Family environments of women who return to college

This study investigated various aspects of the impact of family environments when mature married women return to college. Thirty-nine women who had returned to college and their husbands were compared to 39 nonreturnees and their husbands on the Moos Family Environment Scale and the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale. It was found that there were both positive (e.g., intellectual-cultural) and negative (e.g., greater conflict) aspects of family environments of returning women. The findings' implications for counseling such populations of college women are discussed. The need for longitudinal studies in this area to determine the impact on the family created by a woman's return to school is suggested.This research was part of a master's thesis by the senior author.