Rural Montanans attitudes toward child rearing education, social life and recreation
by Donna Rogers Herdina
Montana State University
© Copyright by Donna Rogers Herdina (1976)
Abstract:
Attitudes toward child rearing, education, social life and recreation were investigated in a random
sample of rural Montanans. Respondents were 134 males and 198 females age 18 or older who lived in
12 randomly selected counties, representing all six geographic regions of the state. The survey
instrument included data related to the above elements and to personal background information.
Males, those who were older, Protestants, those with larger numbers of children, and those with less
extensive education appeared to be more authoritarian in their child rearing attitudes. Mean scores for
the sample revealed generally positive attitudes toward education; no personal variables significantly
effected this finding. Income and level of education were found to have a significant influence on
social satisfaction. Social interaction was significantly effected by sex, marital status, church
attendance, number of children, and children between the ages of 0-17 living in the home. STATEMENT OF PERMISSION- TO COPY
In presenting th is th e sis in p a r tia l f u lf illm e n t o f the
requirements fo r an advanced degree a t Montana State U n iv e rs ity , I
agree th a t the L ib ra ry s h a ll make i t fre e ly a v a ila b le fo r in sp e ctio n .
I fu r th e r agree th a t permission fo r extensive copying o f th is th e sis
fo r s c h o la rly purposes may be granted by my major p ro fe s s o r, o r,
in his absence, by the D ire c to r o f L ib ra rie s .
I t is understood th a t
any copying o r p u b lic a tio n o f th is th e sis fo r fin a n c ia l gain sh a ll
not be allowed w ith o u t my w ritte n perm ission.
Si g'natu r e
,
r
RURAL MONTANANS' ATTITUDES TOWARD CHILD REARING
EDUCATION, SOCIAL LIFE AND RECREATION
DONNA ROGERS HERDINA
A th e sis submitted in p a r tia l f u lf illm e n t
o f the requirements fo r the degree
'
MASTER OF SCIENCE
in
Home Economics
Approved:
Chairperson, Graduate Committee
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bozeman, Montana
June, 1976
/
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
For his pro fe ssio n a l competency, w illin g n e s s to fr e e ly give
o f his tim e , and moral support, I fe e l very indebted to my Committee
Chairman, Dr. Robert W. Lind.
Special thanks are extended to
Dr. M a rjo rie B. K eiser, D ire c to r o f Home Economics, Dr. Howard
Busching, and Dr. John Schneider fo r t h e ir h e lp fu l assistance on
the Graduate Committee.
Enough a p p re cia tio n cannot be extended to my husband fo r his
lo ve , patience , and encouragement during th.e past months o f prepara­
tio n .
My accomplishments, to a larg e e x te n t, are due to h is support.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................
vi
v ii
ABSTRACT................ .
CHAPTER
I
INTRODUCTION
............................
. . .
P ro b le m ............................................ .
4
H y p o th e s e s ................ .......................
5
D e fin itio n
6
. . . . . . . . . . .
L im ita tio n s and D e lim ita tio n s . .
II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
........................
H is to ry o f C hild Rearing P ractices
Ill
8.
9
9
C hild Rearing Studies ....................
15
METHODOLOGY ............................................
22
Sampling Procedure
IV
I
........................
22
Method o f C o lle c tin g Data . . . .
23
A nalysis o f Data
25
............................
....................
27
D e scrip tio n o f Sample ....................
27
Examination o f Data ........................
29
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
V
CHAPTER
V
Page
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..........................
57
Summary ............................................................................................ 57
Conclusions . . . ..........................................................................60
Recommendations .........................................................................
62
REFERENCES . ........................................................................................................ 66
APPENDIX................................................................................................................ 71
vi
'
LIST OF TABLES .
TABLE
Page
1.
D e scrip tio n o f S am ple..................................................................
2.
C o rre la tio n M a trix
3.
C o rre la tio n o f Personal V ariables ............................................
4.
C o rre la tio n o f Social In te ra c tio n
w ith Use. o f T e le p h o n e ................................................................... 49
5.
Components o f S ocial In te ra c tio n
and Social S a t is f a c t io n ........................ ....................................... 52
6.
M a trix o f Social In te ra c tio n
and Social S a tis fa c tio n ............................ ................................... 54
28
.................... ................................................... 30
I
31
v ii
ABSTRACT
A ttitu d e s toward c h ild re a rin g , education, s o c ia l l i f e and
re c re a tio n were in v e s tig a te d in a .random sample o f ru ra l Montanans.
Respondents were 134 males and 198 females age 18 or o ld e r who liv e d
in 12 randomly selected cou nties, representing a ll s ix geographic
regions o f the s ta te . The survey instrum ent included data re la te d
to the above elements and to personal background in fo rm a tio n .
Males, those who were o ld e r, P ro te s ta n ts , those w ith la rg e r
numbers o f c h ild re n , and those w ith less extensive education appeared
to be more a u th o rita ria n in t h e ir c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s . Mean
scores f o r the sample revealed g e n e ra lly p o s itiv e a ttitu d e s toward
education; no personal va ria b le s s ig n if ic a n tly e ffe c te d th is fin d in g .
Income and le v e l o f education were found to have a s ig n ific a n t
in flu e n c e on so cia l s a tis fa c tio n . Social in te ra c tio n was s i g n i f i ­
c a n tly e ffe c te d by sex, m a rita l s ta tu s , church attendance, number
o f c h ild re n , and c h ild re n between the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the
home.
CHAPTER I
• INTRODUCTION
The fa m ily as the basic s o cia l u n it o f our s o c ie ty is the
in s t it u t io n in which the e a r lie s t s o c ia l and psychological develop­
ment o f the c h ild occurs (Sears, Maccoby, & Levin, 1957; P h o tia d is 5
1964; Salk & Kramer, 1969; S c h la te r, 1970; K e lle y , 1974).
I t has
been stated th a t the c h ild learns in his e a rly yea rs, patterns o f
behavior and emotional response th a t w i l l be his fo r the re s t o f his
life
(K e lle y , 1974).
In oth er words, the kind o f home in which the
c h ild receives tra in in g in these e a rly years w i l l determine in large
p a rt the kind o f in d iv id u a l he w i l l become.
In the pa st, b e lie fs concerning c h ild re a rin g have u s u a lly had
a strong parental o r ie n ta tio n ; parents reared th e ir c h ild re n according
to t h e ir own needs and values as parents ( M ille r & Swanson, 1968).
Rapidly o ccu rrin g so cia l change, however, is re s u ltin g in a tr a n s itio n
in c h ild care ( P h o tia d is , 1964; R itc h ie & K o lle r, 1964; M ille r &
Swanson, 1968; LeMasters, 1970).
Working mothers, fo r example, may
have to r e ly on persons outside o f the fa m ily fo r help in caring fo r
the c h ild .
The c h ild , as a r e s u lt, becomes subjected to a set o f
values d iffe r e n t from those o f his parents.
Pre-schools and/or day
care centers introduce the c h ild to d iffe r e n t parent models w ith
d iffe r e n t values.
Social organ ization s in the community (church,
2
school o rg a n iza tio n s,, e t c . ) may also in flu e n c e the c h ild 's s o c ia li­
z a tio n .
Due to te ch n o lo g ica l advances parents may have more time to
in v o lv e themselves in le is u re and s o c ia l a c t iv it ie s , thereby acquainting
t h e ir c h ild re n w ith a v a rie ty o f circumstances.
Rural and urban people a lik e are being e ffe c te d by the so cia l
changes going on in the United States (R itc h ie & R o lle r, 1964).
According to LeMasters (1970), however, ru ra l parents are in a more
d i f f i c u l t p o s itio n than urban parents.
Farm children.-a.reJxejjig
subjected more and more to urban values and_the_..urban__wav o f l i f e,
.in cre a sin g so c ia l distance betw eenjjiem^and__±h.eic__p.a.ren±s.
Many
farm parents are having to prepare t h e ir child re n fo r a more urban
w o rld ; a world they r e a lly do not understand themselves.
Kelley
(1974) s ta te d :
Z The basic economic u n ity and interdependence charact e r i s t i c o f the tr a d itio n a l farm fa m ily no longer hold
\ fa m ily members to g e th e r. School, church, and community,
4 tog eth er w ith economic fa c to rs , peer groups, te le v is io n
/ and mass media, and re c re a tio n a l a c t iv it ie s , p u ll the
fa m ily in many d iffe r e n t d ire c tio n s (p. 536).
( .
Economic, te c h n o lo g ic a l, and po pulation changes ta kin g place
in ru ra l America may o ffe r an e xp lana tion.
I t has been stated th a t
"Only the w ell-educated, w e ll-fin a n c e d farm youth can hope to survive
in the a g ric u ltu ra l w orld o f tomorrow ( LeMasters, 1970, p. 201)."
R ising costs o f land and machinery have made i t very d i f f i c u l t fo r
people to engage themselves in a g ric u ltu re .
The mechanization o f
3
the farm has also been a fa c to r in the d e clin e o f the American
popula tion engaged in a g ric u ltu re ^ (LeMasters, 1970).
Parents re a rin g
th e ir c h ild re n on a farm may re a liz e the hardships t h e ir ch ild re n
could face i f they were to fo llo w in th e ir parents' fo o ts te p s .
Raising c h ild re n according to pa ren ts' own needs and values may not
n e ce ssa rily prepare c h ild re n fo r a kind o f l i f e d iffe r e n t from th e ir
own.
A popula tion s h i f t is also ta k in g place.
In 1974s more
people moved to ru ra l areas than moved out (Rodale3 1975).
This
does not mean th a t, people are moving to the farm , but i t does mean
they are moving to more sparsely populated areas.
The impact o f
g re a te r numbers o f people a ll w ith d iffe r e n t values and l i f e s ty le s
may have an e ffe c t on the ru ra l fa m ily .
A s ig n if ic a n t p o rtio n o f Americans liv e in ru ra l s e ttin g s
even though the re has been a d e clin e in the percentage o f the popu­
la tio n engaged in a g ric u ltu re .
Nationw ide3 20 per cent o f the popu­
la tio n liv e in such areas; in Montana 46 per cent (323,733) o f the
to ta l p o p u la tio n has been reported as being ru ra l (Johnson, 1974).
L i t t l e research, however, has been done in v o lv in g ru ra l fa m ily l i f e
s ty le s , p a r tic u la r ly in the ru ra l west.
I f the changes ta kin g place
in ru ra l America are e ffe c tin g the fa m ily i t seems e sse n tia l th a t
we le a rn what these e ffe c ts are and the a ttitu d e s o f those involved.
4
I t is im portant th a t we t r y to is o la te in d iv id u a ls ' a ttitu d e s
regarding fa m ily l i f e .
Only when the problem areas are id e n tifie d
can help be given to deal more e ffe c tiv e ly w ith our changing socia l
system.
In the coming decades, many issues o f concern to in d iv id u a ls
and fa m ilie s w i l l re q u ire new knowledge about the in te rre la tio n s h ip s
between man and his physical and s o c ia l environment (S c h la te r5
1970).
I t seems th a t the a v a ila b ilit y and q u a lity o f education and
so cia l and re c re a tio n a l resources would help to enrich fa m ily l i f e .
I t is necessary to discover what people be lie ve about education and
about th e ir so cia l and re c re a tio n a l l i f e before we can assess th e ir
needs w ith any degree o f accuracy.
I f outside so cia l forces have an e ffe c t on the fa m ily , a lte rin g
basic goals and values, the c h ild w i l l also be e ffe c te d .
C hildren in tod ay's America grow up w ith o u t the comfort
and support o f a s in g le , u n ifie d , and c o n s is te n t value
system. . . . Any problem which faces the c h ild may
be solved d if f e r e n t ly by h is peers, by his parents,
and by his teachers, to name ju s t th re e . . . This
s itu a tio n puts great importance on our need to
know. . . how community l i f e a ffe c ts fa m ily l i f e
and fa m ily l i f e a ffe c ts community l i f e ( K e rc k o ff,
1961, p. 9 ).
Problem
The purpose o f th is study was to determine the a ttitu d e s ru ra l
Montanans have toward c h ild re a rin g , education, and s o c ia l l i f e and
5
re c re a tio n ; to measure the c o rre la tio n s o f the a ttitu d e s w ith one
another, and also w ith c e rta in selected personal v a ria b le s ; and
to discuss these fin d in g s .
Hypotheses
The fo llo w in g s p e c ific hypotheses were chosen fo r the study
1.
There is a s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip between a ttitu d e s toward
c h ild re a rin g and a ttitu d e s toward:
a.
b.
2.
education
so cia l l i f e and re cre a tio n
There is a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip between a ttitu d e s toward
c h ild re a rin g and the personal v a ria b le s o f:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
sex
age
m a rita l status
income
;
r e lig io n
;
church attendance
number o f c h ild re n
c h ild re n between the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the home
c h ild re n 18 and over liv in g in the home
le v e l o f education
3.
There is a s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip between a ttitu d e s toward
education and a ttitu d e s toward s o c ia l l i f e and re c re a tio n .
4.
There is a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip between a ttitu d e s toward
education and the personal v a ria b le s o f:
a.
b.
- c.
• d.
e.
f.
g.
sex
age
m a rita l status
income
r e lig io n
church attendance
number o f c h ild re n
6
h.
i.
j.
5.
c h ild re n between the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the home
c h ild re n 18 and over liv in g in the home
le v e l o f education
There is a s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip between a ttitu d e s toward
so cia l l i f e and re c re a tio n and the personal v a ria b le s o f:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
sex
age
m a rita l status
income
r e lig io n
church attendance
number o f c h ild re n
c h ild re n between the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the home
c h ild re n 18 and over liv in g in the home
le v e l o f education
D e fin itio n s
For the purposes o f th is study the fo llo w in g d e fin itio n s were
used:
:
R ural:
Farm and non-farm communities w ith a population o f less
than 2,500 people (Gould & Kolb, 1964).
