The California Family Health Project: II. Family world view and adult health.

This article explores the pattern of relationships between family World View and adult Health in a community-based sample of 225 families. Family World View refers to the beliefs, appraisals, and values that define a family's orientation to the world. The interrelationships among eight self-reported family World View variables are described, using principal components analyses (PCA) and multidimensional scaling analyses (MDS). Derived, joint-spouse World Views also are examined using inter-battery factor analysis. The World View variables then are analyzed as a set with 14 self-reported health variables for husbands and wives separately, using canonical correlation. The PCAs for family World View yielded poor solutions for both husbands and wives. The MDS displayed the eight variables in a circular pattern for husbands and for wives, indicating the absence of a single broad dimension, or subgroupings of separate dimensions, that could be used to "describe" the domain. In the canonical analyses, family World View was a strong correlate of Health, with approximately 50% of the variance accounted for by the respective canonical variates. For husbands, what we called Family Coherence, Family Religiousness, Family Life Engagement, and Family Optimism, were correlated with Health. For wives, Family Coherence, Family Religiousness, and Family Optimism, were correlated with Health. Different patterns of health scores emerged by gender, with behavioral indicators, such as Smoking and Drinking, more salient for husbands, and mood indicators, such as Anxiety and Depression, more salient for wives.     

The California Family Health Project: V. Family problem solving and adult health.

This article explores the relationship between family Problem Solving and the Health of adults in a community-based sample of 225 families. Family Problem Solving refers to the ways in which the family conducts itself to resolve a shared problem. Sixteen observer ratings of family Problem-Solving behavior during a 30-minute task were developed, based on the Simulated Family Activity Measure (SIM-FAM), and good interrater agreement was achieved. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) yielded a set of three well-constructed, interpretable dimensions: Problem-Solving Effectiveness, Problem-Solving Style, and Sociomotor Activity. Multidimensional scaling analyses (MDS) suggested that family problem-solving behavior involved an organized, means-end sequence of family behaviors in which aspects of style served problem-solving effectiveness. All 16 Problem-Solving variables were analyzed with a set of 14 health variables, for husbands and wives separately, using canonical correlation. No subset of Problem-Solving variables was significantly associated with a subset of Health variables for either husbands or wives, although there was a significant association between the two sets of variables when taken as a whole. Given previous research on family Problem Solving, we conclude that the absence of significant associations between particular aspects of family Problem Solving and Health may be due to our use of a community-based rather than a stressed or clinical sample. Associations between Family Problem Solving and Health might best be viewed in the context of other family variables.     

The California Family Health Project: VII. Summary and Integration of Findings

In a series of reports, we have observed the relationships between four domains of family life (World View, Emotion Management, Structure/Organization, Problem Solving), and the health of husbands and wives in a community-based sample of 225 families. In this final article of the series, we provide an overview and summary of the results, by gender, including the structure and patterning of variables both within each family domain and among all four family domains analyzed together. In addition, we review the associations between each family domain and adult health (unidomain analyses), and among all four family domains taken together and adult health (multidomain analyses). Prominent differences in family and health relationships based on gender are described from the perspective of socially and culturally supported sex-role expectations and behavior. The results support the use of a multidimensional family assessment framework in health research that can lead to the further development of empirically based models of family process.     

The California Family Health Project: VI. Multidomain Analyses

The preceding articles in this series have reported associations between each of four domains of family variables (World View, Emotion Management, Structure/Organization, Problem Solving) and the Health of adults in a community-based sample of 225 families. In this article, we explore the relationships among all four family domains (73 variables) and between all four family domains and adult Health. The results of both principal components and multidimensional scaling analyses suggested the viability of the four-family-domain framework. As expected, the pattern of relationships among the variables in each family domain was maintained when Health was added to the analyses. Using multidimensional scaling analysis, we also found that the relationship between some family domains and Health changed when viewed in the context of the other family domains. These shifts suggested the importance of family context on the relationship of that family domain and Health. Family World View and Emotion Management maintained their relationships with Health; family Structure/Organization shifted relatively moderately; and Problem Solving shifted substantially. Family World View and family Emotion Management may be relatively more independent in their relation to family member health than family Structure/Organization and Problem Solving.     

The California Family Health Project: III. Family emotion management and adult health.

