Date of Award:

5-2006

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Human Development and Family Studies

Department name when degree awarded

Family, Consumer, and Human Development

Committee Chair(s)

Scot M. Allgood

Committee

Scot M. Allgood

Committee

Tom Lee

Committee

Brian Higginbotham

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how welfare status, gender, and the interaction between welfare status and gender relate to the utilization of counseling services related to marriage (i.e., "marital help-seeking"). This study was a secondary analysis of the Utah Marriage Survey data set from 2003. Two samples were utilized in this study, and generated a total sample of I ,316 participants. The first sample was made up of I, 173 randomly selected Utah households, identified through a random-digit dialing sampling technique. The second sample was obtained from a random selection of current Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients. This sample of 143 TANF recipients provided an over-sample of low-income households, thus permitting comparisons with the first sample. Participants were identified through the sampling techniques described and contacted by telephone to complete the survey. The data pertaining to participants' welfare status, gender, and attitudes and behavior related to marital help-seeking were analyzed using chi-square analyses and I tests. The results indicated that welfare status is not significantly associated with marital help-seeking attitudes and behavior. In addition, no significant relationship was found between gender and marital help-seeking behavior. However, results indicated that males have less favorable attitudes than women toward marital help-seeking. Finally, welfare status and gender were not found to have a combined relationship effect on marital help-seeking attitudes and behavior.

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