A ttitu d e s toward c h ild r e a r in g : T h e expression o f values and b e lie fs
in r e la tio n to the caretaking o f c h ild re n . These expressions
were re fe rre d to as e ith e r a u th o rita ria n ( t r a d it io n a l) or
democratic ( equali t a r i an).
A u th o rita ria n : The expression o f an a ttitu d e which views
parents p r im a rily as a u th o rity fig u re s in the c h ild re aring
re la tio n s h ip .
T r a d itio n a l: The term w i l l be. used interchangeably w ith
a u th o rita ria n .
Democratic: The expression o f an a ttitu d e which views
c h ild re n as equals in th e ir rig h ts and re s p o n s ib ilitie s as
fa m ily members.
7.
E q u a lita r ian:
dem ocratic.
The term w i l l be used interchangeably w ith
A ttitm d e s toward education: ' The expression o f fe e lin g s in re la tio n
to the e ffe c ts education has upon one's l i f e .
These expressions
range from the p o s itiv e e ffe c ts possessing an education has
upon le is u re time and economic o p p o rtu n ity to c o n f lic t between
education and work.
A ttitu d e s toward so cia l l i f e and re c re a tio n : The expression o f
fe e lin g s w ith regard to s o c ia l in te ra c tio n and s o c ia l s a tis ­
fa c tio n .
S ocial in te ra c tio n : The involvement o f the respondent w ith
r e la tiv e s , frie n d s , and neighbors liv in g in the community.
S ocial s a tis fa c tio n : The expression o f an a ttitu d e in v o lv in g
general frie n d lin e s s o f the community, a sense o f belonging­
ness, and o v e ra ll tone o f fa m ily l i f e .
Age:
Each respondent was placed in one o f s ix age groups:
21-28, 29-35, 36-50, 51-65, over 65.
under 21,
M a rita l s ta tu s : Levels o f response re fe rre d to whether the p a rtic ip a n t
had never m arried, was p re s e n tly married-, divo rced , or widowed.
Incores:
Response le v e ls categorized income as fo llo w s : over $25,000,
'$20,000-$24,999, $15,000-$19,999, $10,000-$14,999, $7,000-$9,999,
$5,000-$6,999, ■$3,000-$4,999, and under $3,000.
R eligpim : The fo u r response le v e ls included Roman C a th o lic , P ro te s ta n t,
another r e lig io n , and no re lig io u s preference.
Churdii attendance: Responses comprised fo u r ca te g o rie s: three or
more times per month, once or tw ice per month, a few times per
. ye a r, and never.
Number o f c h ild re n : Thi,s v a ria b le re fe rs to the to ta l number o f
c h ild re n each respondent had.
C hildren between the ages o f 0-17: The number o f c h ild re n o f th is
age group p re se n tly liv in g in the home.
C hildren 38 and over: The number o f c h ild re n o f th is age group
p re s e n tly liv in g in the home.
8
Level o f education: Categories fo r educational attainm ent are as
fo llo w s : less than eighth grade, completed eighth grade,
completed high school, attended c o lle g e , completed bachelors
degree, colleg e beyond bachelors degree, masters degree,
. doctors degree, fin is h e d business c o lle g e , and fin is h e d trade
school.
L im ita tio n s and D e lim ita tio n s
This study focuses on only a small p o rtio n o f the to ta l study
t i t l e d "Rural Family L ife S tyles in Montana."
The to ta l survey deals
w ith housing and homemaking, m a rita l r o le s ,m a r ita l communication,
fa m ily planning and sex knowledge, c h ild re a rin g , n u tr itio n knowledge, .
consumer knowledge, education, and s o c ia l l i f e and re c re a tio n .
The
number o f q u e stio n s, th e re fo re , p e rta in in g to each o f the areas are
d e lim ite d .
The study is lim ite d by two fa c to r s :
research.
sample s ize and previous
Sample size p ro h ib its the use o f d ir e c t observation which
places lim ita tio n s on the type o f data th a t can. be derived.
Minimal
research p e rta in in g to ru ra l fa m ily l i f e s ty le s in the west lim its
the amount o f in fo rm a tio n from which to b u ild .
CHAPTER I I
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The purpose o f th is study was to determine the a ttitu d e s ru ra l
Montanans have toward c h ild re a rin g , education, and s o c ia l l i f e and
re c re a tio n ; to measure the c o rre la tio n s o f the a ttitu d e s w ith one
another, and also w ith c e rta in selected personal v a ria b le s ; and to
discuss these fin d in g s .
H is to ry o f C hild Rearing P ractices
. . . a study o f c h ild -re a rin g ideas o f the past. . i
can help to make us aware o f the precedents which remain
dynam ically re la te d to our own work in the upbringing
and education o f c h ild re n (Sunley, 1955, p. 151).
E arly A ttitu d e s Toward C hildren
I t is. d i f f i c u l t to imagine th a t in medieval s o c ie ty the idea
I
o f childhood did not e x is t.
That is to say, a c h ild was not d is ­
ting uishe d from an a d u lt (Thompson, 1952; A rie s , 1962; Kessen, 1965;
L e fra n co is , 1973).
a d u lt.
The in fa n t was, in e ffe c t, regarded as a m iniature
He d iffe re d from adults only q u a n tita tiv e ly ( L e fra n c o is, 1973).
Since the in fa n t was too small and f r a g ile to take p a rt in a d u lt
a c t i v i t i e s , he sim ply d id n 't count (A rie s , 1962). .
That c h ild re n were viewed in th is manner is one o f the reasons
there are so few accounts o f c h ild re a rin g p ra ctice s in e a r lie r tim es.
10
According to Lefrancois (1973), there are two oth er possible explana­
tio n s .
One is th a t animals o f a lower phylum were e a sie r to understand
and th e re fo re much e a s ie r to study. . Another is the place a c h ild held
in the a ffe c tio n o f a d u lts .
C hildren were not n e c e s s a rily loved or
wanted and i f they were wanted, i t may have been only fo r economic
reasons.
I t is e a sie r to understand th is lack o f love and a ffe c tio n
when i t is remembered th a t a c h ild was regarded as an ill-fo r m e d
a d u lt, incapable o f c a rry in g out a d u lt a c t iv it ie s .
In the s ix te e n th and seventeenth c e n tu rie s , however, a new
concept o f childhood appeared.
A c h ild became the symbol o f sweetness
and s im p lic ity ; fo r the a d u lt, a source o f re la x a tio n and amusement
(A rie s , 1962).
I t is in te re s tin g to note th a t th is concept was most
popular among women, even though the e n tire r e s p o n s ib ility fo r the
care o f the c h ild rested w ith them.
In s p ite o f the changing a ttitu d e
toward c h ild re n on the p a rt o f many, the c h ild was s t i l l absorbed
in to the world o f a d u lts between the age o f fiv e and seven.
At the same tim e, men o f the church came to regard ch ild re n
as " f r a g ile creatures o f God who needed to be both safeguarded and
reformed (A rie s , 1962, p. 1 3 3 )."
Later in the seventeenth century,
as th is idea became more p re v a le n t, so also did in te r e s t in education
and the concept o f a long childhood.
Although the lit e r a t u r e reviewed
is in c o n c lu s iv e , i t may be a ttr ib u ta b le , a t le a s t in p a rt, to the sex
n
d iffe re n c e in parents and to changing s o cia l a ttitu d e s toward education
in g e n e ra l,
E arly C hild Rearing P ractices
Kessen (1.965) sta te d th a t before 1750 the odds were three to
one ag a in st a c h ild com pleting fiv e years o f l i f e .
This may have been
due p a r tly to a lack o f in fo rm a tio n regarding c h ild re n 's needs,
inadequate n u t r it io n , and less than adequate medical s k i l l s .
As
reported by Kessen (1965), not u n t il la te in Western h is to ry were
there any experts in c h ild care.
Many parents re lie d on the midwife
and the teacher fo r advice.
According to Rogers (1969), during the period between 1550 and
1750, European parents became somewhat perm issive in t h e ir c h ild re a rin g
p ra c tic e s .
This varied somewhat according to geographic, re lig io u s ,
and socio-economic fa c to rs , but g e n e ra lly speaking, a wave o f
permissiveness in c h ild care was reported to have appeared.
In North America, on the o th e r hand, the c o lo n ia l fa m ily was
reported to have been very ste rn and s u b je c tiv e in t h e ir a ttitu d e s
regarding c h ild re n (Queen & Habenstein, 1967).
In some households
c h ild re n were not allowed to s i t during mealtime.
They ate whatever
was handed them and were taught i t was s in fu l to complain.
Many belie ved the c h ild was born w ith perverse tendencies
(Queen & Habenstein,. 1967; Rogers, 1969; Thompson, 1952).
In order
12
to break down these undesirable q u a litie s , severe and in f le x ib le
d is c ip lin a r y methods were used.
D is c ip lin e was not only the responsi­
b i l i t y o f the home, but o f the school and s ta te as w e ll.
were enacted to enforce s t r i c t obedience.
example, decreed th a t:
Stern laws
A Connecticut s ta tu te , fo r
i f a re b e llio u s son sixteen years o r o ld e r
did not obey h is parents or heed t h e ir punishment, he could be
brought before the m agistrates assembled in c o u rt, and^ e put to
death (T rum bull, 1876, pp. 69-70).
This s te rn code o f d is c ip lin e was thought to be associated
w ith c u rre n t re lig io u s b e lie fs and to r e f le c t the d i f f i c u l t condition s
under which these people liv e d .
The usual p a ttern o f fa m ily l i f e was
p a tria r c h a l, making the support and conduct o f fa m ily members the
re s p o n s ib ility o f the male head o f the house.
The woman, on the other
hand, was also responsible fo r a wide range o f a c t iv it ie s .
her duty to tend to the c h ild re n as w ell as help t i l l
I t was
the s o il.
Most o f the time was spent doing chores, so there was l i t t l e
time
fo r so cia l l i f e or re c re a tio n fo r any fa m ily members, even fo r the
c h ild re n .
Boys, however, were perm itted to go to school (Queen &
Habenstein, 1967).
The c o lo n ia l period seems to have been a time o f masculine
dominance.
Fam ilies were viewed e s s e n tia lly as economic in s titu tio n s
(Queen & Habenste in , 1967).
I t appears th a t these two fa c to r s , along
w ith a lack o f so cia l l i f e , la rg e ly accounted fo r the s tro n g ly
13
a u th o rita ria n view o f c h ild re a rin g in th is period o f our h is to ry .
According to Rogers (1969) th is a ttitu d e p revailed from the co lo n ia l
period up to the beginning o f the tw e n tie th century.
A marked in te re s t in c h ild re n and in c h ild re a rin g problems
developed during the nineteenth century.
According to Sunley (1955),,
th is in te r e s t was brought about by several reasons.
a ra p id r is e o f in d u s try was ta k in g place.
F ir s t o f a l l ,
This s h i f t was d is ru p tin g
not on ly esta blishe d patterns o f liv in g , but patterns o f c h ild
re a rin g as w e ll.
Along w ith incre asing in d u s tr ia liz a tio n came the
growing b e lie f in the power o f man to c o n tro l his environment.
Man
was becoming capable o f d ire c tin g the fu tu re and became more conscious
o f his a b i l i t y to mold his c h ild re n .
F in a lly , an increased emphasis
was being placed on the c h ild as an extension o f h is parents'
am bitions.
[
As man came to re a liz e the c o n tro l he had over h im s e lf and
h is environment, the concept o f character development became even
more im portant.
Since i t was the mother who was. considered the
p rin c ip a l person in forming c h a ra c te r, her ro le became paramount
(Sunley, 1955).
By m id-nineteenth ce n tu ry, the fa th e r played only
a small p a rt in the upbringing o f his c h ild re n .
According to the
lit e r a t u r e , the fa th e r 's r e s p o n s ib ility rested almost s o le ly w ith
the adm inis tin g o f corporal punishment, i f and when i t was considered
necessary.
14
Due to the many changes staking place in the s o c ia l system
between 1850 and 1900, a s u b s ta n tia l amount o f lit e r a t u r e appeared
on the su b je ct o f c h ild re a rin g .
In th is lite r a tu r e three general
th e o rie s seemed to p re v a il.
One prescribed th a t parents should
enforce absolute obedience.
This would break the c h ild 's w i l l and
help fre e him "from the hold o f h is e v il nature (Sunley, 1955, p. 163)."
Dwight, w r itin g in 1834, s ta te d :
"No c h ild has ever been known since
the e a r lie s t period o f the w o rld , d e s titu te o f an e v il d is p o s itio n —.
however sweet i t appears (p. 3 1 )."
Another theory advocated the
idea o f c h ild re n becoming "s tro n g , vigo rou s, unspoiled men, lik e those
in the e a rly days o f the country (Sunley, 1955, p. 1 6 1 )."
A th ir d
theory endorsed gentle treatm ent o f the c h ild , making corporal
punishment undesirable as a means o f d is c ip lin in g c h ild re n .
Advocates
o f th is theory recommended th a t understanding and ju s tic e be used by ■
parents in re a rin g t h e ir c h ild re n .
i
Even though the lit e r a t u r e o f the times expressed varied
fe e lin g s concerning c h ild re a rin g p ra c tic e s , i t was not u n til the
l a t t e r h a lf o f the 1930-1940 decade th a t a great deal o f a tte n tio n
was given to perm issive procedures (S te n d le r, 1973; Rogers, 1969;
Bronfenbrenner, 1970).
I t has been reported th a t tw o -th ird s o f the
a r tic le s w ritte n on c h ild re a rin g promoted the idea o f parental
permissiveness (Winch, 1952).
became very popular.
Baby and C hild Care by Spock (1946)
In i t , Spock advised parents to a c t according
15
to in s t in c t .
Whatever the parents f e l t was best would probably be
best fo r the c h ild (S te n d le r9 1973; Rogers, 1969).
The concept o f permissiveness did not hold a dominant place
very long.
The f i f t i e s and s ix tie s brought a new mode o f thought
and a ctio n which a ffe c te d peoples' liv e s a l l over the w orld .