This article explores the broad patterning of interrelationships between family Emotion Management and adult Health in a community-based sample of 225 families. Emotion Management refers to how emotion is expressed, acknowledged, and managed by the marital partners. Fifteen reliable-observer ratings of husband-wife behavior were made during each of three 10-minute Emotion Management Interaction Tasks (EMITs). Each of the three tasks "pulled" for the expression of a different emotional theme: loss, intimacy, or conflict. A principle components analysis of the 15 ratings yielded a poor solution. A nonmetric, multidimensional scaling analysis described a two-dimensional, bipolar display with ordering among the variables in each of two wings. One dimension reflected positive versus negative Emotion Management characteristics, and the second reflected active and overt versus passive or covert emotional expression. The pattern of relationships among the couple ratings was similar for each of the three tasks. Using canonical correlation, the couple ratings demonstrated significant associations with 14 adult Health scores for both husbands and wives for the intimacy and conflict tasks, but not for the loss task. Specific gender patterns also emerged. In general, couple overt emotional aversiveness was negatively associated with husbands' health, and couple emotional avoidance/distance was negatively associated with wives' health.     

Explaining the Sense of Family Coherence Among Husbands and Wives: The Israeli Case

ABSTRACT

This study examined variables belonging to the family environment that explain the sense of family coherence among husbands (n = 133) and wives (n = 133) in Israel. Specifically, the explanatory variables tested were spousal power relations (as expressed in equality in the division of household labor and decision making), and perceived family conflict. In general, the sense of family coherence among spouses was found to be high. Perceived family conflict contributed to explaining the sense of family coherence for both husbands and wives. Equality in the division of household labor and in decision making had a greater impact on husbands than wives. Family coherence correlated negatively with age for husbands and positively with income for wives. The explanatory variables had a greater impact on the sense of family coherence among husbands than among wives.     

An Empirically Derived Typology of Families: I. Relationships with Adult Health

In this report we describe the development and partial validation of an empirically derived typology of families based on 11 family variable composites derived from the California Family Health Project. Our goal was to use the typology to condense and integrate the findings from previous analyses of a large group of family variables and to account for differences in the self-reported health of adult family members. Exploratory and confirmatory cluster analyses conducted separately by gender classified 97% of the sample into four parallel types for husbands and wives: Balanced, Traditional, Disconnected, and Emotionally Strained. A 1-way MANOVA indicated that all 11 family variable composites significantly differentiated the four family types for husbands and wives. Significant differences among the four family types were also found on 10 demographic and other family variables, using ANOVA. Using MANOVA, we compared the four family types on 12 self-reported health and well-being variables by gender. Both husbands and wives from Balanced and Traditional families reported higher health scores than spouses from Disconnected and Emotionally Strained families, but no single profile of health scores was unique to a particular family type. The four family types provide an integrated and comprehensive framework for describing the family in health research.     

Psychosocial and Life Stress Characteristics of Navy Families: Family Environment Scale and Life Experiences Scale Findings

This study examined the combined responses of husbands and wives within 785 Navy families on five subscales from the Moos and Moos (1981) Family Environment Scale (FES) and from the Life Experiences Scale (LES), a measure of life stress developed by Sarason, Johnson, and Siege1 (1978). Respondents were from the U.S. Navy Atlantic Submarine Fleet, Surface Fleet, Air Wing, and Shore Duty Commands. Major findings indicated that FES subscale means for Navy families compared favorably with national normative data reported by Moos and Moos (1981), and FES scores were not affected by the sailors' point in the deployment cycle or type of command assignment. In contrast, LES scores were significantly related to command assignment and point in the deployment cycle, with significantly lower levels of life stress reported for those sailors and wives assigned to shore duty. Finally, level of life stress was significantly related to family environment characteristics, with higher life stress families reporting lower levels on FES subscales of Cohesiveness, Expressiveness, and Organization, and higher levels on Family Conflict.     

