Date of Award
Spring 5-1-1990
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Department Not Listed
First Advisor
Walter Sullins
Second Advisor
Karl B. Zucker
Third Advisor
John E. Carter
Abstract
This study investigates whether the configuration of family dynamic variables modifies the impact of childhood problems on psychosocial adjustment in late adolescence and early adulthood. Based on the Schwarz and Getter (1980) triple-interaction model, the major hypothesis was that the conjoint effects of a history of adjustment problems in childhood, a dominant cross-sex parent, and high interparental conflict would predict greater problems in later psychosocial adjustment than a history of better adjustment in childhood and/or a family dynamic configuration less likely to elicit sex-role and gender-identity conflicts. Subjects were 61 male and 96 female college students from the University of Connecticut. Dependent variables were obtained from questionnaire measures and represented current psychological adjustment, social adjustment, academic performance, and overall adjustment. Independent (predictor) variables were subject gender, self-reported history of psychological/emotional, academic/learning, or no significant problems in childhood, and two-rater aggregate scores (subject and subject's mother) from questionnaire measures of relative parental dominance, and interparental conflict. Data were analyzed using multiple regression techniques and the results support the hypothesis that family dynamic variables modify the effects of childhood problems on later psychosocial iv adjustment. Though the predicted four-way interaction of childhood history, interparental conflict, relative parental dominance, and subject gender failed to make a significant contribution to the prediction of any of the dependent variables, several significant twoand three-way interactions involving the history variable were found in the analyses of social, academic, and overall adjustment data, as well as an additive effect of history and family dynamic configuration in the analysis of psychological adjustment data. The results thus provide some support for (a) theories of personality development and psychopathology which assume both that long-term psychosocial adjustment is at least partially predicted by adjustment in childhood, and that family dynamic variables play a central role in long-term adjustment; (b) the child-guidance clinic approach common to most traditional treatment programs for maladjusted children; and (c) the utility of configurational models and analyses in studies of family dynamic effects.
Recommended Citation
Dehlavi, Soheila, "Family Dynamic Variables and Continuity of Psychosocial Adjustment from Childhood to Late Adolescence and Early Adulthood" (1990). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3311.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/3311