A Factorial Description of Tasks of the Family

<p>Problem</p> <p>An understanding of the adjustment of the family may be facilitated by analyzing the tasks and the task performance of the family. This analysis requires a knowledge of the content and the construct of family tasks. The purpose of the study was to describe a factorial construction of the tasks of the family in exploring the content and the construct of family tasks.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>An instrument was developed which identified the extent to which family member percieved a wide variety of tasks relevant to family living. This instrument was administered to individuals in 280 families living in Lincoln Township, Berrien County, in southwestern Michigan. A number of factor analyses were conducted and then compared in describing dimensions of the tasks of the family. To check the relationships between factorial dimensions of the tasks of the family and demographic variables of the family other multivariate correlational analyses such as stepwise regression, canonical, and discriminant analyses were used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An eight-factor model was chosen after comparing the outcomes of different factor analyses. The extracted eight factors were: (1) group integration, (2) affective intimacy, (3) economy, (4) social adjustment, (5) extended kinship, (6) recreation-stimulation, (7) philosophy-value system, and (8) nurturance. A number of multivariate correlational analyses indicated that there were a number of significant relationships between some of the factors and demographic variables in the families. A regression analysis found that the affective intimacy factor was strongest in accounting for different levels of family happiness.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The approach followed in this study suggested that theretofore vague concepts such as "family tasks" can be defined through empirical methods. The empirical models thus constituted would enable a more precise theory of family living to be developed.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Psychology, Ed.D.

Year

1980

Author dc:creator

• Ogawa, Hideyo

Contributors dc:contributor

• Conrad A. Reichert
• Wilfred G. A. Futcher
• Ruth R. Murdoch

• Other Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Social and Behavioral Sciences

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/611

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.andrews.edu:dissertations-1610