Previous research indicates that researchers are not always agreed as to the negative or positive effects that the employed mother has on the family. The purpose of this study was to research the effects that the nonemployed and employed Seventh-day Adventist mother, in southwestern Michigan, has on the family.
The broad hypothesis for this study is that nonemployed mothers have a more positive effect on families, in general, as opposed to mothers who were employed outside of the home.
Two hundred Seventh-day Adventist mothers, after completing a specially designed instrument, were placed in various categories depending on the numbers of hours they were employed or the number of hours they spent in volunteer work each week.
In this ex-post facto study the data were studied statistically by Chi-square analysis to compare the frequencies of the various responding groups. The results indicated that sixteen of the one hundred and twelve subhypotheses were significant.
The data indicate that the mothers in the various categories of employment (0 - 30+ hours per week) and those involved in volunteer activities (0 - 20 hours per week) differ in their opinions concerning their roles in family life. As the overall picture of the nonemployed and employed mothers in their roles in the home is studied, it appears that there are some effects on the family. The more the mother is out of the home, irrespective of the reason, the greater the negative effects this absence from the home has on the family in general.
It may be concluded from this study that there are more positive aspects related to the role the nonemployed mother has in the home compared to that of the employed mother. Recommendations for further research are offered.
","abstract_html":"<p>Previous research indicates that researchers are not always agreed as to the negative or positive effects that the employed mother has on the family. The purpose of this study was to research the effects that the nonemployed and employed Seventh-day Adventist mother, in southwestern Michigan, has on the family.</p> <p>The broad hypothesis for this study is that nonemployed mothers have a more positive effect on families, in general, as opposed to mothers who were employed outside of the home.</p> <p>Two hundred Seventh-day Adventist mothers, after completing a specially designed instrument, were placed in various categories depending on the numbers of hours they were employed or the number of hours they spent in volunteer work each week.</p> <p>In this ex-post facto study the data were studied statistically by Chi-square analysis to compare the frequencies of the various responding groups. The results indicated that sixteen of the one hundred and twelve subhypotheses were significant.</p> <p>The data indicate that the mothers in the various categories of employment (0 - 30+ hours per week) and those involved in volunteer activities (0 - 20 hours per week) differ in their opinions concerning their roles in family life. As the overall picture of the nonemployed and employed mothers in their roles in the home is studied, it appears that there are some effects on the family. The more the mother is out of the home, irrespective of the reason, the greater the negative effects this absence from the home has on the family in general.</p> <p>It may be concluded from this study that there are more positive aspects related to the role the nonemployed mother has in the home compared to that of the employed mother. Recommendations for further research are offered.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lawson, A. Melville"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Counseling Psychology, Ph.D.","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Mercedes H. Dyer","Wilfred G. A. Futcher","Thesba N. Johnston"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1985,"date_issued":"1985-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1985-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:54:03Z","subjects":["Family, Life Course, and Society","Sociology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/513","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Mercedes H. Dyer","Wilfred G. A. Futcher","Thesba N. Johnston"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lawson, A. Melville"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Counseling Psychology, Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Family, Life Course, and Society","Sociology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/513"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Previous research indicates that researchers are not always agreed as to the negative or positive effects that the employed mother has on the family. The purpose of this study was to research the effects that the nonemployed and employed Seventh-day Adventist mother, in southwestern Michigan, has on the family.
The broad hypothesis for this study is that nonemployed mothers have a more positive effect on families, in general, as opposed to mothers who were employed outside of the home.
Two hundred Seventh-day Adventist mothers, after completing a specially designed instrument, were placed in various categories depending on the numbers of hours they were employed or the number of hours they spent in volunteer work each week.
In this ex-post facto study the data were studied statistically by Chi-square analysis to compare the frequencies of the various responding groups. The results indicated that sixteen of the one hundred and twelve subhypotheses were significant.
The data indicate that the mothers in the various categories of employment (0 - 30+ hours per week) and those involved in volunteer activities (0 - 20 hours per week) differ in their opinions concerning their roles in family life. As the overall picture of the nonemployed and employed mothers in their roles in the home is studied, it appears that there are some effects on the family. The more the mother is out of the home, irrespective of the reason, the greater the negative effects this absence from the home has on the family in general.
It may be concluded from this study that there are more positive aspects related to the role the nonemployed mother has in the home compared to that of the employed mother. Recommendations for further research are offered.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Employed Versus the Nonemployed Mother: the Effects on the Seventh-day Adventist Family in Southwestern Michigan"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Mercedes H. Dyer","Wilfred G. A. Futcher","Thesba N. Johnston"],"dc:creator":["Lawson, A. Melville"],"dc:description.abstract":["Previous research indicates that researchers are not always agreed as to the negative or positive effects that the employed mother has on the family. The purpose of this study was to research the effects that the nonemployed and employed Seventh-day Adventist mother, in southwestern Michigan, has on the family.
The broad hypothesis for this study is that nonemployed mothers have a more positive effect on families, in general, as opposed to mothers who were employed outside of the home.
Two hundred Seventh-day Adventist mothers, after completing a specially designed instrument, were placed in various categories depending on the numbers of hours they were employed or the number of hours they spent in volunteer work each week.
In this ex-post facto study the data were studied statistically by Chi-square analysis to compare the frequencies of the various responding groups. The results indicated that sixteen of the one hundred and twelve subhypotheses were significant.
The data indicate that the mothers in the various categories of employment (0 - 30+ hours per week) and those involved in volunteer activities (0 - 20 hours per week) differ in their opinions concerning their roles in family life. As the overall picture of the nonemployed and employed mothers in their roles in the home is studied, it appears that there are some effects on the family. The more the mother is out of the home, irrespective of the reason, the greater the negative effects this absence from the home has on the family in general.
It may be concluded from this study that there are more positive aspects related to the role the nonemployed mother has in the home compared to that of the employed mother. Recommendations for further research are offered.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/513"],"dc:subject":["Family, Life Course, and Society","Sociology"],"dc:title":["The Employed Versus the Nonemployed Mother: the Effects on the Seventh-day Adventist Family in Southwestern Michigan"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Counseling Psychology, Ph.D."],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:54:03Z"}