Dyadic Examination of the Influence of Family Relationships on Life Satisfaction at the Empty-Nest Stage

The aim of this study on determinants of life satisfaction in adulthood was to test actor–partner interdependence models among couples in the phase of the family life cycle following the departure of their children from the parental home. Using structural equation modeling, measures of family relationships, such as a person’s own and his/her partner’s marital adjustment, the amount of contact with children (and grandchildren, if applicable), and being a grandparent or not, served as independent variables to predict each partner’s satisfaction with life. A sample comprising 102 couples (of which 58 couples had grandchildren), all at the empty-nest stage, participated in the study. Results revealed that, for both husbands and wives, the effects of their own marital adjustment and the amount of contact with their adult children on their satisfaction with life were significant. A partner effect was also confirmed between wives’ marital adjustment and their husbands’ satisfaction with life. Furthermore, although being a grandparent did not predict higher life satisfaction for the whole sample of couples, the path between the amount of contact with grandchildren and life satisfaction was significant for the subsample of women who were grandmothers. Results are discussed in terms of the needs filled by these family relationships.     

A common factor in the MMPI scales of married couples.

Using canonical analysis, a common factor in the MMPI scales of husbands and wives was found. The Sc, Pd, and Hs scales for both the husbands and the wives contributed heavily to the relationship. Other scales contributing to the correlation between the personality components of the pairs were F, Hy Pt, and Si for the husbands and Pa for the wives. The results were interpreted as indicating areas of homogeneity and heterogeneity in the personalities of married couples.     

The Crossover of Work‐Family Conflict From One Spouse to the Other1

In a secondary analysis of data from 220 women serving in the U.S. Air Force and their spouses, we examined the effects of job and family stressors on work‐family conflict (WFC) and family‐work conflict (FWC), focusing on the crossover of these experiences from one spouse to the other. We found positive relationships of WFC with both job and family stressors for wives and with job stressors for husbands. We also found that job and family stressors predicted FWC for wives, but not for husbands. Furthermore, spouse's support buffered the relationship between one's job stressors and the experience of WFC for wives but accelerated these relationships for husbands. Our findings support the bidirectional crossover of WFC from one spouse to another.     

Predictors of Family Functioning Among Clergy and Spouses: Influences of Social Context and Perceptions of Work-Related Stressors

We wished to identify predictors of family functioning from models including perceptions of stresses associated with mobility, financial compensation, intrusiveness to family boundaries, expectations on time demands, and the lack of social support. Data were collected from 136 randomly selected couples from six denominations in which husbands were clergy. Participants completed a survey that included the Clergy Family Life Inventory which assessed perceptions of five work-related stressors and the Self Report Measure of Family Functioning scale which measured 12 dimensions of family functioning. Separate regression models were tested for husbands and wives and these analyses indicated that no single stressor seemed influential for all 12 dimensions of family functioning. However, for both husbands and wives, family boundary intrusiveness, lack of social support, and mobility stresses influenced their competence in numerous areas of family functioning. In addition, husbands and wives experienced similar effects of stress among several dimensions of family functioning (e.g. enmeshment, family organization, democratic family atmosphere expressiveness).     

Predicting Gender Role Ideology Among Husbands and Wives in Israel: A Comparative Analysis

In this study, differences in gender role ideology among middle-aged husbands (n=126) and wives (n=126) in Israel were examined. In addition, the contribution of several sets of variables were tested to predict gender role ideology. The sets of variables were background variables (personal background, education/employment, family variables), personality traits (self-esteem, tolerance for ambiguity), spouse's gender role ideology, and life satisfaction. The findings indicate that husbands have more traditional gender role ideology than their wives, even though the correlations between spouses were moderate and significant. In addition, the variables were found to contribute more significantly to predicting the gender role ideology of wives than of husbands. For both partners, self-esteem was the most significant predictor. Moreover, one partner's gender role ideology was found to affect the other partner's ideology. Education/employment and some personal background variables were significant predictors of wives' gender role ideology, whereas life satisfaction predicted gender role ideology only for husbands.     

Comparing the second-order factor structure of the Family Environment Scale across husbands' and wives' perceptions of their family environment.

The Family Environment Scale (Moos & Moos, 1986) is one of the most widely used environmental measures in clinical and family research. Clinicians and researchers often use the FES for comparing spouses' perceptions of their family environment, under the assumption that the underlying structure of the FES is the same for husbands and wives. However, no studies have actually compared the structure of the FES across spouse responses to the FES. Additionally, a review of the literature generally suggests a lack of consensus regarding the factor structure of the FES. Using confirmatory factor analyses, we examined whether the second-order factor structures of the FES, as identified in the literature, were consistent across spouses' perceptions of their family environment. Husbands and wives in 130 nonclinical families responded to Form R of the FES. The findings supported the two-factor solution presented by Fowler (1981) and by Boake and Salmon (1983), and did not differ across responses by husbands and wives. In contrast, responses by husbands and wives to the FES could not be modeled using the three-factor solutions presented by Moos and Moos (1986) and by others. The importance of using a measure that is structurally the same across different groups of respondents is discussed.     

