Family use of community services in economically stressed rural counties

This study focuses on stresses, coping strategies, and satisfactions of respondents in eight economically distressed rural counties in the state of Washington. An adult sample is divided into two groups: those who indicate specific economic problems and/or are unemployed (n=236) and those who are still employed and do not report specific economic stresses (n=190). Although those with specific economic problems show higher levels of perceived stress and financial dissatisfaction, there are no differences reported in over-all family satisfaction. Results point to the importance of providing specific employment-related community services to family members in these types of communities.Dorothy Z. Price, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164-2010. Her research interests include decision making and consumer behavior. She received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University.Lonnie J. Dunlap, M.A., is a Graduate Research Assistant in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2010. Her research interests include work and family interactions and career development.     

Socioeconomic stress in rural families: Part II from the co-guest editors

Dorothy Z. Price is Professor, Child and Family Studies, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2010. Mari S. Wilhelm is Associate Professor, School of Family and Consumer Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.     

Women's perceived stress and well-being following voluntary and involuntary relocation

This study investigated the relationship between voluntary and involuntary relocation and women's perceptions of stress and amount of control, as well as their satisfaction with personal well-being. Results indicated that involuntary movers felt significantly less control and had lower levels of satisfaction with the relationship with their spouses than did voluntary movers. Educational level and employment status were also explored in relation to the dependent variables. Women with high school/trade school education had significantly higher levels of perceived stress, feelings of less control, and lower levels of satisfaction with family life than women with more education.This paper was supported by the Colorado State University and University of Wyoming Experiment Stations and published as Scientific Series Paper No. 290.Paula P. Makowsky received her M.S. from Colorado State University. She is currently a Counselor, Catholic Social Services, Phoenix, AZ.Alicia Skinner Cook is a Professor, Department of Human Development & Family Studies, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80523. Her research interests include grief and loss issues related to relocation. She received her Ph.D. from Arizona State University.Peggy S. Berger received her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. She is an Associate Professor, Department of Consumer Science & Housing, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80523. Her research interests include socioeconomic issues related to geographic mobility and to gender.Judith Powell received her Ed.D. from Oklahoma State University. She is a Professor, Child & Family Studies, and Head, Department of Home Economics, Division of Home Economics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071. Her research interests include parent-child relations and effects of relocation on families.     

The relation of economic factors to perceived stress in mobile families

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between objective and subjective measures of economic well-being, amount of and satisfaction with control, and perceived stress level of subjects, who have relocated with their families within the past year. Both males and females indicate more stress if their financial condition is worse following the move than before, if their employment status is not satisfying, and when they have little control over their lives and are not satisfied with their level of control. Stress is negatively related to satisfaction with the specific aspects of economic situation studied for both males and females with limited exception.Peggy S. Berger received her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Consumer Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523. Her research interests include socioeconomic issues related to geographic mobility and to gender, and work and family issues.Judith Powell received her Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. She is a Professor of Child and Family Studies, and Head of the Department of Home Economics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071. Her research interests include parent-child relations and effects of relocation on families.Alicia Skinner Cook received her Ph.D. from Arizona State University. She is a Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523. Her research interests include grief and loss issues, family stress, and adjustment to relocation.     

Time demands on families: Is there a bottom line?

As families continue to adapt to interpersonal and marketplace pressures, time available for household production is becoming scarce. The purpose of the study reported here is to explore the utility of regional economic analyses in determining minimal levels of household production as measured in terms of time. The results provide a minimum family time required in the long term of approximately 35 hours per week and a short term requirement of 2 hours per week. Theoretical frameworks used in family science are integrated in the discussion to explain these findings.Pamela N. Olson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Counseling and Family Studies, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131. Her current research interests are family member time-use and families in debt. She completed her Ph.D. at Oregon State University.James J. Ponzetti, Jr. received his Ph.D. from Oregon State University. He is currently an Assistant Professor in Family Studies in the Department of Home Economics, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA 98926. His current research interests include divorce, loneliness, and family planning.Geraldine I. Olson is Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Family Resource Management, College of Home Economics, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97131. She completed her Ph.D. at The Ohio State University and current research interests include family member time-use, assessing managerial activities, and factors which influence the substitution of marketplace goods with household production.     

