Family Development in Three Generations: A Longitudinal Study of Changing Patterns of Planning and Achievement Book

Preface     iii
Charts     xv
Tables     xvi
Introduction
Family Development and Consumership: Issues of Theory and Research Design     1
Strategies Employed in Rendering the Research Idea Researchable
An Accounting Model of Analytic Categories
A Research Design
Summary
The Families Studied: Three Generations of the Same Family Lines     29
Situational Incentives and Constraints Value Orientations     43
Marital and Family Organization     47
Achievements of Families in Housing, Inventory Accumulation, and Financial Security     51
Incentives to Action and Outlook     57
Interdependence Among the Generations     59
Boundary Maintenance vs. Boundary Crossing     59
Interdependence for Mutual Aid     63
Frequency of Intergenerational Contacts and Extent of Help Exchanged     72
Summary and Conclusions     78
1 Planning Careers: An Overview of the Timing of Actions     81
Changes in Family Composition and Occupational Career Patterns     83
Changes in Family Composition over Life Span     83
Activity During the Year of Study     94
Occupational Career Patterns     95
Job Changes over the Year's Observations     99
PlanningResidential Location and Home Improvements     103
Changes in Residential Arrangements     104
Residential Changes over the Year's Observations     115
Financial Planning     123
Financial Career Patterns     123
Changes in Financial Holdings During the Year of Study     138
Acquisition of the Family's Durable Goods Inventory     143
Inventories at the Beginning of the Study     143
Acquisitions Since Marriage: Historical Findings     150
Acquisitions During Year of Study     156
Planning and Plan Fulfillment During Year of Study     159
Changes in Inventory and in Other Economic Areas     165
Summary     171
The Intercontingency of Planning Careers     173
Synchronization of Residential Moves, Family Composition Changes, and Job Changes     173
Changes in Four Areas of Activity and Acquisitions of Durable Goods     178
Achievement Patterns over the Life Span     180
Interrelations of Achievement Among Areas of Activity     183
Congruence of Achievement in Income and Durable Goods     187
Interdependence of Achievement Careers     188
Summary     192
2 Explanations of Family Consumership Planning and Action      195
Correlates of Family Consumership
Correlates of Needs-Identification     198
Correlates of Rationality in Decision-Making     203
Correlates of Planfulnes of Actions Taken     211
Evaluation of the Consistency of the Explanatory Variables     233
The Payoff of Consumership: Satisfaction with the Outcome of Decisions Made     239
Consumership and Satisfaction with Outcomes     240
Developmental Measures and Satisfaction     244
Summary     252
A Comparison of the Characteristic Patterns of Consumership and their Correlates by Generation     257
The Grandparent Generation     259
The Parent Generation     264
The Married Child Generation     269
Linkage of Planning Career Achievements and Consumerships     275
Correlates of Career Achievement     278
Correlates of Consistency in Achievement     292
Predictability of Consumership from Career Achievement Scores     294
Summary     297
3 Implications of Findings     301
Implications for a Theory of Family Development and Family Consumership     303
Interdependence of the Generations and the Modified Extended Family Network     303
Miniature Theory #1      305
Miniature Theory #2     306
Miniature Theory #3     309
Miniature Theory #4     312
Miniature Theory #5     315
Miniature Theory #6     316
Miniature Theory #7     317
Miniature Theory #8     318
Miniature Theory #9     319
Toward a More General Theory     320
Applying the Research Findings for Families     325
Findings Which Family Heads Can Utilize Directly     325
Implications for Social Policy Changes     331
Implications for Programs of Adult Socialization in Consumership     334
Suggested Field Experiments     346
Summary     349
A Selected Bibliography     355
B Samples of Data Collection Instruments Used in the Study     371
Interview Guide for Four Panel Interviews     371
Interview Guide for Joint Couple Interviews     393
Interview Guide for Assessing Intergenerational Helping Patterns     399
Questionnaire and Tests     410