance. The respondents in this sampling Indicated that* there was little sex difference 958+9.&78 the number and similarity of family problems; children from broken and Intact homes differed significantly on only four Issues which involved lack of communication and financial worries; whether or not a mother stayed in the home or was employed outside was not a significant cause of family problems as the children from these two groups differed significantly on only two Issues; more middle children expressed unhappiness with the home situation than the youngest/oldest grouping; there was an inverse relationship between the number of years of formal education of parents and the number of problems expressed by the respondents; children from small 2-4 members) households and large 7-or-more members) apparently had many home problems in common as there were only three items of significant difference between these two groups; and, as the student*s concept of his school behavior depreciated, the average number of expressed problems in­creased. Recommendations made were: encourage both boys and girls to participate in a Family Life Course in school; provide more satisfactory sex education for boys, more opportunities for girls to share their concerns and troubles; assist parents, particularly those with limited formal education, to better understand and work with their children; assist teachers to become alive to and supportive of needs of parents and the middle child; provide counseling for students who evidence constant "problem behavior," and to their parents.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references.

Extent

iii, 61 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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