Family Business-Owning Couples: An EFT View into Their Unique Conflict Culture

This study expands the understanding of business-related tensions within business-owning couples through an interdisciplinary literature review, through a longitudinal data analysis, and through application of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to a case study. Business-owning husbands and wives in this study reported that conflicts related to work/family life balance and unfair distribution of resources (money, time, energy) between family and business systems create the greatest tensions. Low family functionality, wives' role dissatisfaction, transfer of resources from family to business, and husbands' identification of wives as major decision makers were all predictors of wives' higher tension levels. Husbands reported increased tension when wives worked more hours in the business. Three elements of EFT are applied to a family business couple.     

Double challenges: How working from home affects dual-earner couples’ work-family experiences

Against the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic, we draw on family systems theory to elucidate how daily work-from-home status (WFH) affects both members in dual-earner couples. We propose that the WFH exerts intra-individual and inter-individual influences on employees’ and their partners’ work task and family task completion and their subsequent reactions to their work and family experiences. We examined the hypothesized relationships with two daily survey studies on dual-earner couples conducted during the pandemic (i.e., 1,559 daily responses of 165 dual-earner couples from China in Study 1, and 773 daily responses of 57 dual-earner couples from South Korea in Study 2). The two studies provide converging results that working from home (vs. office) increased employees’ family task completion for both husbands and wives and that wives working from home (vs. office) decreased husbands’ family task completion. Further, in both studies, daily work task completion increased felt guilt toward family (for wives only) through increased work-family conflict, and daily family task completion increased psychological withdrawal from work through increased family-work conflict for both husbands and wives. Moreover, we found in Study 2 that on days when husbands had flexible work schedule, wives completed more work tasks when working from home (vs. office) and that on days when wives had inflexible work arrangement, husbands completed more family tasks when working from home (vs. office). Across the two studies, there were no clear gender-difference patterns in husbands’ and wives’ work and family experiences.     

A Study of Husbands and Wives from Dual-Career and Traditional-Career Families

Husbands and wives of dual-career families were compared with husbands and wives of traditional-career families on the variables of inner-directedness, self-actualizing values, existentiality, self-regard, and self-acceptance. Also, comparisons between the two sets of couples were made on shared and unshared interests. Our findings indicate that the husbands and wives in our sample of dual-career families do not differ in major ways from our sample of husbands and wives of traditional-career families; however, in every instance of difference, the direction of difference supports the view that husbands and wives of dual-career families are more inner-directed and flexible in applying personal values than husbands and wives of traditional-career families.     

The nature and predictors of the trajectory of change in marital quality for husbands and wives over the first 10 years of marriage.

Four parameters of the trajectory of change in marital quality (initial status as well as linear, quadratic, and cubic patterns of change) were estimated for husbands and wives over the first 10 years of marriage (n = 522 couples at Year 1 and 93 couples at Year 10). Both husbands and wives started their trajectories of change at fairly high levels of marital quality and showed a cubic pattern of change such that marital quality declined fairly rapidly in the early years of marriage, stabilized, and then declined again. Whereas individual-differences variables predicted the initial status of the trajectory, husbands and wives living with only their biological children showed a steeper decline in marital quality than husbands and wives living without children or stepchildren.     

Marital conflict and acculturation among Mexican American husbands and wives

This study examined the relationship between acculturation and multiple dimensions of marital conflict among Mexican American husbands and wives. Participants were 151 husbands and wives who were recruited from a health maintenance organization in northern California and individually interviewed. More acculturated husbands and wives engaged in less avoidance of conflict and were more expressive of their feelings in an argument. Husbands who were more acculturated reported more conflict concerning sex and consideration for the other. Bicultural and more acculturated husbands reported that their wives were more verbally and physically aggressive, compared with mono-Mexican husbands. The findings provide evidence that more acculturated husbands and wives are involved in more direct expressions of conflict in their marriages, compared with less acculturated husbands and wives.