With
i t came many tra n s itio n s in personal goals and values and consequently,
a new and y e t unclear trend in c h ild re a rin g (Rogers, 1969).
C hild
care once again became a blend o f c o n flic tin g th e o rie s .
Today, many adhere to the democratic way o f re a rin g c h ild re n .
". . . th a t is , th a t parents probably know best in many th in g s , but
c h ild re n know something, too
( Papalia & Olds, 1975, p. 3 7 7 )."
C hild Rearing Studies
I
,
L i t t l e research has been (lone in the ru ra l w est, e s p e c ia lly
w ith respect to the fa m ily .
Research which has been done has d e a lt
p rim a rily w ith a g ric u ltu re .
Since the ru ra l fa m ily has been given
little
a tte n tio n , i t has been d i f f i c u l t to id e n tify as a v a ria b le
in many o f the studies dealing w ith c h ild re a rin g .
Rural
Researchers conducting a study on fa m ily s o c ia l in te ra c tio n
in ru ra l Michigan (Michigan State U n iv e rs ity Experiment S ta tio n ,
1957) found th a t fa m ily members spent l i t t l e
time to g e th e r, w ith very
16
few a c t iv it ie s being shared in the home.
In general, mothers spent
more time w ith th e ir c h ild re n than did fa th e rs .
These fin d in g s were
not c o rre la te d , however, w ith s p e c ific c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s .
Extensive in te rvie w s o f urban, suburban, and farm wives liv in g
in Michigan comprised the population fo r a study by Blood and Wolfe
(1960).
The re s u lts tended to in d ic a te very l i t t l e
d iffe re n c e in
c h ild re a rin g problems from c it y to country.
Wilson and Sperry (1961) conducted a study which d e a lt w ith
c h ild re a rin g techniques o f ru ra l mothers.
S ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip s
to techniques o f guidance were found to e x is t on the basis o f the
m other's age and le v e l o f education.
The use o f a ffe c tio n by the
mothers as a guidance technique tended to decrease as her age increased.
The demonstration o f a ffe c tio n also decreased as the m other's leve l
o f education increased.
i
Non-Rural
!
Several s tu d ie s , though not dealing w ith a ru ra l p o pula tion,
have been found which in d ic a te a number o f personal v a ria b le s to be
d ir e c tly re la te d to c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s .
Among these varia bles
is socio-economic sta tu s (SES) or s o c ia l c la s s , which has been given
considerable a tte n tio n in i t s re la tio n s h ip to c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s
and techniques.
Social class becomes re le v a n t when broken in to it s
major component p a rts :
income and le v e l o f education, both o f which
are va ria b le s in the present study.
17
H avighurst and Davis (1955) compared major studies done a t
Harvard and in Chicago and found th a t there were d iffe re n c e s in
c h ild re a rin g p ra c tic e s based upon s o c ia l cla ss.
On the basis o f
so cia l c la s s , middle class parents appeared to have higher educa­
tio n a l expectations o f th e ir c h ild re n than did lower class parents.
Jordan (1970), examining the in flu e n c e o f age and s o cia l class
on a u th o rita ria n fa m ily ide olog y, found less a u th o rita ria n is m fo r
the higher so cia l classes.
Permissiveness increased as age increased,
in d ic a tin g a higher degree o f permissiveness on the p a rt o f the
o ld e r.
Sears, Maccoby, and Levin (1957) also found d iffe re n c e s in c h ild
re a rin g p ra c tic e s between the s o c ia l classes.
Working class mothers
seemed to use more r ig id d is c ip lin a r y techniques w ith th e ir c h ild re n
than did middle class mothers.
The researchers a ttrib u te d th is
d iffe re n c e not only to so cia l class but to the number o f c h ild re n
each fa m ily had.
They suggested the p o s s ib ilit y th a t " i f we compared
w orking-class fa m ilie s who had a c e rta in number o f c h ild re n w ith
m iddle-class fa m ilie s having the same number, there would be l i t t l e
or no d iffe re n c e between them in t h e ir c h ild - tr a in in g methods (p. 4 3 5 )."
Findings were the same whether mothers were compared on the basis o f
th e ir educational attainm ent or on the basis o f th e ir SES.
An
explanation fo r th is fin d in g may l i e p a r tly in the fa c t th a t le v e l
o f education o fte n comprises a larg e p a rt o f SES.
18
The re la tio n s h ip between SES and a m other's behavior toward
c h ild re n was analyzed in the Berkeley Growth Study ( Bayley & Schaefer,
1960).
Findings in d ic a te d only a s lig h t increase o f warmth, under­
standing, and acceptance toward c h ild re n as SES o f mothers rose.
Although mothers o f a lower sta tu s tended to be s lig h t ly more p u n itiv e
and c o n tr o llin g , the d iffe re n c e s in behavior were much more evident •
fo r those mothers having sons than fo r those having daughters.
According to Bronfenbrenner (1972), parental behaviors d iffe re n tia te d
by sex o f the c h ild are pronounced only in the lower middle class.
As the SES o f a fa m ily r is e s , both parents tend to re la te to sons
and daughters s im ila r ly .
I t seems im portant to note a t th is p o in t th a t c h ild re aring
a ttitu d e s in re la tio n to the sex o f the c h ild are not im portant to
the present study.
I t appears, however, to be one o f two fa c to rs
th a t could in p a rt be responsible fo r d iffe re n c e s in c h ild re aring
which are o fte n a ttrib u te d to s o c ia l class alone.
H is to r ic a lly ,
fa m ilie s o f lower SES have had more c h ild re n than those o f the middle
class (Sears, e t a l . , 1957).
According to Clausen (1966), "The
size o f a group markedly influ ence s the p a tte rn in g o f in te ra c tio n s
and re la tio n s h ip s among members (p. 9 ) ."
As a fa m ily increases
in s iz e , e x p lic it ru le s concerning d u tie s , r e s p o n s ib ilitie s , and
behavior become more c h a ra c te ris tic .
c e n tra liz e d .
Leadership becomes in c re a s in g ly
I t seems th a t an increase in fa m ily size would also
19
increase the lik e lih o o d o f varied sex com position.
According to
E lder (1962), the sex composition o f a la rg e fa m ily might in i t s e l f
d ic ta te or c o n tro l the amount o f parental dominance exercised.
Bartow (1962) also examined fa m ily size in re la tio n to c h ild
re a rin g p ra ctice s and found no s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip between them.
The d iffe re n c e s in fin d in g s between Elder and Bartow might be p a rtly
accounted fo r by sample com position.
E ld e r's study was based on
adolescents' perceptions o f t h e ir parents, w hile Bartow's d e a lt
d ir e c tly w ith parents.
A program o f research on adolescence a t the U n iv e rs ity o f
North C arolina (E ld e r, 1962) displayed only s lig h t evidence th a t .
lower class parents were more dominant than middle class parents.
S ig n ific a n t re le a tio n s h ip s to c h ild re a rin g p ra ctice s were found to
e x is t on the basis o f fa m ily s iz e , le v e l o f education, sex, and
r e lig io n .
Parents o f a la rg e r fa m ily were viewed as being more
a u th o rita ria n than those o f a small fa m ily .
An equali t a r i an a ttitu d e
seemed to be most c h a ra c te ris tic o f those parents having completed
one or more years o f co lle g e .
Parents w ith a n in th grade education
or le s s , however, were perceived as being a u th o rita ria n .
Mothers
were more lik e ly to be permissive o r e q u a lita ria n in the c h ild
re a rin g re la tio n s h ip than fa th e rs .
as being the dominant fig u re .
Fathers most o fte n were perceived
The re s u lts suggested a tendency o f
C a th o lic fa th e rs to increase th e ir c o n tro l and re s tric tiv e n e s s
-
I
20
as t h e ir c h ild re n became o ld e r.
Among P rotestant fa th e rs , the
tendency reversed.
As pointed out by the studies p re v io u s ly c ite d , there is
some evidence th a t s o c ia l class is a t le a s t p a rtly responsible fo r
d iffe re n c e s in c h ild re a rin g .
however, " . . .
According to Bronfenbrenner (1961),
the gap between the s o c ia l classes in th e ir goals and
methods o f c h ild re a rin g appears to be narrowing. . . (p. 6 ) . 11
By and la rg e , parents o f the working class are assuming not only
so cia l and economic values s im ila r to the middle c la s s , but also
s im ila r c h ild re a rin g techniques.
Anders (1968) found the less educated more lik e ly to express
a p u n itiv e a ttitu d e toward c h ild re a rin g .
Findings also ind ica ted
women to be more perm issive in c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s than men.
Although Anders' study d e a lt w ith three r e lig io - e th n ic groups
(Anglo-Saxon P ro te s ta n t, Negro-Protesta n t, and French C a th o lic ), the
fin d in g s are s im ila r to those o f Elder (1962). .
An examination o f data c ite d by Bronson, K atten, and Livson
(1959) p o in ts to a somewhat d iffe r e n t fin d in g w ith regard to parental
ro le d iffe r e n tia tio n .-
According to these researchers, the fa th e r
is becoming in c re a s in g ly more a ffe c tio n a te and less a u th o rita ria n
in the c h ild re a rin g re la tio n s h ip , w h ile the m other's ro le as
d is c ip lin a r ia n is in cre a sin g .
In an analysis o f c h ild c a re a ttitu d e s
o f two generations o f mothers (C ohler, Grunebaum, Weiss, & Moran,
21
.1971), there did not appear to be a s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e between
the a ttitu d e s o f the o ld e r and younger mothers.
Findings seemed to
be d ir e c tly re la te d to the comparative constancy in the s o c ie ty 's
value system.
The review o f the lit e r a t u r e has revealed a considerable
amount o f m a teria l dealing w ith c h ild re a rin g .
At the same tim e,
i t has revealed th a t w ritin g s r e la tin g th is to p ic to ru ra l Montanans
o r to ru ra l Americans anywhere are v ir t u a lly n o n -e x is te n t.
The
review o f lit e r a t u r e has served to confirm the need fo r a study o f
c h ild re a rin g in a ru ra l popula tion.
CHAPTER I I I
METHODOLOGY
The purpose o f th is study was to determine the a ttitu d e s ru ra l
Montanans have toward c h ild re a rin g , education, and s o c ia l l i f e and
re c re a tio n ; to measure the c o rre la tio n s o f the a ttitu d e s w ith one
another, and also w ith c e rta in selected personal v a ria b le s ; and to
discuss these fin d in g s .
Sampling Procedure
The present study focuses on a p o rtio n o f a la rg e r p ro je c t,
t i t l e d "Rural Family L ife S tyles in Montana."
Follow ing is a des­
c r ip tio n o f procedures employed r e la tin g to the e n tire p ro je c t,
in c lu d in g the p o rtio n s which a re .th e s u b je c t o f th is study.
Boundaries suggested by the Montana Cooperative Extension
Service d iv id e the s ta te o f Montana in to s ix d is t r ic t s .
These
d is t r ic t s are not based upon p o p u la tio n , but represent r e la tiv e ly
equal amounts o f land area.
To insure re p re senta tion o f each
geographic se cto r in the s ta te , two counties were randomly selected
from each o f the s ix d is t r ic t s .
Communities w ith in the selected counties were randomly chosen
and persons from those communities were selected a t random to be
23
in v ite d to p a rtic ip a te in the study.
By th is process 60 from each
county, o r 720 in a l l , were asked to take p a rt in the study.
Method o f C o lle c tin g Data
Communication
To encourage a b e tte r ra te o f p a rtic ip a tio n in the study, a
news release about the p ro je c t appeared in v ir t u a lly a l l o f Montana's
d a ily and weekly newspapers.
A l e t t e r , e x p la in in g the purpose and
sponsorship o f the p ro je c t, was then sent to the p o te n tia l p a rtic ip a n ts ,
asking fo r t h e ir cooperation.
were enclosed w ith each le t t e r .
An acceptance form and re tu rn envelope
Those in d iv id u a ls who agreed to
p a rtic ip a te in the study were sent a survey booklet.
Some time la te r ,
a fo llo w -u p reminder was sent to those who had not responded.
I'
Instruments
Since the plan f o r the to ta l p ro je c t c a lle d fo r a ll the data
to be c o lle c te d a t one tim e , the te s t instrum ents fo r each phase
o f the study were compiled and bound in to a survey instrum ent booklet.
This task was completed p r io r to the present in v e s tig a to r's involvement
in the p ro je c t.
Whenever p o s s ib le , scales authenticated by previous research
were used.
I t was necessary in c e rta in cases, however, to devise
an instrum ent which would more adequately s u it the purposes o f th is
24
in v e s tig a tio n .
In such cases, ap p ro p ria te resource persons a t Montana
State U n iv e rs ity were consulted.
.The instrum ents were then pretested
w ith students f o r content v a lid it y .
Copies o f the instrum ents employed
in those p o rtio n s o f the study which are the s u b je ct o f the present
re p o rt are contained in the appendix.
In order to gather in fo rm a tio n w ith regard to the respondent's
background, a general in fo rm a tio n sectio n was devised.
s e c tio n , the fo llo w in g v a ria b le s were used:
From th is
sex, age, m a rita l s ta tu s ,
income, r e lig io n , church attendance, number o f c h ild re n , c h ild re n
between the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the home, c h ild re n 18 and over
liv in g in the home, and le v e l o f education.
The p o rtio n o f the survey instrum ent dealing w ith c h ild re a rin g
provided an index to parental s ty le .
I t was adapted from "A Survey
o f Opinions Regarding the D is c ip lin e o f C hildren" developed by I t k in
in 1952.
R e lia b ilit y o f I t k i n 's scale was estim ated by the s p l i t -
h a lf method to be .95.
According to Shaw and W right (1967), v a lid it y
was determined by item analysis data and the c o rre la tio n between
a ttitu d e scores and s e lf- r a tin g s o f p a re n ts ; the c o rre la tio n was .26.
A ttitu d e s toward education were determined by the use o f a
scale developed by Rundquist and S le tto in 1936.
