Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

A Validation Study Of The Family Environment Scale: Family Incongruence Score, Linda Joanne Neale

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the validity of the family incongruence score, a statistic which quantifies the discrepancies between family members' perceptions of their family system using answers given on the Family Environment Scale. Based on findings concerning incongruence in other environments, it was hypothesized that high family incongruence scores would be associated with more problems in the family system.

A Study Of The Incidence Of Divorce, Religious Conflict, And Need And Potential Utilization Of Marital/Family Services Among Seventh-Day Adventist Couples In The North Pacific Union Conference, Fern M. Ringering

Dissertations and Theses

The following study is designed to look at one religious group and assess some of the social service needs as seen by the study participants.

Since social services cover such a broad spectrum, it was decided to limit the study to marital counseling needs and related issues as seen by individual church members.

Parental Perceptions Of Behavioral Changes In Children Following Divorce, Kenneth W. Bork

Dissertations and Theses

This research was undertaken primarily to describe the parental perceptions of the effects of divorce upon the children age eighteen or younger of the first married couples filing for divorce in Clackamas County, Oregon during 1975.

The Relationship Between Social Isolation And Child Abuse: A Critical Literature Review, Ann A. Pederson

Dissertations and Theses

This review began with an interest in treatment of child abuse and in how a study of social isolation might lend direction to treatment of abusing families. The literature leads one to believe that social isolation is somehow involved, but that the process is far from clear. The intent of this review is to synthesize the findings available on the relationship between social isolation and child abuse, to encourage further thought on how the concept of social isolation can be refined and operationalized, and to discuss the implications of that relationship for treatment and prevention of physical abuse. The information …

A Study Of Partner Attitudes Related To Male Involvement In Contraception At Planned Parenthood, Portland, Oregon, Patricia Long Burnet, Rhonda Lee Jack, Kathleen Margaret Leeson

Dissertations and Theses

In spite of the relative ease of accessibility to reliable contraception, unplanned pregnancy continues to be a major social problem for both society and for those individuals personally involved. The growing furor over adolescent unplanned pregnancy has not only led to arguments over abortions on legal, financial, and moral levels but has resulted in studies pertaining to non-use of birth control among all ages. Contraceptives are not being used as widely and effectively as they could be.

The primary goal of this research is to explore the male's role (or lack of it) in family planning. A further goal is …

The Resilience Of The Child As A Factor In Successful Adjustment To Permanent Placement, Lani Maureen Mcdonald

Dissertations and Theses

This study explores the hypothesis that constitutional factors were significant in mediating their successful adjustment. The adjustment of children who in the past would have been viewed as permanently scarred and unable to adjust has provided researchers with an idiosyncratic situation that has also been found in other studies: children have adjusted despite odds against it and children considered to have incurred minimal trauma have had difficulty adjusting.

A Descriptive Study Of Some Problems Of Widows In Portland, Oregon, Kathleen Marsha Davis, Gail Petchesky

Dissertations and Theses

Widowhood is an inevitable phase of the life cycle for three out of every four married women. It is apparent by the lack of research about widowhood that it has been neglected as a developmental phase in the life cycle. Presently there are ten million widows in this country and their numbers are increasing each year. It is appalling that with a population this large, little attention has been directed towards research about widowhood. Other than recognizing that the widow may have financial problems for which Social Security provides assistance, few people realize what it means to be widowed. For …

An Investigation Of The Combined Effect Of Agency Support And Professional Social Workers' Training On The Type Of Family Therapy Practiced By Agency-Based Social Workers, Betsy Marsh Mccartor, Margaret Labby

Dissertations and Theses

All persons are born into some form of family unit. The traditional family is a unit of people who live together over periods of time and have ties of marriage and kinship. Even if that unit is separated, as in death or adoption, qualities of one’s personhood are closely connected with forebears and parents. Whether for good or bad, the family profoundly affects the individual.

The family is an important unit. Many stresses impinge upon it. The church and extended family are less influential on the family today. The school is less influential. Where does the family turn for support? …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Population Density, Density Related Social Factors, And Physical Morbidities, Douglas King Huebner

Dissertations and Theses

The relationship between the number of persons per room in the home and the relative occurrence of stress-related morbidities of hospitalized patients is investigated. The social factors of age, social class, and level of social support also are examined as they relate to both density and morbidity type occurrence. The population under study is composed of all Kaiser-Permanente Medical Care Program members twenty years of age and older, discharged from Bess Kaiser Hospital during 1974, and whose diagnosed morbidity was included in specific morbidity categories. All data were obtained through the facilities of the Health Services Research Center, Kaiser Foundation …

Role Exits Among The Aged, Nancy Whitelaw Mancini

Dissertations and Theses

The concept of role exit presented by Zena Smith Blau in her book, Old Age in a Changing Society, refers to the ongoing process of relinquishing previously enacted social roles; a process which is part of everyday life for men and women of all ages. However, Blau argues that role exits in later life are different from those in earlier stages of the life cycle because they tend to be terminal and involuntary. These factors, according to Blau, cause role exits in old age to negatively influence the individual's overall satisfaction with life.

