Date of Award:

5-1988

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. Jenson

Committee

Glen O. Jenson

Committee

Thomas R. Lee

Committee

Norleen Ackerman

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to look at the relationship between life satisfaction and farm involvement among dairy farm men and women in Utah. Farm involvement is defined as farm tasks, decision making, and participation in farm organizations. A sample of 116 couples were drawn from five counties in Utah. The husbands and wives were each interviewed separately. The sample is representative of the dairy farms in these five counties. However, the results of this study cannot be generalized to other types of farms in Utah or dairy farms from other locations.

The correlation between life satisfaction and farm tasks, decision-making patterns, and participation in farm organizations was computed separately for the men and the women. Next, a correlation between life satisfaction and farm tasks, decision-making patterns, and participation in farm organizations was computed for men and women separately based on three farm sizes: small with 50 or fewer milk cows, medium with 51 to 150 milk cows, and large with over 150 milk cows.

The independent variable, farm tasks, was divided into four catagories: farm work, running errands, bookkeeping, and supervising farm workers. The independent variable, decision - making patterns, was divided into two catagories: farm decisions and home decisions. The correlation between life satisfaction and participation in farm organizations was statistically significant for dairy farm men overall ( r=-. 24, p=.008) and also for men from small farms (r=-.37 p=.006) . A negative correlation on this variable is interpreted as more participation. The correlation between life satisfaction and bookkeeping for women from small farms was statistically significant (r=-.28, p=.043) . The correlation between life satisfaction and farm decisions for women from small farms was statistically significant (r=.31, p=.024). The correlation between life satisfaction and home decisions for women from small farms was statistically significant (r=-.41, p=.OO1).

Future research should explore in more detail the relationship between life satisfaction and membership in farm organizations and the use of these organizations.

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