The items are broad
in co n te n t, ranging from the e ffe c ts o f possessing an education upon
one's le is u re time and upon economic o p p o rtu n ity to c o n f lic t between
education and work (Shaw & W right, 1967).
S p lit - h a lf r e l i a b i l i t i e s
25
o f .82 and .83 have been reported as w e ll as te s t- r e te s t r e l i a b i l i t i e s
o f .84 and .85.
According to Shaw and W right (1967), the scale has
good content v a lid it y f o r measuring a ttitu d e s toward a high school
education.
I t is somewhat r e s tr ic te d , however, in measuring a ttitu d e s
toward a co lle g e education.
The instrum ent dealing w ith s o c ia l l i f e and re c re a tio n was
constructed by the p ro je c t leader and his graduate a s s is ta n t.
Questions
p rim a rily d e a lt w ith the respondents' in te ra c tio n s w ith r e la tiv e s ,
frie n d s , and neighbors liv in g in the community.
A nalysis o f Data
Items on the a ttitu d e scale o f c h ild re a rin g were scored in
such a way th a t higher scores re fle c te d a u th o rita ria n a ttitu d e s .
toward c h ild re a rin g , w h ile lower scores represented the more permissive
o r e q u a lita ria n a ttitu d e s .
With the hig h e st possible value being three
po ints fo r each question , the hig hest score th a t could be obtained
was 60.
Higher scores on the a ttitu d e scale o f education in d ica te d a
p o s itiv e a ttitu d e toward the e ffe c ts o f possessing an education,
w h ile low scores were in d ic a tiv e o f a negative a ttitu d e .
The scale
was composed o f 22 item s, which when scored could produce a possible
score o f 66.
26
The 20-item s o c ia l l i f e and re c re a tio n scale could provide
a po ssible value o f 81.
Higher scores in d ic a te d less s o c ia l in t e r ­
a ctio n and s a tis fa c tio n w ith one's s o cia l l i f e , w h ile lower scores
re fle c te d g re a te r amounts o f in te ra c tio n and s a tis fa c tio n .
Data derived from items concerning personal background informa
tio n and the various scales were coded and tra n s fe rre d to e le c tro n ic
data processing equipment a t Montana State U n iv e rs ity Computing
Center.
The prim ary s t a t is t ic employed in the analysis o f data was
the Pearson product-moment c o e ffic ie n t o f c o rre la tio n .
CHAPTER IV
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The purpose o f th is study was to determine the a ttitu d e s ru ra l
Montanans have toward c h ild re a rin g , education, and s o c ia l l i f e and
re c re a tio n ; to measure the c o rre la tio n s o f the a ttitu d e s w ith one
another, and also w ith c e rta in selected personal v a ria b le s ; and to
discuss these fin d in g s .
D escrip tion o f Sample
A to ta l o f 720 persons, each chosen a t random, were in v ite d to
p a rtic ip a te in the study.
Of the 479 who confirmed t h e ir desire to
p a r tic ip a te , 332 (46.1.%) a c tu a lly completed and returned the survey
booklets (Johnson, 1974).
;
Table I provides a d e s c rip tio n -o f the sample.
The 332
in d iv id u a ls who agreed to p a rtic ip a te in the study were predominantly
female (59.6%).
The sample leaned toward middle age, w ith the median
being in the 36 to 50 age group.
Only 18.2 per cent o f the sample
represented the under 21 to 28 age group.
Nearly seven-eighths o f the respondents (84.6%) were m arried.
Family s iz e , w ith regard to number o f c h ild re n , ranged from zero to
ten.
In g e n e ra l, fa m ilie s were not la rg e ; 2.5 was the mean number
o f c h ild re n .
One m ight have expected fa m ilie s to be la rg e r in a
28
TABLE I
Description of Sample
Variable
Sex
N
%
Male
Female
134
198
40.4
59.6
Under 21
21-28
29-35
36-50
51-65
Over 65
12
48
48
91
102
28
3.6
14.6
14.6
27.7
31.0
8.5
Marital Status
Never married
Married
Divorced
Widowed
23
281
5
23
6.9
84.6
1.5
6.9
+Income
Over $25,000
20,000-24,999
15,000-19,999
10,000-14,999
7,000-9,999
5,000-6,999
3,000-4,999
Under 3,000
45
11
34
74
59
32
22
26
14.9
3.6
11.2
24.4
19.5
10.6
7.3
8.6
+Religion
Roman Catholic
Protestant
Other
No religion
57
243
6
20
17.5
74.5
1.8
6.1
+Church Attendance
Three or more times
per month
Once or twice per month
A few times per year
Never attend
126
52
98
47
38.0
15.7
29.5
14.2
+Age
Variable
Number of Children
None
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven or more
One or more children
living at home
Age 0-17
Age 18 +
Educational Level
8th grade
or less
Attended
high school
Completed
high school
Attended college
Completed
bachelor degree
College beyond
bachelor degree
Masters degree
Doctors degree
Finished busi­
ness college
Finished trade
school
N
%
52
43
78
68
41
31
12
7
15.7
13.0
23.5
20.5
12.3
9.3
3.6
2.1
167
55
50.3
16.6
18
5.4
45
13.6
89
85
26.8
25.6
12.0
40
14
7
3
10
4.2
2.1
.9
21
6.3
+Totals of these categories do not equal 332 because of participants not responding.
Percentages are based on the number of respondents, not the total sample number.
3.0
29
ru ra l area, since c h ild re n in the past have been necessary fo r farm
production.
There appears, however, to be a trend toward sm aller
fa m ily size w ith over h a lf o f the sample (52.2%) having two ch ild re n
or le s s .
.
The ta b le reveals over h a lf o f the respondents (54.1%) having
some education beyond high school.
Persons o f th is sample were
s lig h t ly ahead o f the average fo r Montana o f 12.2 years o f schooling
(1970 Census, U.S. Dept, o f Commerce, 1973).
Examination o f Data
Total scores on the c h ild re a rin g scale , the education a ttitu d e
sca le , and the so cia l l i f e and re c re a tio n scale were tested against
each oth er by means o f a c o rre la tio n m a trix (see Table 2 ).
I t was
then possible to determine s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip s among the various
a ttitu d e s .
Total scores on each o f the three scales were also
c o rre la te d w ith ten personal v a ria b le s :
sex, age, m a rita l s ta tu s ,
income, r e lig io n , church attendance, number o f c h ild re n , ch ild re n
between the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the home, those. 18 and over liv in g
in the home, and educational le v e l (see Table 3).
C hildrens' ages
were d ivid e d in to two groups since those between 0-17 are generally
school age or younger and perhaps more dependent on fa m ily resources
than those who are in the young a d u lt group (18 and o v e r).
Data
were analyzed by means o f the Pearson product-moment c o e ffic ie n t
30
TABLE 2
C o rre la tio n M a trix
C hild
Rearing
Education
Social
In te ra c tio n
C hild
Rearing
Education
.001
Social .
In te ra c tio n
NS
NS
Social
S a tis fa c tio n
.003
NS
.001
\
Social
S a tis fa c tio n
31
TABLE 3
C o rre la tio n o f Personal Variables
.001
CU
W .01
rti
U
C
CD
4O
<L)
>
CU
.05
A u th o rita ria n is m
in C hild Rearing
High Degree o f
Social In te ra c tio n
High
Degree
o f Social
S a tis fa c tio n
32
o f c o r re la tio n .
The .05 le v e l was se t as the c r it e r io n fo r determ i­
na tio n o f s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip s .
C hild Rearing A ttitu d e s
Higher scores on c h ild re a rin g in d ic a te d a more a u th o rita ria n ,
tr a d itio n a l a ttitu d e in re la tio n to care and d is c ip lin e .
In other
words, the parent was regarded p r im a rily as an a u th o rity fig u re in
the c h ild re a rin g re la tio n s h ip .
Lower scores in d ic a te d more o f a
dem ocratic, equali t a r i an- a ttitu d e ; c h ild re n were regarded as equals
in t h e ir rig h ts and re s p o n s ib ilitie s as members o f the fa m ily .
Scores ranged from 25 to 55; the hig hest score th a t could be a tta in e d
was 60.
The mean, median, and mode were 38, in d ic a tin g almost an
e q u ilib riu m between a u th o rita ria n and democratic a tt it u d e s .
Hypothesis I s ta te d :
There is a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip
between a ttitu d e s toward c h ild re a rin g and a ttitu d e s toward
(a) education and (b) so cia l l i f e and re c re a tio n .
The te s tin g
supported hypothesis I .
A p o s itiv e re la tio n s h ip was found to e x is t between tr a d itio n a l
c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s and a p o s itiv e outlook toward education (see
Table 2, page 30).
One might view such an a ttitu d e toward education
as being more progressive o r lib e r a l.
I f so, i t does not seem lik e ly
th a t those leaning toward tra d itio n a lis m in re a rin g t h e ir c h ild re n
would tend to be more lib e r a l w ith regard to th e ir c h ild re n 's
'
33
education.
An a sso cia tio n has been found to e x is t between a u th o ri­
ta ria n c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s and g e n e ra lly conservative parents
(Boshier & Iz a rd 5 1972).
Total c h ild re a rin g score was the only c o rre la tio n which
produced a s ig n ific a n t r e s u lt in i t s re la tio n s h ip to to ta l education
score.
An examination o f Table 3 (page 31), however, in d ic a te s a
p o s itiv e re la tio n s h ip between number o f c h ild re n and c h ild re aring
score.
As the tendency fo r la rg e r fa m ilie s increased, so did the
tendency f o r t r a d itio n a l views regarding c h ild re a rin g .
Those fa m ilie s
having more c h ild re n may recognize an economic necessity fo r education.
Farming and ranching is the c h ie f occupation o f many o f these people
(L in d , 1975).
Several c h ild re n may have greate r d i f f i c u l t y in
prospering from the land in years to come than one or two. R ealizing
t h is , parents w ith a la rg e r number o f c h ild re n may look more p o s itiv e ly
on the side o f education.
A g re a te r amount o f so cia l s a tis fa c tio n was s ig n if ic a n tly
re la te d to a democratic or equalita r ia n a ttitu d e regarding c h ild
re a rin g .
The c h a ra c te ris tic s o f those in d iv id u a ls d is p la y in g a
democratic c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e may aid in in te rp r e tin g th is f in d in g . •
Those in the lower age groups tended to score lower on c h ild re a rin g ,
as did those w ith fewer c h ild re n , and those having a tta in e d a higher
le v e l o f education.
Those having fewer c h ild re n also tended to be
more a c tiv e ly involved in the community.
Involvement in the community
34
perhaps has more to do w ith so cia l s a tis fa c tio n than any one o f the
o th e r v a ria b le s .
Level o f education has a s ig n ific a n t negative
c o rre la tio n w ith both to ta l c h ild re a rin g score and s o c ia l s a tis ­
fa c tio n score.
In o th e r wordss as c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e becomes
more dem ocratic, le v e l o f education incre ase s; as s o c ia l s a tis fa c tio n
increases, so does le v e l o f education.
I t seems th a t those persons
who tend to be more relaxed w ith regard to c h ild re a rin g p ractices
may also tend to enjoy and be more s a tis fie d w ith th e ir s o c ia l liv e s .
Hypothesis 2 s ta te d :
There is a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip
between a ttitu d e s toward c h ild re a rin g and the personal va ria b le s o f
(a) sex, (b) age, (c) m a rita l s ta tu s , (d) income, (e) r e lig io n ,
( f ) church attendance, (g) number o f c h ild re n , (h) c h ild re n between
the ages, o f 0-17 liv in g in the home, ( i ) c h ild re n 18 and over liv in g
in the home, and ( j ) le v e l o f education.
Hypothesis 2 a, b, e, g,
and j were confirmed by the data; hypothesis 2 c, d, f , h, and i were
re je c te d .
Sex.
Males tended to be more a u th o rita ria n ( t r a d it io n a l) in
t h e ir a ttitu d e s toward c h ild re a rin g than females (see Table 3,
page 31).
According to P hotiadis (1964), th is has been more or less
a d is t in c t c h a ra c te ris tic o f the ru ra l fa m ily .
T y p ic a lly , fa m ily
decisio n making and a u th o rity have rested w ith the male head o f the
household.
Although th is and other c h a ra c te ris tic s o f ru ra l liv in g
J
35
may be beginning to disappear in some areas (P h o tia d is 5 1964), i t
does not seem to be the case in th is Montana sample.
Montana is g e ograph ically is o la te d from any o f the major
popula tion cen ters.
I t is also one o f the most sparsely populated,
per square m ile , w h ile being the fo u rth la rg e s t in geographic space.
Although news media and communication systems may have an e ffe c t on
the a ttitu d e s and b e lie fs o f ru ra l re s id e n ts , i t seems th a t the
r e la tiv e is o la tio n which ch a racte rizes d a ily l i f e may have an even
g re a te r e ffe c t.
I f so, the is o la tio n o f these fa m ilie s may play a
s ig n ific a n t p a rt in the tra d itio n a lis m o f a ttitu d e s regarding c h ild
re a rin g .
-
The re s u lts o f a study by Anders (1968), although non-rural
in scope, seem to support those o f the present study.
three d is t in c t r e lig io - e th n ic groups:
N egro-P rotestant, and F rench-C atholic.
Anders sampled
Anglo-Saxon P ro te s ta n t,
The male, in each o f these
groups, appeared to be the dominant fig u re o f a u th o rity in the c h ild
re a rin g re la tio n s h ip .
T r a d itio n a lly , each o f these r e lig io - e th n ic
groups have been male o rie n te d .
T ra d itio n may play an im portant ro le
in many ru ra l Montanans' liv e s , as in d ic a te d by the way in which th e ir
responses compare to those o f the Anders' s tu d y ..
E lder (1962) shows s im ila r fin d in g s in a n o n-rura l study dealing
w ith adolescents'1 perceptions o f th e ir parents.
The adolescents
36
reported t h e ir mothers to be more perm issive o r equali t a r i an and
th e ir fa th e rs to be more dominant w ith regard to c h ild re a rin g .
