The Initial Stages of Family Formation: A Path Analysis

Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Wicks, Jerry W.
Language:	English
Published:	Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK 1977
Subjects:	Sociology
Online Access:	http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1566463048507293

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spelling	ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-bgsu15664630485072932021-08-03T07:12:44Z The Initial Stages of Family Formation: A Path Analysis Wicks, Jerry W. Sociology This study's major concern centered on the construction and testing of a "normative" model of early family formation. The basic inquiry involved an attempt to determine which factors influence, either directly or indirectly, age at marriage, the wife's employment, the couple's initial use of contraception, and the spacing of the first birth. Additionally, an assessment was made of the relative effects on these variables owing to factors associated with either the husband or wife. The analysis was carried out separately on 162 non-Catholic and 89 Catholic couples. In general, the results of the path analysis led to three conclusions concerning initial family formation. First, the length of time between marriage and the birth of the first child is affected for the most part by the interplay between the wife's employment and the couple's use of birth control. That is, given the model's assumptions it appears as though working wives, in order to avoid the the possible conflict which might arise between the roles of "worker" and "mother," increasingly employ contraceptives, resulting in a deferment in the birth of the first child. Second, sharp differences were observed between Catholic and non-Catholic couples in terms of the effects certain variables had on the overall pattern of family formation. For instance, whereas the wife's employment and the couple's use of contraception appeared to lengthen the first spacing interval among non-Catholics, a similar pattern was not observed among the Catholic couples. Finally, involving the question of the relative effects on the model owing to either the husband or wife, it was found that among Catholics the husband's characetistics had little or no impact on the model. Among the non-Catholics, on the other hand, the husbands appeared to have substantial influence in several areas of the model. In particular, it was observed that the husband's variables, relative to those of the wife, were more important in determining whether or not the wife was employed prior to the birth of the first child, and whether or not the couple practiced birth control during this period. 1977 English text Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1566463048507293 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1566463048507293 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection	NDLTD
language	English
sources	NDLTD
topic	Sociology
spellingShingle	Sociology Wicks, Jerry W. The Initial Stages of Family Formation: A Path Analysis
author	Wicks, Jerry W.
author_facet	Wicks, Jerry W.
author_sort	Wicks, Jerry W.
title	The Initial Stages of Family Formation: A Path Analysis
title_short	The Initial Stages of Family Formation: A Path Analysis
title_full	The Initial Stages of Family Formation: A Path Analysis
title_fullStr	The Initial Stages of Family Formation: A Path Analysis
title_full_unstemmed	The Initial Stages of Family Formation: A Path Analysis
title_sort	initial stages of family formation: a path analysis
publisher	Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK
publishDate	1977
url	http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1566463048507293
work_keys_str_mv	AT wicksjerryw theinitialstagesoffamilyformationapathanalysis AT wicksjerryw initialstagesoffamilyformationapathanalysis
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The Initial Stages of Family Formation: A Path Analysis

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