Fathers' coping strategies and family environment when college freshmen leave home

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Cheryl Mann Callahan (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Nancy White

Abstract: The purposes of this study were (a) to study the family environment, as perceived by the father before and after the college freshman leaves home; (b) to explore the extent to which fathers employ coping strategies as they make the transition into a new family phase; (c) to assess whether exposure to a parent orientation program explains changes in family environment and coping strategies; and (d) to assess whether the sex of the child entering college explains changes in family environment and coping strategies. Questionnaires were mailed to a systematically random sample of fathers of entering freshmen intending to live in the residence halls of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the Fall of 1986. The final sample who volunteered to participate consisted of 143 white fathers who were mailed posttest questionnaires 6 to 8 weeks after their child left home. Independent variables were sex of child, distance from UNCG, size of community, birth order of child entering UNCG, father's educational level, and attendance at Step Ahead—a parent orientation program. Dependent variables were difference scores (posttest-pretest) on six subscales of the Family Environment Scale (FES) and the total score on the Family Coping Strategies Scale (F-COPES). Statistical procedures used were t tests and multiple regression.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 1987
Subjects
Fathers $x Research
Father and child $x Research
Families $x Research

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