Results from a non-rura l study in v o lv in g patterns o f a u th o rity
and a ffe c tio n by Bronson, K atte n, and Livson (1959) have shown th a t
the r e la tiv e p o s itio n o f the fa th e r and mother is s h if t in g .
The
fa th e r was seen as becoming more a ffe c tio n a te and less a u th o rita ria n ,
and the mother as becoming more im portant as the agent o f d is c ip lin e .
I t is d i f f i c u l t to determine whether these fin d in g s agree or c o n tra d ic t
w ith those o f the present study because o f the use o f the term
"becoming.", Only c u rre n t a ttitu d e s were measured in the Montana
sample, not fu tu re trends.
Bronson, e t a l . (1959) studied parental
s ty le from b ir t h o f the c h ild through the eighteenth ye a r.
The period
o f time in v o lv e d , the ages o f the paren ts, and the number o f ch ild re n
born during those 18 years a ll may have had an e ffe c t on the fin d in g .
Parents' a ttitu d e s regarding c h ild re a rin g may swing from one end o f
the pendulum to the o th e r over a period o f th a t many y e a rs, a fa c t
which cannot be ascertained in a cro s s -s e c tio n a l stud y, unless i t is
lo n g itu d in a l.
Age.
As age o f the p a rtic ip a n ts increased, the lik e lih o o d o f
an a u th o rita ria n ( t r a d it io n a l) a ttitu d e toward c h ild re a rin g also
increased (see Table 3, page 31).
One might expect to fin d a t r a d i­
tio n a l a ttitu d e among persons o f an o ld e r generation.
/
37
Jordan (1970), in a study dealing w ith a u th o rita ria n fa m ily
id e olog y, however, found ju s t the opposite.
Results from the study
in d ic a te d a higher degree o f permissiveness to e x is t among the o ld e r
p a rtic ip a n ts .
Two d is t in c t d iffe re n c e s in sample composition existed
between Jordan's study and the present one.
o f newborn in fa n ts comprised the sample.
was 25.
In Jordan's study, mothers
The mean age o f the mothers
In the present study the mean age group was between 36 and
50; h a lf o f the respondents (50.3%) had one or more c h ild re n under
the age o f 18 liv in g in th e ir home.
Perhaps young mothers o f newborn
in fa n ts , because o f la ck o f experience and a heightened sense o f
r e s p o n s ib ility , are indeed more a u th o rita ria n in an e f f o r t to do the
" r ig h t th in g " where the c h ild is concerned.
Much o f the lit e r a t u r e dealing w ith the re a rin g o f c h ild re n
in d ic a te s th a t c h ild re a rin g p ra c tic e s run in fashionable and even
faddish cycles (Winch, 1952; R itc h ie & K o lle r, 1964; Papalia & Olds,
1975).
The a ttitu d e s o f persons from p a r tic u la r age groups may be
influ ence d by th is fa c to r.
Today, according to Papalia and Olds
(1975), many adhere to the democratic way o f re a rin g c h ild re n .
The
fa c t th a t many o f the respondents were middle aged and t h e ir c h ild
re a rin g years ne a rly over may have had a bearing on the a u th o rita ria n
a ttitu d e displayed.
Ideas in vogue a t the time a c h ild is born may
be more in flu e n tia l than the age o f the parents in determ ining parental
a ttitu d e s toward c h ild re a rin g .
(
38
Relig io n.
As r e lig io u s preference moved from C ath olic to
P ro te s ta n t, so did the lik e lih o o d o f an a u th o rita ria n ( t r a d it io n a l)
a ttitu d e to w a rd .c h ild re a rin g .
The same tendency may have existed
fo r those respondents in d ic a tin g "o th e r r e lig io n " or "no re lig io u s
pre fe re n ce ," however, only 26 respondents (7.9%) comprised the l a t t e r
groups.
The small number o f respondents in these two groups may
have, by chance, skewed the r e s u lt in the d ire c tio n o f a u th o rita ria n
a ttitu d e s .
The term P ro te sta n t includes many d iffe r e n t re lig io u s
groups w ith va rie d values and b e lie fs .
I t may be th a t the more funda­
mental P ro te sta n t groups are re p re s e n ta tiv e o f , t h is ru ra l sample,
c o n trib u tin g to the tr a d itio n a l c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s reported.
Although re lig io u s preference had an e ffe c t on c h ild re aring
a ttitu d e s , church attendance did not.
Church attendance is s i g n i f i ­
c a n tly re la te d only to so cia l in te ra c tio n (see Table 3, page 31).
I t appears th a t going to church and having d ir e c t con tact w ith the
church does not have an e ffe c t on many o f these peoples' a ttitu d e s .
I t could be th a t the church is not dealing w ith day to day problems
th a t are a p a rt o f these peoples' liv e s or sim ply th a t basic b e lie fs
and philosophies adhered to by many are very strong and not e a s ily
challenged.
Number o f c h ild re n may also play a p a rt in r e la tio n to th is
fin d in g .
According to E lder (1962), the combined e ffe c t o f both
denomination and fa m ily size s u b s ta n tia lly e ffe c ts the lik e lih o o d
.
39
o f parental dominance in the c h ild re a rin g re la tio n s h ip .
Large
fa m ilie s are more o fte n associated w ith C a th o lic s , so in th is l i g h t ,
one might have expected the C a th o lic respondents to lean more toward
tra d itio n a lis m .
In the present stud y, however, th is did not prove
to be the case.
The small number o f C ath olic respondents (57) may
have skewed the r e s u lt.
Mean number o f c h ild r e n - fo r the whole popula­
tio n was q u ite low ( 2 .5 ), so again the fin d in g may have been e ffe c te d .
Perhaps i f a balance had e xiste d between P rotestants and C a th o lics,
the fin d in g would have been a lte re d .
Number o f c h ild r e n .
A ttitu d e s toward c h ild re a rin g were s i g n i f i ­
c a n tly influ ence d by the number o f c h ild re n in the fa m ily .
The tendency
toward a g re a te r number o f c h ild re n was re la te d to the tendency toward
more a u th o rita ria n a ttitu d e s regarding c h ild re a rin g (see Table 3,
page 31).
C h a ra c te ris tic a lly , as groups increase in s iz e , there becomes
a c e n tra liz a tio n o f leadership and the development o f e x p lic it ru le s
(Clausen, 1966).
As a fa m ily becomes la rg e r, then, leadership and
decision making tend to come more and more from the top.
I t may be
e a s ie r, in many cases, fo r larg e fa m ilie s to operate in th is manner
since there are so many in d iv id u a ls to look out fo r and fo r whom to
be respon sible.
E x p lic it ro le d iffe r e n tia tio n may be necessary to
keep fa m ily operations running more smoothly.
(1963) support the fin d in g .
E lder and Bowerman
40
Although the number o f c h ild re n had an e ffe c t on c h ild re a rin g
a ttitu d e s , the ages o f the c h ild re n liv in g in the home did not.
Regardless o f whether there were newborn in fa n ts , to d d le rs , or
teenagers in the home, c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s were not s ig n if ic a n tly
e ffe c te d .
Level o f ed ucation.
Increasing le v e ls o f education a tta in e d
by the respondent produced an in c re a s in g ly democratic (equa lita r ia n )
a ttitu d e toward c h ild re a rin g (see Table 3, page 31).
Those respondents
having spent a g re a te r number o f years in school may have come in to
con tact w ith a g re a te r number o f a lte rn a tiv e s , in c lu d in g those re la te d
to the re a rin g o f c h ild re n .
Rather than adhering to t r a d it io n a l,
a u th o rita ria n view s, those w ith a higher education may tend to e x p e ri­
ment w ith oth er a lte rn a tiv e s .
By so doing, they may become more
democratic or equal it a r ia n in th e ir a ttitu d e s toward c h ild re a rin g .
More than h a lf o f the respondents (54.1%) had some kind o f
formal education beyond high school.
S lig h tly over h a lf o f the
respondents (55.4%) scored a t or below the mean on the c h ild rearing
sca le , in d ic a tin g a tendency toward a democratic a ttitu d e .
There
may be a re la tio n s h ip between those respondents in the two groups.
I t could have been those same respondents w ith the hig her education
th a t scored low on c h ild re a rin g , in d ic a tin g a democratic a ttitu d e .
41
E lder (1962) found a n in th grade education o r less to be
associated w ith a u th o rita ria n c h ild re a rin g p ra c tic e s ; in c o n tra s t one
o r more years o f co lle g e he found to be c h a ra c te ris tic o f democratic
and equali t a r i an parents.
Anders (1968) has associated p u n itiv e c h ild
re a rin g p ra ctice s w ith the less educated.
Both fin d in g s support those
o f the present study.
Education A ttitu d e s
Higher scores tended to r e f le c t a p o s itiv e a ttitu d e toward
education w h ile lower scores in d ic a te d a more negative a ttitu d e .
The
highest po ssible score th a t could be a tta in e d was 66. . Scores ranged
from 25 to 6 6 , w ith the mean being 53.
Hypothesis I a s ta te d :
There is a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip
between a ttitu d e s toward c h ild re a rin g and a ttitu d e s toward education.
The te s tin g supported hypothesis I a ( r e fe r to c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s
s e c tio n ).
■
Hypothesis 3 s ta te d :
There is a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip
between a ttitu d e s toward education and a ttitu d e s toward s o cia l l i f e
and re c re a tio n .
The data re je c te d hypothesis 3.
Hypothesis 4 s ta te d :
There is a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip
between a ttitu d e s toward education and the personal v a ria b le s o f
(a) sex, (b ) age, (c) m a rita l s ta tu s , (d) income, (e) r e lig io n ,
( f ) church attendance, (g) number o f c h ild re n , (h) c h ild re n between
42
the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the home, ( i ) c h ild re n 18 and over liv in g
in the home, and ( j ) le v e l o f education.
Hypothesis 4 was re je c te d .
A ttitu d e s toward education were not found to be s ig n if ic a n tly '
influ ence d by any o f the personal v a ria b le s .
I t was the only one o f
the a ttitu d e scales not e ffe c te d by r e lig io n , number o f c h ild re n ,
or le v e l o f education.
One m ight a t le a s t expect to fin d a s i g n i f i ­
cant c o rre la tio n between a ttitu d e s toward education and le v e l o f
education, since persons o f th is sample were s lig h t ly ahead o f the
average fo r Montana o f 12.2 years o f schooling (1970 Census, U.S.
Dept, o f Commerce, 1973).
Those respondents having some formal
schooling beyond high school comprised 54.1 per cent o f the t o t a l .
sample.
Perhaps th is has bearing on the fin d in g .
The mean was extrem ely high and y e t more than h a lf o f the
respondents (52.7%) o f th is sample scored above i t .
a c tu a lly very few low scores.
There were
Since those few respondents having low
scores came from a v a rie ty o f circum stances, i t was not possible to
p o in t to any one fa c to r predisposing toward th e ir low opinion o f
education.
G enerally speaking, th is sample o f ru ra l Montanans,
whether young o r o ld , ric h or poor, co lle g e educated o r not are very
much aware o f the value o f education.
43
Social In te ra c tio n
That p o rtio n o f the instrum ent dealing w ith the p a rtic ip a n t's
s o c ia l l i f e and re c re a tio n was examined in two p a rts :
a ctio n and s o c ia l s a tis fa c tio n .
s o cia l in t e r ­
S ocial in te ra c tio n was comprised o f
the respondent's involvement w ith r e la tiv e s , fr ie n d s , and neighbors
liv in g in the community.
I t was d e a lt w ith not only q u a n tita tiv e ly
but also as an a ttitu d e .
Social s a tis fa c tio n , on the o th e r hand,
involved general frie n d lin e s s o f the community, a sense o f belonging­
ness f e l t , and o v e ra ll tone o f fa m ily l i f e .
By d iv id in g the o rig in a l
scale in th is manner, two scores were derived.
Each o f the scores
represented a separate, y e t re la te d c h a ra c te ris tic o f the p a r tic ip a n t's
so cia l l i f e .
High scores on so cia l in te ra c tio n in d ica te d less involvement
w ith r e la tiv e s , frie n d s , and neighbors liv in g in the community.
Scores
ranged from 9 to 45, w ith the mean being 28, and the highest a tta in a b le
score 55.
Those who had more so cia l in te ra c tio n also tended to have
g re a te r so cia l s a tis fa c tio n (see Table 2, page 30).
I t seems th a t
those in d iv id u a ls who get involved w ith others in the community also
enjoy th e ir so cia l l i f e more.
A high percentage o f respondents appear
to be s o c ia lly a c tiv e and g e n e ra lly s a tis fie d w ith the community and
th e ir fa m ily l i f e .
44
Hypothesis I b s ta te d :
There is a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip
between a ttitu d e s toward c h ild re a rin g and a ttitu d e s toward so cia l
l i f e and re c re a tio n .
The hypothesis was examined in l i g h t o f both
so cia l in te ra c tio n and s o c ia l s a tis fa c tio n .
The data support hypothesis
I b, however only in terms o f s o c ia l s a tis fa c tio n , not in terms o f .
so cia l in te ra c tio n ( r e fe r to c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s s e c tio n ).
Hypothesis 3 s ta te d :
There is a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip
between a ttitu d e s toward education and a ttitu d e s toward s o cia l l i f e
and re c re a tio n .
The te s tin g re je c te d hypothesis 3.
Hypothesis 5 s ta te d :
There is a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip
between so cia l l i f e and re c re a tio n and the personal v a ria b le s o f
(a) sex, (b) age, (c) m a rita l s ta tu s , (d) income, (e) r e lig io n ,
( f ) church attendance, (g) number o f c h ild re n , (h) c h ild re n between
the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the home, ( i ) c h ild re n 18 and over liv in g
in the home, and ( j ) le v e l o f education.
Hypothesis 5 a, c, f , g,
and h were s ig n ific a n t in terms o f s o c ia l in te ra c tio n ; hypothesis
d and j were s ig n ific a n t in terms o f s o c ia l s a tis fa c tio n .