Parents of adults with developmental disabilities: Age and reasons for reluctance to use another caregiver

Parents of individuals with developmental disabilities differ in their expressed reluctance to use another caregiver depending on their age. Older parents, more than younger parents, reported a reluctance to use another caregiver because of financial reasons and the unavailability of qualified caregivers. The results suggest that elderly parents may be willing to leave their developmentally disabled child with someone else but they require financial assistance and education regarding program quality and availability.Jean L. Engelhardt is a Research Associate of the Family and Child Studies Center, Department of Home Economics and Consumer Sciences, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Her current research is in the area of older parents of developmentally disabled children. Dr. Engelhardt received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Notre Dame.Dr. Lutzer is Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology and an Associate of the Family and Child Studies Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She is currently involved in research on the older parents of developmentally disabled children.Timothy H. Brubaker is Professor and Director of the Family and Child Studies Center, Department of Home Economics and Consumer Sciences, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Dr. Brubaker holds a Ph.D. from Iowa State University and is currently conducting research on the older parents of developmentally disabled children.We express our gratitude to the Family Resource Services Program of the Butler County (Ohio) Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities for their help, and to the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust of Cincinnati for financial support during the writing of this article.     

Stress in two-generation farm and ranch families

Family relations and economic issues may predict stress in two-generation farm families. Marital adjustment, length of time married, income satisfaction, and number of household dependents are examined as predictors of stress for each family member (i.e., separately for each member) using multiple regression analyses. The model is significant for fathers with marital adjustment, length of time married, and income satisfaction significantly contributing to fathers' stress. The model is not significant for mothers, sons, or daughters-in-law; but income satisfaction is significantly related to stress for mothers. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.Support for this research was provided by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station Grant No. MONB00266 and is part of the AES Western Regional Project W-167.Stephan M. Wilson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Studies and is the Director of the Center for Kentucky Children & Families Research, University of Kentucky, 107 Erikson Hall, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0050. His research interests include family stress, rural families, parent-adolescent relations, and adolescent development. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1985.Ramona Marotz-Baden is a Professor, Department of Health and Human Development, Montana State University, Herrick Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717. Her research interests include family stress, work and the family, retirement and succession in family-owned business, and dual-earner families. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1970.David Holloway is the Outreach Coordinator for Aspen Crest Hospital, 1970 East 17th Street, Suite 119, Idaho Falls, ID 83404. His interests include marriage and family therapy, parent-child relations, and family development through the lifespan. He received his M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Montana State University in 1987 and M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Idaho in 1985.     

Perceived stress among nonmetropolitan Utah residents

This article examines relationships between perceived stress and variables such as life events, differential economic satisfaction, health problems, and sociodemographic characteristics among respondents in three nonmetropolitan areas in Utah. The three most predictive factors related to perceived stress are economic satisfaction, life events experienced, and religion. The analysis shows an inverse partial relationship between perceived stress scores and economic satisfaction, and a positive partial relationship between the number of life events and perceived stress. Non-Mormons report higher levels of stress than Mormons. A positive but weak relationship is observed between stress and household size. Weak inverse relationships are observed between stress and a measure of household unemployment, income, and respondent's sex.Richard S. Krannich received his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. He is an Associate Professor of Sociology, and Director of the Institute for Social Science Research on Natural Resources, Utah State University, Logan, UT84322-0730. His research interests include rural development processes, community change, and social responses to natural resource developments.Pamela J. Riley received her Ph.D. from Washington State University. She is currently an Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-0730. Research interests include rural family stress, the impacts of tourism on developing countries, and social aspects of on-farm water management.Ann Leffler is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Program, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-0730. Research interests include nonmetropolitan family stress. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.     

