Date of Award

1989

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

This study sought to determine whether functional Malaysian families differed from functional Caucasian-American families in family environment, parenting style, and marital adjustment, in terms of behavior-rating measures of family problem-solving and self-report measures of family environment and marital adjustment. Variables for the sample of 38 families were assessed using the Family Problem-Solving Behavior Coding System, the Problem-Solving Efficiency Scale, the Beavers-Timberlawn Family Evaluation Scale, the Family Environment Scale, and the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test. Significance was determined by comparing ratings between Malaysian and American families. Malaysian and Caucasian-American families were not significantly different regarding parenting style and family environment variables. A significant difference in parent report of marital adjustment was found between Malaysians and Americans, with Malaysians reporting higher marital satisfaction. It was concluded that the instruments employed in the present study were useful in determining functional family environment, parenting style, and marital adjustment in Malaysian families as well as American families. Implications for theory, practice, and further research were discussed.

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