The te s tin g
re je c te d 5 b, e, and i .
Sex.
females.
Males tended to in d ic a te less socia l in te ra c tio n than
Since the study deals e x c lu s iv e ly w ith a ru ra l p o pula tion,
i t may be th a t the prim ary occupation, farming and ranching (L in d ,
1975), lends i t s e l f to so cia l in te ra c tio n fo r females moreso than
45
fo r males.
Male members o f the fa m ily q u ite p o ssib ly spend more o f
t h e ir time working in the f ie ld s , w ith c a tt le , e tc.
Examination o f two s p e c ific qu estions, however, shows something
q u ite d iffe r e n t.
In response to the question :
"How much do male
members o f the fa m ily go out to f is h , hunt, bowl, or g o lf, leaving
the women and sm aller c h ild re n a t home?", 77.1 per cent (256) o f the
sample re p lie d , e ith e r "not too o fte n " or "h a rd ly e v e r."
hand, in responding to :
On the other
"How o fte n does the lady o f the house go
out to clu b s, p a r tie s , e t c . , leaving fa th e r and the c h ild re n at
home?", 81.9 per cent (272) re p lie d e ith e r "not too o fte n " or "ha rdly
e v e r."
The d iffe re n c e in the responses is not g re a t; however, i t
may be due to the lim it in g e ffe c t o f the question concerning male
in te ra c tio n .
That p a r tic u la r question includes only fo u r types o f
re c re a tio n ; the question concerning female in te ra c tio n is a c tu a lly
u n lim ite d as to type o f re c re a tio n by i t s use o f " e tc ."
Responses to the two questions are s ig n if ic a n tly re la te d to
each oth er a t the .001 le v e l.
In oth er words, the more males are
involved in a c t iv it ie s outside the home, the more women tend to be
involved in a c t iv it ie s outside the home.
As e ith e r male members o f the fa m ily or the lady o f the house
went out more leaving other fa m ily members a t home, the q u a lity o f
fa m ily l i f e
tended to decrease.
In lik e manner, fe e lin g s tended to
be more negative w ith regard to amount o f so cia l in te ra c tio n ; the
.
46
home was regarded as lo v in g and warm to a le sse r degree.
This seems
to p o in t to the idea th a t a l l types o f s o cia l in te ra c tio n do not
n e ce ssa rily have p o s itiv e e ffe c ts on fa m ily l i f e .
I t appears th a t
fa m ily members may fe e l a stro n g e r bond i f s o cia l in te ra c tio n s are .
to g e th e r. .
-
I t is in te re s tin g to note th a t 77.1 per cent (256) o f the
respondents f e l t th e ir home was e ith e r extremely or q u ite lo v in g ,
warm, and happy.
The same percentage o f males, 77.1, responded
th a t they seldom o r ra re ly went out leaving the others a t home.
Two fin d in g s were s ig n if ic a n t ly re la te d to female in te ra c tio n ,
but not to male in te ra c tio n .
Those women having b e tte r q u a lity
re la tio n s h ip s w ith t h e ir re la tiv e s tended to go out less to clu b s,
p a rtie s , e tc.
At the same t i m e , . i t also appears th a t as women went
out more, the tendency to be in v ite d out fo r dinner and v is it in g
decreased.
Those women spending more time in a c t iv it ie s outside the
home probably also have close frie n d s engaged in the same a c t iv it ie s .
I f so, these women may not have had the time nor the in c lin a tio n fo r
a d d itio n a l s o c ia liz in g through dinner in v ita tio n s .
M a rita l s ta tu s .
As m a rita l sta tu s moved from s in g le to m arried,
there was a tendency f o r a g re a te r amount o f s o cia l in te ra c tio n . The
same tendency may have e xiste d fo r those respondents who were e ith e r
divorced or widowed; however, only 28 respondents (8.4%) comprised the
47
l a t t e r groups.
I t may be th a t the small percentage represented by
these two groups skewed the re s u lts in the d ire c tio n o f a greater
amount o f so cia l in te ra c tio n .
Age, a b i l i t y , companionship, and a v a ila b ilit y o f a c t iv it ie s in
the community may have played an im portant ro le in the amount o f s o c ia l
in te ra c tio n reported by the respondent.
S ingle persons, young and
old a lik e , may have been less a c tiv e s o c ia lly due to a la ck o f com­
panionship and/or places to go and thin gs to do in the community.
MacKay (1973) in a study o f the aged found a s lig h t re la tio n s h ip
between being s in g le and p a rtic ip a tin g less in o rg a n iz a tio n s .
Since
the sample had a very high percentage o f married persons (84.6%), those
who were s in g le may not have f e l t they had s im ila r in te re s ts w ith others
liv in g in the community.
S ingle persons not among those in the younger
age groups may have had d i f f i c u l t y in g e ttin g o u t, due to physical
he alth and/or r e s tr ic tio n s , th e re fo re lim itin g t h e ir outside in v o lv e ­
ment w ith o th e rs.
Divorcees and widowers, on the o th e r hand, once
m arried and perhaps having c h ild re n , may have had more s o cia l contacts
than those in the s in g le group.
Church attendance.
so did s o c ia l in te ra c tio n .
As frequency o f church attendance increased,
Church and church re la te d a c t iv it ie s seem
to have an in flu e n c e on the amount o f in te ra c tio n among those persons
48
who a tte n d .
Perhaps church provides a non-threatening atmosphere
in which people can meet and become acquainted.
Although church attendance is s ig n if ic a n tly re la te d to socia l
in te r a c tio n , i t is not re la te d to the amount o f s a tis fa c tio n f e l t
re g a rd in g .fa m ily and community l i f e .
I t appears th a t having a place,
in which to meet and in te r a c t w ith others is not enough.
The s a tis fa c ­
tio n derived from th is type o f a c t iv it y may depend on the number o f
fa m ily members p a r tic ip a tin g to g e th e r, whether i t is viewed as an
o b lig a tio n o r personal choice, and the degree to which the p a r t ic i­
pants become invo lve d.
.
Number o f c h ild r e n .
Social in te ra c tio n decreased as the
number o f c h ild re n increased.
This is a somewhat curious fin d in g since
one m ight expect school and o th e r o rg a n iz a tio n a l a c t iv it ie s in which
c h ild re n are involved to also in v o lv e parents.
Perhaps those c h ild re n
from la rg e r fa m ilie s do not tend to be a c tiv e in o rg a n iz a tio n s ,
because o f costs in v o lv e d , th e re fo re not in v o lv in g th e ir parents.
On the o th e r hand, those w ith more c h ild re n may fin d themselves w ith
less tim e fo r involvements outside the fa m ily .
The fin d in g may be viewed in y e t another way.
Those having
fewer c h ild re n tended to be more democratic in th e ir c h ild re aring
a ttitu d e s (see Table 3, page 31).
A re la tio n s h ip was also found to
e x is t between those leaning toward democratic c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s
49
TABLE 4
C o rre la tio n o f Social In te ra c tio n w ith Use o f Telephone
Component
Number re la tiv e s in community
Q u a lity o f re la tio n s h ip w ith
Use o f
Telephone
.013
NS
Social in te ra c tio n w ith
.019
■ F rie n d s ,liv in g in community
.001
In v ite people fo r dinner and v is it in g
.001
"Drop in " a t frie n d s
.001
In v ite d ou t to dinner and v is it in g
.001
Friends "drop in "
.001
S a tis fa c tio n w ith so cia l in te ra c tio n
Total c h ild re a rin g score
. NS
.005 .
50
and g re a te r use o f the telephone fo r v is it in g (see Table 4 ).
It
appears there may be a p o s itiv e re la tio n s h ip between sm a lle r fa m ily
s iz e , g re a te r so cia l in te ra c tio n , democratic c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s ,
and g re a te r use o f the telephone as an instrum ent o f s o c ia l in t e r ­
a c tio n .
A p o s itiv e re la tio n s h ip also e x is ts between v is it in g by phone
and the fo llo w in g :
so cia l in te ra c tio n w ith r e la tiv e s , the frequency
o f frie n d s "dropping in " to v i s i t , the frequency w ith which people
are in v ite d to the respondent's house f o r dinner and v is it in g , the
frequency w ith which frie n d s are v is ite d , and the frequency w ith which
the respondent is in v ite d to someone's house fo r dinner and v is it in g
(see Table 4 ).
This fin d in g p o in ts to the idea th a t the telephone
may not n e ce ssa rily be used as a s u b s titu te fo r fa c e -to -fa c e in t e r ­
a ctio n w ith o th e rs , but may perhaps be used as a to o l fo r in v itin g
o r encouraging others out.
On the o th e r hand, i f a re la tio n s h ip does
e x is t between number o f c h ild re n and v is it in g by phone, i t seems th a t
c h ild re n s ' a c t iv it ie s and lik e involvements o f parents may warrant
g re a te r use o f the phone.
In so doing, more so cia l contacts may
be made.
C hildren between the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the home.
Social
in te ra c tio n decreased as the number o f c h ild re n between the ages o f
0-17 liv in g in the home increased.
I t was not re la te d however to the
51
number o f c h ild re n over the age o f 18.
I t appears from th is fin d in g
th a t younger c h ild re n do tend to t i e parents down.
Time and resources
involved in the care o f c h ild re n may decrease the amount l e f t fo r
o th e r a c t iv it ie s .
Although so cia l in te ra c tio n was e ffe c te d by c h ild re n o f high
school age and younger, s a tis fa c tio n w ith home and community l i f e was
n o t.
I t appears, in th is in sta nce, th a t a g re a te r amount o f in t e r ­
a c tio n among frie n d s and re la tiv e s was not an in d ic a tio n o f a s a tis ­
fy in g so cia l l i f e .
Perhaps stayin g a t home w ith o th e r fa m ily members
was indeed as s a tis fy in g fo r many as a c tiv e ly in v o lv in g themselves
w ith outside o b lig a tio n s .
Social S a tis fa c tio n
High scores on so cia l s a tis fa c tio n in d ica te d a less p o s itiv e
a ttitu d e toward the community in general, a decreased sense o f
belongingness, and less s a tis fa c tio n w ith one's home and fa m ily l i f e .
Scores ranged from 3 to 16, w ith 26 being the possible h ig h ; mean,
median, and mode a l l were nine.
In general, th is sample displayed a f a i r l y high degree o f
so cia l s a tis fa c tio n .
There was a high percentage o f respondents
re p o rtin g a very favorable fe e lin g toward t h e ir community and fa m ily
life
(see Table 5).
These same elements o f socia l s a tis fa c tio n
•
(frie n d lin e s s o f community, acceptance in community, q u a lity o f fa m ily
52
' TABLE 5
Components o f Social In te ra c tio n and S ocial S a tis fa c tio n
Component
R e la tive s:
2 o r more fa m ilie s liv in g in the community
Very good to good re la tio n s h ip w ith
More than h a lf o f so cia l in te ra c tio n w ith
Friends:
At le a s t
At le a s t
At le a s t
At le a s t
At le a s t
At le a s t
N
,
4-5 fa m ilie s liv in g in community
once/mo. in v ite people fo r dinner & v is it in g
once/mo. "drop in " a t frie n d s to v i s i t
once/mo. in v ite d out to din ner & v is it in g
once/wk. frie n d s "drop in " to v i s i t
3 tim es/wk. v i s i t by telephone
Community:
Quite to extrem ely fr ie n d ly
Very w ell accepted in
About r ig h t amount o f so cia l in te ra c tio n
Family L ife :
Very good to the best
Home - lo v in g , warm
%
178
205
53.7
61.7
122
36.7
231
156
213
137
■
69.6
47.0
64.2
223
228
41.2
67.2
68.7
220
66.3
243
190
73.2
57.2
207
256
77.1
62.4
53
l i f e , and atmosphere o f the home) were found to have a s ig n ific a n t
p o s itiv e re la tio n s h ip w ith many o f the components o f s o c ia l in t e r ­
a c tio n (see Table 6).
.
I t is curious th a t as the number o f re la tiv e s liv in g in the
community increased, the tendency fo r the home to be considered
lo v in g , warm, and happy decreased.
I t appears th a t having re la tiv e s
in the community adds to the frie n d lin e s s and belongingness f e l t ,
but not to q u a lity o f the home and fa m ily l i f e .
F riends, not r e la tiv e s ,
liv in g in the community did not have the same e ffe c t.
Hypothesis I b s ta te d :
There is a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip
between a ttitu d e s toward c h ild re a rin g and a ttitu d e s toward social
l i f e and re c re a tio n .
The hypothesis was examined in l i g h t o f both
s o c ia l in te ra c tio n and so cia l s a tis fa c tio n .
The data support
hypothesis I b, however only in terms o f s o cia l s a tis fa c tio n , not
in terms o f so cia l in te ra c tio n ( r e fe r to c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s
s e c tio n ).
Hypothesis 3 s ta te d :
There is a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip
between a ttitu d e s toward education and a ttitu d e s toward s o cia l l i f e
and re c re a tio n .
The te s tin g re je c te d hypothesis 3.
Hypothesis 5 s ta te d :
There is a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip
.
between so cia l l i f e and re c re a tio n and the personal v a ria b le s o f
(a) sex, (b) age, (c) m a rita l s ta tu s , (d) income, (e) r e lig io n ,
( f ) church attendance, (g) number o f c h ild re n , (h) c h ild re n between
TABLE 6
M a trix o f Social In te ra c tio n and Social S a tis fa c tio n
Component
F rie n d !iness Acceptance Q u a lity o f
o f community in community fa m ily l i f e
Home lo v in g , warm
No. re la tiv e s in community
Q u a lity o f re la tio n s h ip w ith
Social in te ra c tio n w ith
.001
NS
.044
.001
NS
.001
NS
.009
NS
Friends liv in g in community
In v ite people fo r dinner & v is it in g
"Drop in " a t frie n d s
In v ite d out to dinner & v is it in g
Friends "drop in "
V is it by telephone
.001
NS
.009
.003
.001
.002
.001
NS
.001
.001
NS
.001
.003
.012
.001
.005
NS
.043
NS
NS
NS
NS
NS
NS
F rie n d lin e ss o f community
Acceptance in community
S a tis fa c tio n w /so cia l in te ra c tio n
____
.001
.003
.001
—
.039
.005
.001
.031
NS
.042
NS
Q u a lity o f fa m ily l i f e
Home - lo v in g , warm
.005
NS
.001
.042
____
.001
—
.001
-.021
.003
NS
55
the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the home, ( i ) c h ild re n 18 and over liv in g
in the home, and ( j ) le v e l o f education.
