Measuring Marital Satisfaction: A Comparison of the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Satisfaction with Married Life Scale

Marital satisfaction has been psychometrically measured using many different instruments not soundly based on theory. The Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS), consisting of 14 items, is commonly accepted by researchers and practitioners to measure marital satisfaction but was not specifically designed to measure marital satisfaction. The Satisfaction with Married Life Scale (SWML), consisting of five items, is a short scale specifically targeted toward measuring marital satisfaction. An online sample collected from 1,187 couples throughout the United States was used to compare these instruments' correlation (r = .782), factor structures, reliability (SWML, α = .958; RDAS, α = .943), theoretical foundation, and validity. These instruments are on parity with each other when measuring marital satisfaction; however, each instrument yields implications for practitioners and researchers desiring to measure marital satisfaction.     

Developing strategic thinking in senior management

Chief Executive Officers have recently stated that their greatest staffing challenge for the 1990s is the development of strategic leadership in their senior management. In order to do this, it is necessary to identify the substance of strategic thinking, and the capabilities that must be mastered. Writers on strategy have identified six major elements of strategic thinking and these have been organized to reveal the tasks, questions, decisions, and skills that senior executives must acquire in order to lead their organizations strategically. Finally, the article identifies training programme elements which are used by Directors of Manpower Development to develop strategic leadership ability.     

Satisfaction With Family Life Scale

We wanted to present validity and reliability data for the Satisfaction With Family Life (SWFL) scale. This instrument has been successfully used in a variety of family samples and offers a brief, widely applicable tool to measure satisfaction with family life. The SWFL scale, modeled after the Satisfaction With Life scale, was designed to assess an individual's global judgment of family satisfaction, which is theoretically predicted to depend on a comparison of family life circumstances with one's own standards and expectations. The scale consists of five items on a Likert-type scale. Data were collected from parents and adolescents in 15 different family samples that vary across time, place, and culture. Across all samples a consistent unidimensional factor structure was maintained, with Cronbach's alpha ranging from .94 to .79. Evidence of usability, criterion, and construct validity were also established. The SWFL scale consistently distinguishes differences in family satisfaction among samples that would theoretically be predicted to have different levels of family satisfaction. The SWFL scale provides a brief, psychometrically sound, and widely applicable option for measuring satisfaction with family life.     

Positive youth development within a family leisure context: youth perspectives of family outcomes

Although a variety of recreation programs provide valuable settings for youth development and should continue, the home should be considered the first and perhaps the most essential context for positive youth development. Family leisure experiences are purposively or intentionally planned by invested adults (parents) to create and maintain meaningful relationships and provide supportive opportunities for their children to learn skills and develop behaviors that will not only strengthen current family life but ultimately contribute to their overall positive development. The article presents family leisure research from a youth perspective and sets out the implications of the role of home-based core types of leisure that families engage in.     

The School-Based Family: Teachers as Parental Figures for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Ugandan Schools

The purpose of this study was to examine the possible formation of surrogate families within Ugandan schools, especially among orphans who lack positive development opportunities typically provided by parents. This qualitative study sample of 66 Ugandan secondary school students were selected from eight schools in the Mukono district of Uganda. Findings suggest a potentially widespread family formation pattern between students and their teachers. More than 75% of students interviewed self-identified their teacher as family. Some teachers were able to offer orphans and vulnerable children positive developmental assets and were, therefore, identified as family.