A study of some selected family variables and their relationship to the satisfaction of parenthood

Payne, Wayne Howard (1980) A study of some selected family variables and their relationship to the satisfaction of parenthood. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The general intentions of this study were to indicate the prevalence of parent satisfaction, to validate a proposed model of parent satisfaction, and to provide answers to a number of important questions such as: Will parents be satisfied with their roles in child-rearing? What factors will determine satisfaction levels? -- Statistical data showed that marriage and parenthood are common occurrences among adults although there is a continual decline in fertility rates. Through an extensive review of the literature, the variables of major importance were delineated as being relevant to parent satisfaction. Following a social exchange theoretical approach, these variables were combined with a proposed model of parent satisfaction. -- The research instrument, a standardized questionnaire, was administered by means of a personal interview to 100 couples randomly selected from the St. John's telephone directory (both husband and wife were interviewed simultaneously but separately). Data analysis utilized beta coefficients obtained through multiple regression techniques. -- The general findings of this study provided support for the three research propositions and validated the proposed parent satisfaction model. From a total of seventeen hypotheses which were tested, fifteen were confirmed for males and eleven confirmed for females. The findings of this study show that the explanatory power of the parent satisfaction model is stronger for females (R²=.24) than for males (R²=.16). A number of male and female differences emerge from these research findings.

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