Life satisfaction of young adults reared in low-income Appalachian families

This study examines issues related to the life satisfaction of young adults reared in white, low-income Appalachian families. Data from 38 female and 29 male subjects who participated in a longitudinal study are analyzed qualitatively. Level of global life satisfaction is found to be comparable to that of the general population with the salient domains being: personal, marriage and family, work, and financial concerns. Frames of reference are found to be important in subjective assessments of life satisfaction.This study (NCARS 11171) was supported by the Cooperative State Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Paper No. 10804 of the Journal Series of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, NC 27695-7601. The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance and support of Judith H. Fulbright, NCARS Social Science Research Assistant, University of North Carolina-Greensboro.Elizabeth B. Robertson is a postdoctoral fellow with the Consortium on Human Development, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599. She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Her research interests include parent-child relations and social development.Sarah M. Shoffner is Assistant Professor and Assistant to the Dean, External Relations, School of Human Environmental Sciences, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC 27412-5001. Her research interests include adolescent occupational socialization, especially the effects of employment, lower income rural youth life plans, qualitative methodology, and marital/family communication.     

Domains explaining the life quality of dairy farm couples

The purpose of the study reported here is to identify domains which explain the life quality of dairy farm husbands and wives. A further purpose is to identify domains which would explain life quality when the domain unique to farming is deleted. One hundred sixteen dairy farm couples were interviewed in 1986, when a financial crisis in agriculture had reached the western states. The analysis is done by stepwise regression. Satisfaction with farm work is an important explanation of husbands' and wives' life quality. When farm work is omitted from the equations, satisfaction with self is among important domains explaining life quality.Research reported in this paper was partially funded by the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Utah State University, Logan, UT.Norleen M. Ackerman received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University. She is an Assistant Professor, Department of Home Economics and Consumer Education, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-2910. Her research interests include the well being of farm families, consumer information, and consumer purchase behavior.Glen O. Jensen received his Ph.D. from Utah State University. He is a Professor in the Department of Family and Human Development, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-2905. His research interests include the rural family, teen pregnancy, and marriage enrichment.DeeVon Bailey received his Ph.D. from Texas A & M. He is an Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-3530. His research interests include economic issues related to farm families, agricultural marketing and farm efficiency.     

The effects of child support guidelines: An analysis of the evidence in court records

Court records from four Ohio counties were used to compare child support orders before and after promulgation of federally mandated guidelines in 1987. There was no significant change in probability of Court Ordered Child Support. Amount Ordered in constant dollars increased between 1985 and 1987–88. Variables influencing Court Ordered Child Support differed post-guidelines. Years Married, Attorney for Both and Attorney for Wife were significant in both years. Number of Children, Rural, and Wife's Motions were significant in 1987–88. Variables affecting amount ordered also differed after adoption of the guidelines. Wife Contested, Husband's Motions, Defendant and Plaintiff no longer were significant in 1987–88. Years Married and Payment by Father were significantly related to Amount Ordered in 1985 but not in 1987–88. Number of Children, Expenses Paid, and Number of Assets were significantly related to Amount Ordered in both years.Salaries and research support were provided by state and federal appropriations to the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, and by the Department of Family Resource Management, and The Office of Research and Graduate Studies, The Ohio State University.Kathryn Stafford is Associate Professor, Department of Family Resource Management, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1295. Her research interests include household management and time use. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University.Golden Jackson is Assistant Professor, Department of Family Resource Management, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1295. Her research is primarily in the area of the economic effects of divorce. She received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.Sharon Seiling is Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Family Resource Management, Department of Family Resource Management, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1295. Her research is on the impact of family change, especially divorce, on access to housing and overall financial well-being. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University.     

Financial challenges in remarriage

Remarried couples, especially those with children from a previous marriage, face financial complexities unknown to couples in their first marriages. The few empirical investigations which have explored this feature of stepfamily life have revealed that couples often have a difficult time with the financial functioning aspect of their remarriage. While further research is needed to examine the dynamics of the financial aspects of remarriage, educators and counselors need to begin to help remarried couples to develop management strategies for coping with their unique situations. Recommendations for a workshop are made and resources are listed.Supported in part by Utah State University Vice President for Research. Scientific contribution Number 1480 from the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station.Jean M. Lown received her Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Family Economics and Consumer Studies. Currently Dr. Lown is assistant professor, Department of Home Economics and Consumer Education, UMC-2910, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322.Elizabeth M. Dolan is associate professor, Department of Family and Consumer Studies, Pettee Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824. Drs. Lown and Dolan are collaborating on a research investigation into the dynamics of financial management in remarried families.     