This thesis examines the concept of …

The Relationship Between Self-Concept And Responses Of Others During A Marital Crisis, Kathryn Ann Farr

Dissertations and Theses

Symbolic interaction theory indicates that an individual's self-concept is related to the way in which the individual perceives others as responding to him/her. Although this theory is widely accepted in social psychology, it has been given little empirical attention. In this study a typological model was developed in an empirical examination of the relationship between self-concept and responses of others during marital crisis. Self-concept was defined as the organization of qualities (roles, social-psychological feelings) that an individual assigns to himself/herself. Kind of qualities were described, and social-psychological feelings about self were examined on a positive to negative continuum. Responses of …

A Descriptive Study Regarding Perceptions Of Sex Roles In Cooperative Households, Emily Fultz, Billie Huntwork

Dissertations and Theses

The roles of men and women are among the many elements of contemporary American society which are in a process of rapid and sometimes disruptive change. The more or less traditional ways in which men and women have viewed themselves and each other are being openly challenged by a number of significant factors. Although there have always been those exceptional persons who questioned the inevitability of seemingly given role differentiation, today's social climate makes such questioning more common and acceptable.

A few specific factors may be mentioned as being particular interest. With modern communication and mobility, the options for varied …

Maturity Of Adolescent Unwed Mothers, Sarah L. Claiborne

Dissertations and Theses

Adolescence traditionally has been recognized and accepted as a period of exploration of an occasional rebellion against the adult world. Explorations are viewed by behavioral scientists as a quest for identity expansion, and as such, a necessary phase for attaining maturity. Several tasks have been identified which each adolescent must complete if he is to reach maturity. For the present these tasks can be summarized as character formation, attainment of sexual identity, establishment of mature relationships and emancipation from parental control.

Society's attitude towards the rebellion and exploitation of youth is mixed. This confusion seems related to a general breakdown …

Two Delivery System Contexts For The Elderly:The "Institutional" Approach And The "Community" Approach., Mary Sarita Freer

Dissertations and Theses

Theoretically every society has some institutional means which seeks to prevent and alleviate personal misfortune and illness "Institutions are standardized solutions to collective problems." The increasing population rate of older persons, many of whom suffer from chronic diseases and disabilities, does pose a collective problem for society. Formerly, the "institutional" approach developed to address the needs of chronic aging patients and society. Today the "community" approach, by which community service agencies whose goal is to help older adults remain independent of total institutional care by supplying supportive services, is achieving recognition .

This thesis is an exploratory study to assess …

Continuity Of A Traditional Social Pattern: The "Man-Patron" Relationship In Contemporary Northeast Brazil, Patricia Ellen Thorpe

Dissertations and Theses

Northeast Brazil is a region characterized by economic poverty and human misery. Poor ecological conditions contribute to the nature of the dilemma, but another factor in the apparent cultural stagnation of the Northeast, may be the persistence of values and social practices traditionally aligned with the colonial sugar plantation system. Thus, this thesis represents an examination of the continuity of a given pattern, the man/patron relationship. This pattern is a contemporary parallel to the master/slave relationship which was the key to understanding of the social system of the colonial period. An historical overview reveals the nature of the traditional system, …

The Impact Of Coordination By A Child Abuse Committee On Community Services To Battered Children, Grace Jackson Anders, Rebekah M. Burton

Dissertations and Theses

The Child Abuse Committee at the University of Oregon Medical School has assumed a coordinating role as an attempt to provide more effective service to abused children and their families. This research report is a follow up to a 1970 study by Matusak which evaluated the effectiveness of the Committee. The Matusak study seemed to indicate that, because of Committee action resulting in appropriate intervention and services, definite improvement in the situation of the children in the study was seen. This study follows the children from the 1970 study one year later and makes further comparisons of child abuse cases …

Age, Emotional Maturity And The Decision To Marry, Patricia Ann Duclos, David F. Thomas, Joanne Zusman

Dissertations and Theses

The decision to marry and choice of mate are two issues contemplated by most individuals during their lifetime. It is our belief that the manner in which an individual makes these decisions is a reflection of that individual’s level of emotional maturity.

In our society, the right to enter into a marriage agreement is largely determined by chronological age. Our research problem began with the hypothesis that there is no direct relationship between chronological age and emotional maturity at the time of marriage.

For our study, marriages were divided into two general categories: 1) teenage marriages in which at least …

Post-Divorce Visitation Of Minor Children; Development Of A Questionnaire, Viola Cotter, Lorraine Goldenberg, Terry Mcgill

Dissertations and Theses

The present descriptive study was broadly concerned about divorces which have an impact on minor children. It was intended to build on the previous research of Griffith, Hack, Murphy, Wieman, Williams, Van Lydegraf & Glaudin (1970) in describing the relationships between parents and children after divorce. It was the objective of the present research team to come closer to the goal of selecting a representative sample of divorced parents than was possible previously. Moreover, an attempt was made to develop a highly structured questionnaire and interview schedule growing out of the earlier experience with semi-structured interviews. Data to be collected …

A Postulated Alternative To Current Oregon Marital Statute (Ors 106.71): A Frankly Revisionist Analysis Of The Concrete Situation, Ken Jones, Ray Kendall, Jan Nolley, Jill Weeden

Dissertations and Theses

According to the Oregon Marriage statute an applicant for a marriage license must present a physician's statement that he is free from certain mental and physical conditions. When the examining physician is not satisfied that the applicant is free from these conditions, the applicant is referred to the Committee of Three, a special standing committee appointed by the Board of Social Protection for determining whether or not a license to marry should be granted.

In the spring of 1970 such a situation was referred to the committee for its consideration. As a result of the committee's involvement with this applicant, …