Hypothesis 5 a, c, f , g,
and h were s ig n if ic a n t in terms o f s o c ia l in te ra c tio n '; hypothesis
5 d and j were s ig n if ic a n t in terms o f s o c ia l s a tis fa c tio n .
The
te s tin g re je c te d 5 b, e, and i .
Income.
Those in d iv id u a ls in the higher income brackets
in d ic a te d s ig n if ic a n t ly less s o c ia l s a tis fa c tio n than did those w ith
lower incomes.
I t appears th a t having more money to go places and
do th in g s does not n e ce ssa rily lend i t s e l f to the s a tis fa c tio n one
derives from his or her so cia l l i f e .
Perhaps those having higher
incomes were not s a tis fie d w ith the s o c ia l options a v a ila b le to them
in the community.
S a tis fa c tio n w ith the respondents' so cia l in te ra c tio n s are
s ig n if ic a n tly re la te d to a sense o f belongingness in the community
(see Table 6 ).
Table I (page 28) shows 29.7 per cent o f the respondents
to be in the $15,000 to over $25,000 income bracket.
In responding
to the q u e stio n , "How much ^o you fe e l th a t you 'be lo n g ' in your
community?", 26.5 per cent re p lie d ",only somewhat" o r "somewhat
shunned, l e f t o u t, o r re je c te d ."
The percentages o f those respondents
in the $15,000 to $25,000 income bracket and those not fe e lin g accepted
in the community are very ne arly the same.
I f those persons in the
higher income brackets did not fe e l t h e ir s o cia l needs were being
56
met, perhaps those s&me people did not fe e l a strong sense o f
belongingness in t h e ir community.
Level o f education.
o f education increased.
As s o c ia l s a tis fa c tio n increased, leve l
I t appears th a t those w ith less education
in th is sample were not those in the lower income b ra c k e ts 5 since
the re was a s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip between having less income and
being more s a tis fie d s o c ia lly .
Over h a lf o f the respondents (54.1%) in th is study have some
education beyond high school (see Table I , page 28).
I f a large
percentage o f persons in the community are in th is group i t may very
w ell have an in flu e n c e upon the kinds o f a c t iv it ie s a v a ila b le in the
community and upon the various kinds o f s o c ia l in te ra c tio n s which
take place.
Those persons having fewer years o f formal education may
fe e l a s lig h t stigma against them; they may also not be in te re s te d in
w hat's a v a ila b le as fa r as so c ia l options in the community.
These
fe e lin g s could c o n trib u te to the tendency toward less s o c ia l s a tis ­
fa c tio n .
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY9 CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary .
The major purpose o f th is research was the in v e s tig a tio n o f
ru ra l Montanans' a ttitu d e s toward c h ild re a rin g , education, and so cia l
\
l i f e and re c re a tio n . These were c o rre la te d w ith one another and also
w ith the personal va ria b le s o f sex, age, m a rita l s ta tu s , income,
r e lig io n , church attendance, number o f c h ild re n , c h ild re n between
the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the home, c h ild re n 18 and over liv in g in
the home, and le v e l o f education.
P a rtic ip a n ts f o r the study were 332 ru ra l Montanans from twelve
randomly selected c o u n tie s :
Fergus, M usselshell, Powder R iver, McCone,
Roosevelt, P h illip s , B la in e , Teton, Madison, Meagher, Flathead, and
Sanders.
The sample was predom inantly female (59.6%), the mean age
group was 36-50, and ne a rly seven-eighths (84.6%) o f the respondents
were m arried.
The present in v e s tig a to r was not involved in the c o lle c tio n
o f data which took place in 1973.
For the purposes o f th is paper,
fo u r instrum ents from the o r ig in a l data were used:
a general in f o r ­
mation s e c tio n , A Survey o f Opinions Regarding the D is c ip lin e o f
C hildren by I t k i n, A ttitu d e s Toward Education by Rundquist and S le tto ,
and a so cia l l i f e and re c re a tio n scale developed by the p ro je c t leader
58
and his graduate a s s is ta n t.
The instrum ents were evaluated and scored
by the present researcher; the data were coded fo r tra n s fe rrin g to
e le c tro n ic data processing equipment.
Five hypotheses were judged using the .05 le v e l o f s ig n ific a n c e
as the c r ite r io n fo r the acceptance or re je c tio n o f the hypotheses
throughout.
Hypothesis I :
This y ie ld e d the fo llo w in g re s u lts :
A s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip e x is ts between a ttitu d e s
toward c h ild re a rin g and a ttitu d e s toward (a) education and (b)
so cia l l i f e and re c re a tio n .
A s ig n if ic a n t p o s itiv e re la tio n s h ip was
found to e x is t between a u th o rita ria n c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s and.a
p o s itiv e a ttitu d e toward education.
A u th o rita ria n c h ild re a rin g
a ttitu d e s were also s ig n if ic a n tly re la te d to less s o c ia l s a tis fa c tio n .
Hypothesis 2:
A s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip e x is ts between a ttitu d e s
toward c h ild re a rin g and the personal va ria b le s o f (a) sex, (b) age,
(c) m a rita l s ta tu s , (d) income, (e) r e lig io n , ( f ) church attendance,
?
(g) number o f c h ild re n , (h) c h ild re n between the ages o f 0-17 liv in g
in the home, ( i ) c h ild re n 18 and over liv in g in the home, and
( j ) le v e l o f education.
A s ig n ific a n t p o s itiv e re la tio n s h ip was
found to e x is t between a u th o rita ria n c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s and males,
those who were o ld e r, P ro te s ta n ts , those having a la rg e r number o f
c h ild re n , and those having a tta in e d a higher le v e l o f education.
59
Hypothesis 3:
A s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip e x is ts between a ttitu d e s
toward education and a ttitu d e s toward s o c ia l l i f e and re c re a tio n .
Hypothesis 3 was re je c te d by the data..
Hypothesis 4:
A s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip e x is ts between a ttitu d e s
toward education and the personal v a ria b le s o f (a) sex, (b) age,
(c) m a rita l s ta tu s , (d) income, (e) r e lig io n , ( f ) church attendance,
(g) number o f c h ild re n , (h) c h ild re n between the ages o f 0-17 liv in g
in the home, ( i ) c h ild re n 18 and over liv in g in the home, and ( j )
le v e l o f education.
Hypothesis 5:
The data re je c te d a ll o f hypothesis 4.
A s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip e x is ts between a ttitu d e s
toward s o c ia l l i f e and re c re a tio n and the personal v a ria b le s o f
(a) sex, (b) age, (c) m a rita l s ta tu s , (d) income, (e) r e lig io n ,
( f ) church attendance, (g) number o f c h ild re n , (h) c h ild re n between
the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the home, ( i ) c h ild re n 18 and over liv in g
in the home, and ( j ) le v e l o f education.
Social in te ra c tio n was
found to be.less fo r those who were male, those who were s in g le ,
those who attended church less fre q u e n tly , those w ith more c h ild re n ,
and those w ith more c h ild re n under the age o f 18 liv in g in the home.
Social s a tis fa c tio n was found to be less fo r those respondents in
the higher income brackets and those w ith less extensive education.
60
Conclusions
Data from the analysis o f the hypotheses support these con- .
e lu s io n s :
Conclusion I :
The respondents o f th is sample, who leaned toward
a u th o rita ria n is m in t h e ir c h ild re a rin g views, also leaned toward a
more p o s itiv e outlook toward education.
Hypothesis la showed th a t
a. s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip e xiste d between c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s
and a ttitu d e s toward education.
Conclusion 2:
Montanans o f th is sample re p o rtin g democratic c h ild
re a rin g a ttitu d e s also tended to re p o rt a higher degree o f social
s a tis fa c tio n .
'
Hypothesis lb showed th a t a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip
e xiste d between a ttitu d e s toward c h ild re a rin g and a ttitu d e s toward
s o c ia l l i f e and re c re a tio n .
Conclusion 3:
In th is sample, males appeared to be more a u th o rita ria n
in th e ir a ttitu d e s toward c h ild re a rin g than females.
Hypothesis 2a
showed th a t a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip existed between a ttitu d e s toward
c h ild re a rin g and sex.
Conclusion 4:
Those who comprised the o ld e r age groups in th is sample
seemed to be more tr a d itio n a l or a u th o rita ria n in t h e ir c h ild re a rin g
a ttitu d e s .than the younger p a rtic ip a n ts .
Hypothesis 2b showed th a t
a s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip existe d between a ttitu d e s toward c h ild
re a rin g and age.
61
Conclusion 5:
The ru ra l Montanans o f th is sample who had a la rg e r
number o f c h ild re n tended to hold more a u th o rita ria n views o f c h ild
re a rin g w h ile those w ith fewer c h ild re n tended to be more democratic.
Hypothesis 2g showed th a t a s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip e xiste d between
c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s and number o f c h ild re n .
Conclusion 6:
Among the p a rtic ip a n ts in th is sample, more equali -
ta ria n o r democratic views o f c h ild re a rin g were re la te d to higher
le v e ls o f education.
Hypothesis 2 j illu s t r a t e d th a t a s ig n ific a n t
re la tio n s h ip e x is te d between c h ild re a rin g a ttitu d e s and le v e l o f
education.
Conclusion 7:
With reference to th is sample i t can be said th a t there
were no personal va ria b le s which in flu e n ce d the a ttitu d e s held toward
education.
The re je c tio n o f hypothesis 4 supports th is conclusion.
Conclusion 8:
Among the p a rtic ip a n ts in th is sample, males appeared
to in te r a c t s o c ia lly less than females.
Hypothesis 5a showed th a t
a s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip e xiste d between a ttitu d e s toward social
l i f e and re c re a tio n and sex.
Conclusion 9:
Respondents o f th is sample comprising the higher income
brackets seemed less s a tis fie d w ith t h e ir so cia l liv e s than those in
the lower income brackets.
Hypothesis 5d showed th a t a s ig n ific a n t
re la tio n s h ip e xiste d between a ttitu d e s toward s o cia l l i f e and recrea­
tio n and income.
62
Conclusion 10:
Rural Montanans re p re s e n ta tiv e o f th is sample who
attended church more o fte n appeared to be a c tiv e s o c ia lly in other
respects as w e ll.
Hypothesis 5 f showed th a t a s ig n if ic a n t r e la tio n ­
ship e xiste d between a ttitu d e s toward s o c ia l l i f e and re c re a tio n and
church attendance.
Conclusion 11:
Those respondents in th is sample having a la rg e r
number o f c h ild re n did not appear as s o c ia lly a c tiv e as those w ith
fewer c h ild re n .
Hypothesis Sg showed th a t a s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip
e xiste d between a ttitu d e s toward s o c ia l l i f e and re c re a tio n and
number o f c h ild re n .
Conclusion 12:
With respect to th is sample, having c h ild re n between
the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the home was re la te d to a le s s e r amount
o f s o c ia l in te ra c tio n .
Hypothesis Sh showed th a t a s ig n ific a n t
re la tio n s h ip e xiste d between a ttitu d e s toward s o cia l l i f e and recrea­
tio n and c h ild re n between the ages o f 0-17 liv in g in the home.
Conclusion 13:
Among the p a rtic ip a n ts in th is sample, a higher
degree o f s o c ia l s a tis fa c tio n was re la te d to more extensive education.
Hypothesis Sj showed th a t a s ig n if ic a n t re la tio n s h ip e xiste d between
a ttitu d e s toward s o c ia l l i f e and re c re a tio n and le v e l o f education.
Recommendations
Conclusions were not based on s ig n ific a n t re la tio n s h ip s
in v o lv in g m a rita l sta tu s and r e lig io n .
The percentages o f respondents
)
63
repre sentin g the groups:
never m arried (6.9%), m arried (84.6%),
divorced (1.5% ), and widowed (6.9%) were so d is p ro p o rtio n a te th a t
fu r th e r study is necessary to assess the fin d in g w ith any accuracy.
The percentages o f respondents com prising the groups:
Roman C atholic
(17.5%), P ro te sta n t (74.5%), oth er (1.8% ), and no re lig io u s preference
(6.1%) were also q u ite d is p ro p o rtio n a te .
On the basis o f the large
concentration in one group (P ro te s ta n t) fu r th e r study is also necessary
to provide accuracy in in te rp r e tin g the data.
The p a rtic ip a n ts o f th is stud y, fo r the most p a rt, seemed to
regard education very h ig h ly .
I t seems th a t fu r th e r in v e s tig a tio n
might be h e lp fu l in determ ining the re la tio n s h ip between a favorable
a ttitu d e such as th is one and actual behavior.
In o th e r words does
a s ig n if ic a n t p o s itiv e re la tio n s h ip e x is t between having a favorable
a ttitu d e toward education and support o f the lo c a l schools and/or
teachers?
"
P a rtic ip a tio n in school a c t iv it ie s (b a ll games, concerts,.-
PTA, e t c . ) , attendance a t school board meetings, and the passage o f
special le v ie s are also areas o f concern in t h e ir re la tio n s h ip w ith
a ttitu d e s toward education.
In terms o f so cia l l i f e and re c re a tio n , i t appeared from the
study th a t those having a la rg e r number o f c h ild re n were not as a c tiv e
s o c ia lly as those w ith fewer c h ild re n .
