Filial responsibility attitudes: Scale development and its correlates. |
| Author: |
Coalson, Diane Laverne
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| Author Background: |
Texas A & M U., US
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| Date |
7/2000
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| Type |
Dissertation
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| Journal Title: |
Dissertation-Abstracts-International:-Section-B:-The-Sciences-and-Engineering
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| Volume/Pages |
Vol 61(1-B): 586
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| Publisher |
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| Subject Matter |
Adult-Offspring; *Elder-Care; *Family-Relations; *Responsibility, Research
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| Population |
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| Pedagogies |
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| Abstract |
The present investigation examines attitudes of filial responsibility, the obligation of adult children to care for their elderly parents, in three generations of the family. The primary purpose of the investigation was to develop a standardized, self-report scale for the measurement of filial responsibility attitudes, and to examine the relationship between filial responsibility and demographic, personality, and family relationship variables. The investigation included two studies with independent samples. The total sample for the initial study consisted of 338 participants, and was comprised of 161 adult grandchildren, 88 parents, and 89 grandparents. The total sample for the second study consisted of 887 participants, and was comprised of 415 adult grandchildren, 225 parents, and 237 grandparents. A 15-item Filial Responsibility Scale was constructed based on results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic procedures. The latent construct of filial responsibility was found to be comprised of three separate, but related dimensions; Direct Assistance, Indirect Assistance, and Frequency of Contact. In addition to evidence regarding construct validity, the Filial Responsibility Scale also demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and stability reliability. The relationship between filial responsibility attitudes and various demographic, personality, and family relationship variables was examined, and results indicated that levels of agreement with filial responsibility attitudes varied with such demographic variables as age of the generation and the distance between parents' and grandparents' residences. Attitudes of filial responsibility did not appear to vary with gender, grandparents' marital status, or competing responsibilities of the parent generation. Results indicated that attitudes of filial responsibility are significantly related to personality variables such as autonomy and altruism, and with family relationship variables such as familism and cohesion. In particular, the value of familism appears to be a better predictor of filial responsibility attitudes than such personality variables as autonomy and altruism, as well as most demographic variables, including gender, education, and income. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2000 APA, all rights reserved)
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