Date of Award:

5-1993

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Human Development and Family Studies

Department name when degree awarded

Family and Human Development

Committee Chair(s)

Glen O. Jensen

Committee

Glen O. Jensen

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of youth toward each of their individual grandparents. The subjects were students ranging in age from 12-19 years with the majority being between 14-17 years of age. These students were enrolled in a release time religious class that allowed them one hour a day off campus to take a seminary course.

The sample of data consisted of 148 girls and 108 boys, which was approximately 25% of the high school population. The youth were from a small northern Utah community. The average age of the youth respondents was 16.2 years. This group of youth came from intact families with 90.1% who lived in a family where father and mother were together. The questionnaire consisted of 35 questions of which 16 questions were used to develop an attitude scale used to answer 10 research questions.

Younger adolescents (age 12-14 years) had a better attitude toward grandparents than older adolescents (age 17-19 years).

Evidence supported previous literature that male youth were emotionally closer than females to their grandfathers. However, no significance was found to support previous literature that female youth are closer to grandmothers. Overall, adolescents reported feeling emotionally closer to maternal grandparents. The favored grandparent was the maternal grandmother.

Paternal grandfathers with a higher education level were looked upon more favorably by the youth. Youth attitudes toward maternal grandfathers were significantly less positive when the grandfathers were described as often sick and activity slowed by sickness or age.

When the youth responded favorably towards one grandparent, the spouse of the grandparent was also given a favorable response. The youth seemed to have a positive overall attitude towards grandparents; however, when it comes to being disciplined by their grandparents, most youth expressed uncertainty to the question, "Should my grandparents discipline me?"

The social science computer package (SPSS) was used to analyze the data and reach the above mentioned conclusions.

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