Family Science
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2239
Formerly known as the Department of Family Studies.
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Item The Sharing of Family Tasks and Role Strain in the Commuter Marriage(1984) Spruill, Jane Woodley; Anderson, Elaine A.; Family Science; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The purpose of this study was to examine the husband - wife sharing of family tasks and the presence of role strain in a selected sample of commuter marriages. Thirty-nine commuter couples located geographically throughout the United States participated in the study. The mean score of the sharing of family tasks was 2.99 which indicated that family tasks in commuter couples were shared equally. However in examining tasks individually, wives seemed to have more responsibility. The correlation between the length of marriage when the commute began and role strain was significant. The distance of the commute and role strain did not correlate. No significant difference was found among groups based upon how often a couple reunites and how they shared travel time. There was also no significant difference between those individuals with dependent children and those without dependent children, although there was some indication that role strain was higher for individuals with preschool children. It was concluded that commuter couples may be nontraditional in choosing their lifestyle but they still seem somewhat traditional in the sharing of family tasks. An established relationship between spouses is important if a couple is contemplating commuting. The distance of the commute and how often a couple reunites did not seem to affect the level of role strain. Although t he sharing of travel time and the stage of the family life cycle indicated no significant effect on role strain, differences in means indicate t ha t couples may want to consider these factors in making the decision t o commute.Item Strategies Used by African American Fathers to Protect their Children from Community Violence(1999) Letiecq, Bethany L.; Koblinsky, Sally A.; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The purposes of this study were to identify the strategies used by African American fathers to protect their Head Start children from community violence and to examine individual, familial, and community-level predictors of those strategies. There were two phases to the study. In Phase I, three focus groups were conducted with a total of 18 fathers and father-figures residing in targeted Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County, MD neighborhoods to qualitatively identify the protective strategies used by fathers. Content analysis of focus group data revealed twelve general strategies: 1) supervising children; 2) teaching neighborhood/ household safety skills; 3) teaching about real-life violence and its consequences; 4) teaching how to fight back; 5) teaching alternatives to violence; 6) reducing exposure to media violence; 7) confronting troublemakers; 8) keeping to oneself; 9) using prayer and positive thinking; 10) arming family for protection; 11) moving away from bad residential areas; and 12) engaging in community activism. During Phase I, this study also collaborated with an U.S. Department of Education study to develop a new measure, the "Parenting in Violent Neighborhoods Scale." During Phase II, 61 biological and social African American fathers of Head Start children were interviewed by trained African American male interviewers. Using the new quantitative measure developed in Phase I, fathers reported on their frequency of using various strategies to protect children from neighborhood dangers. Correlation matrices and factor analysis were used to refine the measure, producing five subscales of protective strategies. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the best predictors (e.g., psychological well-being, history of violence exposure, parenting practices, social support, and child's sex) of paternal strategies. Fathers were found to employ five major protective strategies: supervise children and teach personal safety; teach home and neighborhood safety; reduce exposure to violent media; arm and protect family; and engage in community activism. Authoritative and permissive parenting practices, depression, and social support predicted use of supervision and teaching personal safety. Authoritative parenting, permissiveness, and depression also predicted father's likelihood of teaching children home and neighborhood safety. Child's sex was the only predictor of "reduce exposure to violent media," with fathers of sons more likely to reduce exposure. Depression and social support were the best predictors of father's likelihood of arming and protecting his family. Lastly, authoritative parenting practices and social support predicted father's engagement in community activism. Implications for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers are discussed.