Economic distress and mental health: The role of family coping resources and behaviors

Relationships among economic distress, family coping resources and behaviors, and mental health are examined among a sample of 203 married men and 207 married women. Economic distress is negatively associated with mental health. Although family coping resources are lower among those experiencing economic distress and are generally positively related to mental health, their role as mediators of relationships between economic distress and mental health is limited. Economic distress is positively related to family coping behaviors. However, these behaviors do not have positive relationships with mental health and do not counteract the effects of economic distress on mental health. Some coping resources and behaviors have buffering effects on relationships between economic distress and mental health while others have exacerbating effects.This article is a revision of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, August, 1986. The research was supported by grant 84–164 from the Office of Program Evaluation and Research, Ohio Department of Mental Health. Additional support was provided by the Office of Computing Activities, University of Dayton.Patricia Voydanoff is Director of the Center for the Study of Family Development, University of Dayton. Dr. Voydanoff holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Wayne State University. Her research interests include work and family life and coping with economic distress.Brenda W. Donnelly is a Research Associate at the Center for the Study of Family Development, University of Dayton. Dr. Donnelly received her Ph.D. from the University of Delaware. She is currently conducting research on adolescent childbearing and religion and family life.     

Effects of Spousal Economic and Cultural Factors on Dutch Marital Satisfaction

Using panel data of Dutch first marriages with children (N _{Time 1}=646, N _{Time 2}=386), the relevance of economic and cultural factors in understanding marital satisfaction is examined. The sample was middle-aged and the average marital duration was 17 years (at Time 1). Besides, couples mainly represent single earner and main-earner households. Our results demonstrate that both economic and cultural factors are valid in understanding marital satisfaction. However, whereas cultural characteristics are more important explaining spousal marital satisfaction at Time 1, economic indicators are important predicting change in marital satisfaction. An interaction effect between cultural and economic factors was found as well. Husbands’ familialism moderates the effect of women’s employment on women’s marital satisfaction at Time 1.Ann Van den Troost, Center for Population and Family Research, Department of Sociology, Catholic University of Leuven, Van Evenstraat 2B, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; e-mail: ann.vandentroost@soc.kuleuven.ac.beAd A. Vermulst, Institute of Family and Child Care Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HR, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; e-mail: A. Vermulst@12move.nlJan R.M. Gerris, Institute of Family and Child Care Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HR, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; e-mail: jan.geris@ped.kun.nlKoen Matthijs, Center for Population and Family Research, Department of Sociology, Catholic University of Leuven, Van Evenstraat 2B, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; e-mail: koen.matthijs@soc.kuleuven.ac.beJerry Welkenhuysen-Gybels, Business & Decision Brussels, Belgium; e-mail: jwelkenhuysen@businessdecision.com     

The effects of financial management strategies on quality of family life in remarriage

A conceptualization of financial management behavior in remarriage forwarded by Fishman (1983) is refined and used to study 91 remarried couples. Couples are categorized into three financial management strategy groups: those having only joint accounts, only separate accounts, and a combination of joint and separate accounts. The different groups' demographic characteristics and satisfaction and happiness regarding family life are compared. Overall few differences between groups are found on the demographic characteristics, and no differences are found on satisfaction or happiness. Her research interests are in remarriage and stepfamily relationships, fathering postdivorce, and stress and coping in adolescents. She received her Ed.D. from Indiana University. He received his M.S. degree in Human Development and Family Studies at Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80523. His research interests include factors affecting adjustment in remarriage and multiple remarriages and problem solving and creativity in families. before her death in December 1993. Her research interests were financial management and families in transition. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.     

Adaptation to unemployment: Effects of a mine closure on husbands and wives

The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of how individuals/couples respond to the unemployment of the primary breadwinner. Data were collected from 66 individuals (33 couples) shortly after becoming unemployed and again one year later. Results determined that the significant predictor variables of economic satisfaction, marital adjustment, and depression were primarily economic, marital, and emotional variables, respectively. Findings also showed that interaction existed among economic, marital, and emotional variables in predicting the three well-being outcomes. Additionally, differences were found in the pattern of results for husbands and for wives. Based on these findings, areas and hypotheses for future study are proposed.Carl A. Ridley received his Ph.D. from Florida State University. He is a Professor in the Division of Child Development and Family Relations, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. His research interests include relationships and conflict management.Mari S. Wilhelm received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University. She is an Assistant Professor in the School of Family and Consumer Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. Her research interests include financial management, socio-economic stress, financial stress and problems.     