I t seems th a t youth groups
in the community such as FHA, 4-H, Scouts, e tc . , could provide fre e
b a b y s ittin g services from time to time so parents could get out more
V
64
e a s ily .
An exchange o f services m ight c o n trib u te to the w e ll-b e in g
o f both parents and youth.
Members from such groups could exchange
an hour or more o f th e ir time b a b y s ittin g fo r the same amount o f
time from the parents in helping w ith the o rg a n iz a tio n .
Students o f
high school home economics could get p ra c tic a l experience and academic
c r e d it by making themselves a v a ila b le fo r a few hours in the same
kind o f s itu a tio n .
Another p o ssible means o f helping to increase s o c ia l in t e r ­
a ctio n and s a tis fa c tio n m ight be the development o f special in te re s t
groups (gourmet cooking, macrame, p a re n tin g , f l y ty in g , s o ft b a l l , '
back packing, e t c . ) .
I t would be e s p e c ia lly h e lp fu l i f there could
be something fo r each fa m ily member to be involved in , perhaps helping
to strengthen both fa m ily and community l i f e .
in c lu d e :
.Resource persons might
teachers, extension agents, r e tir e d persons, lo c a l craftsm en,
homemakers w ith pro fe ssio n a l s k i l l s , e tc .
To gain a w ider perspective on ru ra l fa m ily l i f e s ty le s i t
would be h e lp fu l fo r the present study to be re p lic a te d in oth er ru ra l
areas outside the s ta te o f Montana.
In so doing, there would be a
g re a te r amount o f in fo rm a tio n on which to b u ild .
c u ltu ra l d iffe re n c e s could also be examined.
Regional and
An in v e s tig a tio n
o f those liv in g in urban Montana would be h e lp fu l in determ ining any
d iffe re n c e s th a t m ight e x is t between an urban and ru ra l population.
65
There are oth er questions which are also p e rtin e n t.
Research
is needed to provide answers such as:
What is th e .re la tio n s h ip between parental a ttitu d e s , c h ild
behavior and p e rso n a lity ?
What is the e ffe c t o f c h ild re a rin g seminars, classes, e tc.
on parental a ttitu d e s and/or c h ild re a rin g techniques?
Is there consistency between what parents re p o rt th e ir c h ild
re a rin g a ttitu d e s to be and th e ir behavior when observed in
in te ra c tio n w ith t h e ir ch ild re n ?
Is there consistency between the way c h ild re n perceive th e ir
parents and actual parental a ttitu d e s ?
The present study suggests th a t i t is possible to research
questions such as the above, and to provide some r e lia b le data in
answer to them.
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APPENDIX
72
GENERAL INFORMATION
Regardless o f your age or sex, and whether married or s in g le , answer a ll
o f the items on the fo llo w in g pages as they apply to you.
I f c e rta in
items do not a t a l l apply to your s itu a tio n , omit them and go on to the
next item th a t does apply to you. I f we have not included enough
possible answers to c e rta in item s, please w rite in the answer you fe e l
would be the best one fo r you.
I t is im portant to remember th a t there is no such th in g as a r ig h t or
wrong answer to any question in th is survey. We sim ply are
seeking
the opinions o f ru ra l Montana people, so the only possible " r ig h t"
answer is your honest o p inion .
I.
2.
Your sex:
Age:
Male
_____ Under 21
Female
_____ 2 1 - 2 8 _____29-35
51-65
3.
Have you ever been:
_____36-50
Over 65
No
Yes
I f y e s , how
many times
Engaged
Married
Divorced
Widowed
4.
Check the category th a t represents the income you reported fo r your
1972 tax re tu rn s . (This w i l l include earnings o f both man and w if e . )
_____over $25,000
5.
_____ $7,000 - 9,999
$20,000 - 24,999
$5,000 - 6,999
$15,000 - 19,999
$3,000 - 4,999
$10,000 - 14,999
Under $3,000
R e lig io n :
Roman C atholic
Protes ta n t( _____________ )
Denomination
Other r e lig io n (
__________________ )
s p e c ify
No r e lig io n
73
6.
7.
Frequency o f church attendance:
_____Once o r tw ice per. month
_____Three o r more times per month
_____Never attend church
_____A few times per year
Total number o f c h ild re n you have ever had:
_____ Sons
j____ Daughters
8.
Number o f ch ild re n , now liv in g in your home:
Age 0-17 _____ _____ '
Boy
G irl
9.
Number o f c h ild re n now liv in g in your home:
Age 18 or old er
Boy
10.
Check the highest le v e l o f education you have a tta in e d :
_____ Completed less than eighth grade
_____ Completed eighth grade
'_____Attended high school
_____ Completed high school
_____Attended colleg e
_____ Completed bachelor degree
_____ College beyond bachelor degree
_____Masters degree
Have doctors degree
_____ Finished business colleg e
Finished a trade school
Gi r l
■74
CHILD REARING
Read each item c a r e fu lly and then c ir c le the A, D5 o r U to
whether you agree, disagree or are undecided as to how you
the statement. Do not spend much time on any one item and
there is no r ig h t answer except the one th a t most ho nestly
your fe e lin g s .
A
In d ic a te
fe e l about
remember
represents
D
U
I.
Parents should demand complete .obedience from th e ir
c h ild re n .
A ' D
U
2.
C hildren should not be allowed to argue w ith th e ir
parents.
A
D
U
3.
C hildren these days are u s u a lly given too much freedom.
A
D
U
4.
Parents seem to be re lu c ta n t or a fra id to d is c ip lin e
t h e ir c h ild re n .
A
D
U
5.
C hildren should receive some pay fo r chores they do
around the home.
A
D
U
6.
Parents should take away a c h ild 's p r iv ile g e s , such
as watching a fa v o r ite te le v is io n program, as punish­
ment fo r m isbehavior.
A
D
U
7.
A child.w ho misbehaves should be spanked.
A
D
LI
8.
A c h ild 's own fe e lin g s and desires are r e la tiv e ly
unim portant; the im portant th in g is fo r him to do as
he is to ld .
A
D
U
9.
C hildren should be required to do c e rta in tasks w ith o u t
pay.
A
D
U 10.
An im portant aspect o f d is c ip lin e is th a t the c h ild
should not know what to expect next o f his parents.
A . D
LI
11.
A parent ought not place very much tr u s t in a c h ild .
A
U 12.
C hildren are not capable o f making any o f th e ir own
decisions much before the age o f 12.
D
75
A
D
U 13.
I f a c h ild does something wrong and gets in tro u b le
w ith the school or the law, the parents should t r y
to "get him o f f the hook."
A
D
U 14.
A fo u r-y e a r-o ld should be severely punished fo r bed­
w e ttin g .
A
D
U 15.
I f the c h ild re n are fig h tin g the parents should break
i t up a t once and in some way punish the one who
s ta rte d i t .
A
D
U 16.
The more freedom you give a c h ild the worse he gets.
A
D
U 17.
Parents are not require d to exp lain to c h ild re n the
reasons fo r parental actio ns or commands.
A
D
U 18.
C hildren should have a voice in fa m ily decisions th a t
a ffe c t them, such as moving to a new town.
A
D
U 19.
A c h ild who is unusual in any way should be encouraged
to be more lik e oth er c h ild re n .
A D U
.20.
Parents have to crack down harder on c h ild re n i f our
n a tio n 's moral standards are to be saved.
76
ATTITUDES TOWARD EDUCATION
Read each item c a r e fu lly and then c ir c le the A5 D5 or U to in d ic a te
whether you agree, disagree, or are undecided as to how you fee l
about the statem ent. Do not spend much time on any one ite m , and
remember there is no r ig h t answer except the one th a t most honestly
represents your fe e lin g s .
A
D
U
I.
A person can lea rn more by working f o r fo u r years than
by going to school.
A
D
U
2. The more education a person has the
to enjoy l i f e .
b e tte r he is able
A
D
U
3. Education helps a person to use his
b e tte r advantage.
le is u re time to
A
D
U
4. A good education is a great com fort to someone who
c a n 't fin d a jo b .
A
D
U
5. Only subjects lik e reading, w r itin g ,
should be taught a t p u b lic expense.
A
D
U
6. Education is no help in g e ttin g a job today.
A
D
U
7. Most young people are g e ttin g too much education.
A
D
U
8. An education is worth a ll the time and e f f o r t i t
re q u ire s.
A
D
U
9. Our schools encourage an in d iv id u a l to
h im se lf.
A
D
U 10.
There are too many fads and f r i l l s
A
D
U 11.
Education only makes a person discontented.
A
D
U 12.
School tra in in g is o f l i t t l e
problems o f real l i f e .
A
D
U 13. . Education tends to make a person less conceited.
and a rith m e tic
th in k fo r
in modern education
help in meeting the
77
A
D
U 14.
S o lu tio n o f the w o rld 's problems w i l l come through
education.
A
D
U 15.
High school and c o lle g e courses are too im p ra c tic a l.
A
D
U 16.
A person is fo o lis h to keep going to school i f he
can get a jo b .
A
D
U 17.
Savings spent on education are w is e ly invested.
A
D
U 18.
An educated person can advance more ra p id ly in business
and in d u s try .
A
D
U 19.
Parents should not be compelled to send t h e ir c h ild re n
to sch o o l.
A
D
U 20.
Education is more valuable than most people th in k .
A
D
U 21.
An education makes a person a b e tte r c itiz e n .
A
D
U 22.
P ublic money spent on education during the past few
years could have been used more w is e ly fo r other
purposes.
78
SOCIAL L IF E AND RECREATION
In th is se rie s o f questions we are most in te re s te d in le a rn in g what
your usual p ra c tic e is w ith respect to in te ra c tio n s w ith r e la tiv e s ,
fr ie n d s , and neighbors who liv e near you. For the purpose o f answering
these questions please do not take in to account the v is it in g back and
fo r th th a t you may do w ith frie n d s and re la tiv e s who do not liv e in
your community. Place an X in fr o n t o f the statement th a t is most
ap p ro p ria te fo r you.
1.
How many fa m ilie s o f your re la tiv e s (conside ring both sides o f
the fa m ily ) are there liv in g in your community?
_____ 6 o r more
2.
I
_____Good
12-19
_____None
_____ F a ir
_____Poor
_____Very poor
6-11
4-5
3
2
0
What is your fe e lin g about the general frie n d lin e s s o f your
community?
_____ Extremely fr ie n d ly
_____ Not very fr ie n d ly
5.
_____ "I
How many fa m ilie s liv in g in your community, not counting r e la tiv e s ,
do you consider to be very close frie n d s ?
Over 20
4.
2-3
What is the q u a lity o f your re la tio n s h ip in general, w ith these
re la tiv e s ?
_____Very good
3.
_____4-5
_____Quite fr ie n d ly
_____About average
_____ Extremely u n frie n d ly
With whom do you have most o f your s o cia l in te ra c tio n ?
_____Almost e n tir e ly w ith re la tiv e s
_____About h a lf w ith re la tiv e s
_____Mostly w ith frie n d s and neighbors
_____Only w ith frie n d s and neighbor?
We have no so cia l in te ra c tio n s
79
6.
How o fte n do frie n d s "drop in " to v i s i t a t your house?
_____We have 2 or more c a lle rs per week _____About once a week
_____Once o r tw ice a month
____ _A few times a year
Never
7.
How o fte n do you in v ite people to your house fo r dinner and
v is itin g ?
_____At le a s t once a week
_____A few times a year
Never
8.
_____Once o r tw ice a month
_____Once a year
How o fte n do you "drop in " a t frie n d s ' homes to v is it ?
_____At le a s t once a week
_____A few times a year
Never
9.
_____Once or tw ice a month
_____Once a year
How o fte n are you in v ite d to someone's house fo r dinner and
v is itin g ?
_____Once o r more per week
_____A few times a year
Never
10.
How fre q u e n tly do you v i s i t by telephone w ith frie n d s or
neighbors?
'
_____Several times d a ily
_____3-4 c a lls per week
_____Once a month
Never
11.
_____Once or tw ice a month
_____Once a year
.
_____About one c a ll a day
_____Once a week
_____Hardly ever
How much do you fe e l th a t you "belong" in your community?
_____ Feel
_____ Feel
_____ Feel
_____ Feel
weare very w ell
weare somewhat
weare somewhat
weare l e f t out
accepted
accepted
shunned
and re je c te d
I
80
12.
.
How do you fe e l about the amount o f s o cia l in te ra c tio n you have?
(You may check more than one)
_____ I
_____ I
_____ I
_____ I
_____ I
_____ I
13.
wish
wish
fe e l
wish
wish
wish
we had more v is it o r s come to our house
we would v i s i t o th e r people more often
we have about the r ig h t amount
people would not come to our house so ofte n
we would not go to v i s i t others so o fte n
our re la tiv e s would leave us alone
How much do male, members o f the fa m ily go out to f is h , hunt,
bowl, or g o lf , lea vin g the women and sm aller c h ild re n a t home?
_____ Far too o fte n
_____Hardly ever
14.
_____ Frequently
_____S a tis fa c to ry
_____Very poor
To what exte nt do you fe e l th a t your home and fa m ily is a lo v in g ,
warm, and happy one?
_____ Extremely so
_____ Not very much so
_____ I t ' s very u n s a tis fa c to ry
NOTE:
____ Not too o fte n
What would you say is the o v e ra ll tone o r q u a lity o f your fa m ily
lif e ?
_____The best
_____ Very good
_____ Not very good
____ JPpor
16.
_____Not too o fte n
How o fte n does the lady o f the house go out to clu b s, p a rtie s ,
e t c . , lea vin g fa th e r and the c h ild re n a t home?
_____ Far too o fte n
_____Hardly ever
15.
_____ Frequently
_____ P re tty much so
_____ I t ' s u n s a tis fa c to ry
_____About average
Items I , 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 14, comprised the
so cia l in te ra c tio n scale . Items 2, 4, 11, 15, and 16 comprised
the so cia l s a tis fa c tio n scale.
. _____ _ *->- ,,MTticeerrY LIBRARIES
3 1762 10014308 8
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