Abstract
A resource exchange theory for the development of perceptual indicators of quality of family life is presented with empirical evidence to test the theory. The theory specifies six classes of resources: love, status, services, information, goods and money, as necessary to maintain some level of life quality. The first three are the most dependent on the particular people involved in the exchange relationship and the interpersonal exchanges of these resources offer opportunities for highest levels of satisfaction. It was hypothesized (1) that feelings about the particularistic resources received from family would significantly contribute to family life satisfaction for men and women; (2) that the order of resource classes on the particularism dimension would correspond to the order of their effectiveness in contributing to family life satisfaction. Results of the study support the theoretical model and hypotheses and suggest that further research with respondents of differing life circumstances is needed. The need for indicators of quality of family life in quality of life research is emphasized.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Bibliography
Allard, W.: 1978, ‘STR: a clustering program’, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
Allardt, E.: 1973, ‘A welfare model for selecting indicators of national development’, Policy Sciences 4, pp. 63–74.
Allardt, E.: 1976, ‘Dimensions of welfare in a comparative Scandinavian study’, Acta Sociologica 19, pp. 227–239.
Anderberg, M.: 1973, ‘Cluster analyses for applications’, Academic Press, San Francisco.
Andrews, F. and Withey, S.: 1976, Social Indicators of Well-Being: Americans' Perceptions of Life Quality (Plenum Publishing Corp., New York).
Bharadwaj, L. and Wilkening, E.: 1977, ‘The prediction of perceived well-being’, Social Indicators Research 4, pp. 421–439.
Bharadway, L. and Wilkening, E.: 1980, ‘Life domain satisfactions and personal social integration’, Social Indicators Research 7, pp. 337–351.
Bubolz, M., Eicher, J., Evers, S. and Sontag, S.: 1980, ‘A human ecological approach to the quality of life: conceptual framework and results of a preliminary study’, Social Indicators Research 7, pp. 103–136.
Campbell, A., Converse, P. and Rodgers, W.: 1976, The Quality of American Life (Russell Sage Foundation, New York).
Campbell, A.: 1981, The Sense of Well-Being in America: Recent Patterns and Trends (McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York).
Duncan, G. and Morgan, J.: 1978, Five Thousand American Families (University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, Survey Research Center, Ann Arbor).
Everitt, B.: 1970, Cluster Analysis (John Wiley and Sons, New York).
Foa, U. and Foa, E.: 1973, ‘Measuring quality of life: can it help solve the ecological crisis?’ International Journal of Environmental Studies 5, pp. 21–26.
Foa, U. and Foa, E.: 1974, Societal Structures of the Mind (Charles Thomas, Springfield, Illinois).
Foa, U. and Foa, E.: 1980, ‘Resource theory: interpersonal behavior as exchange’, in Gergen, Greenberg and Willis (eds.): Social Exchange: Advances in Theory and Research (Plenum Press, New York).
Fisher, B. and Sprenkle, D.: 1978, ‘Therapists' perceptions of healthy family functioning’, International Journal of Family Counseling 6, pp. 9–18.
Giampaglia, G. and Young, F.: 1980, ‘The structural context of family welfare in the regions of Italy’, Social Indicators Research 7, pp. 443–462.
Haavio-Mannila, E.: 1971, ‘Satisfaction with family, work, leisure, and life among men and women’, Human Relations 24, pp. 585–601.
Kantor, D. and Lehr, W.: 1975, Inside the Family (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco).
Levine, E.: 1981, ‘Middle-class family decline’, Society 18, pp. 72–78.
Lewis, J., Beavers, W., Gossett, J. and Phillips, V.: 1976, No Single Thread (Brunner-Mazel, New York).
Lewis, J.: 1980, ‘The family matrix in health and disease’, in Hofling, C. and Lewis, J. (eds.): The Family: Evaluation and Treatment (Brunner-Mazel, New York).
Mallman, C.: 1977, ‘Research priorities and holistic knowledge’, in Milbrath, L.: 1979, ‘Policy relevant quality of life research’, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (July), pp. 32–45.
Mancini, J.: 1978, ‘Social indicators of family life satisfaction: a comparison of husbands and wives’, paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Maslow, A.: 1954, Motivation and Personality (Harper, New York).
McCall, S.: 1975, ‘Quality of life’, Social Indicators Research 2, pp. 229–248.
Moen, P.: 1980, ‘Developing family indicators: financial hardship, a case in point’, Journal of Family Issues 1, pp. 5–30.
Metzen, E.: 1980, ‘Quality of life as affected by area of residence’, Columbia, Mo., Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Missouri-Columbia, North Central Regional Research Publication No. 270.
Novak, M.: 1981, ‘In praise of bourgeois virtues’, Society 18, pp. 60–67.
Olson, D., Sprenkle, D. and Russell, C.: 1979, ‘Circumplex model of marital family systems: I. Cohesion and adaptability dimensions, family types, and clinical applications’, Family Process 18, pp. 3–31.
Rettig, K.: 1980, ‘Interpersonal resource exchanges as predictors of quality of marriage and family life’, unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
Russell, C.: 1979, ‘Circumplex model of marital and family systems: III. Empirical evaluation with families’, Family Process 18, pp. 29–45.
Sontag, M., Bubolz, M. and Slocum, A.: 1979, Perceived quality of life of Oakland County families: a preliminary report’, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station Research Report 380, East Lansing, Michigan.
Stinnett, N., Chesser, B. and DeFrain, J.: 1980, Building Family Strengths: Blueprints for Action (University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska).
Stinnett, N.: 1981, ‘Family strengths’, paper given at the Agricultural Outlook Conference, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. (November, 1981).
Thorndike, R. M.: 1978, Correlational Procedures for Research (Gardner Press, Inc., New York).
U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards, Bureau of the Census: 1977, Social Indicators 1976 (United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.).
U.S. Department of Commerce, Center for Demographic Studies, Bureau of the Census: 1980, Social Indicators III (United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.).
Weiss, G.: 1953, ‘Measuring progress in how well families live’, Journal of Home Economics (February, 1953), pp. 85–88.
Westley, W. and Epstein, N.: 1969, The Silent Majority (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, California).
Zimmerman, C. and Frampton, M.: 1935, Family and Society: A Study of the Sociology of Reconstruction (D. Van Nostrand Company, New York).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The research reported in this paper was part of Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station Project Numbers: 1249 ‘Clothing Use and Quality of Life in Rural and Urban Communities’ and 3151, ‘Families in Evolving Rural Communities’. Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station Project Number: 53-086 ‘Clothing Use and Quality of Life in Rural and Urban Communities’. Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station Manuscript Publication No. 10368.
The authors wish to thank Jan Vredevoogd and Nancie Metzger for their assistance in the preparation of this paper. We are also indebted to Dr. Frances Magrabi and Dr. M. Suzanne Sontag for helpful comments on an earlier draft.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rettig, K.D., Bubolz, M.M. Perceptual indicators of family well-being. Soc Indic Res 12, 417–438 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300447
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300447