Relationships between marital quality,social, and familial interactions by residential location: Implications for human service professionals

Gerontological literature is reviewed concerning the factors contributing to marital quality of later life couples. Data are presented which compare the marital quality of older couples residing in a retirement facility and elderly couples living in the community-at-large. The couples' interactions with friends and frequency of visits with children are examined in terms of the relationship between these variables and marital quality of the subjects. Implications for practice are discussed.Ellie Brubaker is Associate Professor of Sociology at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Dr. Brubaker holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from the Ohio State University. Her current research is in the area of social service delivery to older families.Linda Ade-Ridder is Assistant Professor in the Department of Home Economics and Consumer Sciences and an associate of the Family and Child Studies Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Dr. Ade-Ridder received her Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Living at the Florida State University in 1983. Her current research is being conducted on the roles of women, including women in older marriages and eating disorders in women.     

Differences in allocation of family time spent on household tasks among single-parent,one-earner,and two-earner families

The purpose of this study is to use analysis of covariance to examine variations in time use among single-parent, one-earner, and two-earner families and to assess the effects of two covariates, Age of the Younger Child and Hours of Employment of the Homemaker, on total family time spent on household tasks. Data were collected from 81 single-parent and 210 two-parent California households using a questionnaire, time chart, and personal interviews. The greatest discrepancy between single-parent and two-parent families is that single-parent families spend significantly less time than two-parent families on Maintenance of the home and yard and on Nonphysical Care (social interaction with family members). One-earner families spend almost as much time as two-earner families on Nonphysical Care, but only when Secondary Time is included. Two household activities, Clothing Care and Management, are not affected by either family type or the covariates.This study utilized data from USDA Regional Research Project NE-113, An Urban-Rural Comparison of Families' Time Use.Jeanne M. Hilton is an Assistant Professor of Family Economics and Management, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557. She received her Ph.D. from Oregon State University. Her current research interests include work and family issues within the context of family structure.     

Home-based employment: Historical and current considerations

The purposes of this article are threefold. First, there is a brief review of current and historical research on home-based business with special emphasis on female home-based employment and the impact of such employment on family life. Second, a conceptual model for family work activities is advanced. Finally, concepts related to home-based employment that could be used to frame and describe the empirical study are specified.This article reports results from the Cooperative Regional Research Project, NE-167, entitled At-Home Income Generation: Impact on Management, Productivity and Stability in Rural/Urban Families, partially supported by the Cooperative States Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Experiment Stations at the University of Hawaii, Iowa State University, Lincoln University (Missouri), Michigan State University, Cornell University (New York), The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania State University, Utah State University, and the University of Vermont.Her research interests include measuring household production, at-home income generation, and rural families. She received her Ph.D. in Family and Consumer Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.Her research interests include home-based business and consumer behavior. She received her Ph.D from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.Her research interests include consumer behavior and family economic issues. She received her Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.     

Toward working hypotheses of effective management: Conditions,thought processes,and behaviors

The purpose of this article is to develop a set of working hypotheses about the conditions, thought processes, and behaviors that define managerial effectiveness. The Deacon and Firebaugh model of managerial behavior is extended to form the basis for the hypotheses developed. The overall hypothesis is that differences in managerial effectiveness are specifically linked to the timing, completion, frequency, and duration of particular thoughts and actions performed by the manager that are focused on the allocation of resources to meet value-based goals and events. If it is assumed that meeting demands is an appropriate measure of managerial effectiveness, then validation of the hypotheses, the next logical step, can occur by correlating the conditions, processes, and behaviors thought to represent managerial effectiveness with objective and subjective measures of demand responses.An earlier version of this paper was discussed at the annual meeting of North Central Region Project 116, Family Resource Management, April 20–21, 1982, Columbus, OH.Deanna L. Sharpe is Assistant Professor, Department of Consumer Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. Her research interests are focused on the effective allocation and use of time and money through the family life cycle. She received her Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1988.Mary Winter is Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011. Her research interests include family resource management in the U. S. and Mexico. She received her Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University in 1970.