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J’fi. . . . .1 .0. . 1.. .1. 70/1. 1‘. 1. . .f r 11! .1, . . 1 . 11. ... . . ... .0 1 . 0 1. .... 1 1 .0 1"0 11’.- v . 1.4 1 v . t . .’0I 100.14.141.01’700W10’l107. . 1 11 1’ '1 0", 0 .1. 10’. . . 0 I C - .....k............1 31.44.. 13.”.MW........m.... fist... ABSTRACT A PILOT STUDY IN INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT FOR IDENTIFICATION.AND ANALYSIS OF VALUES HELD BY LOW-INCOME MOTHERS by Ellen H. Voland In recent years the time and talents of many social scientists have been directed toward investigation of the poverty situation in the United States. A recent collaboration of efforts resulted in NC-90, an interregional effort to research poverty in fifteen states. This master project is concerned with three major aspects of poverty: resources, interpersonal relations, and goals, values and value orientations. This thesis is designed as a pilot study primarily pertaining to the values aspect of the master project, developing instruments for the identification and analysis of values held by low-income persons. For the purposes of this study values were defined as "normative standards by which human beings are influenced in their choice among the alternative courses of action." (1:10) This definition was operationa- lized by asking respondents to answer questions framed in the "should" mode. A series of twenty-seven incomplete stories that were projective in nature were composed about decision situations typical of low-income families. This open-ended data collection device was presented verbally to twelve Headstart mothers who comprised the sample for this study. They were asked, "What should be done?" and "Why?" Their responses were used verbatim, as much as possible, as the fixed-choice alternatives of Ellen H. Voland the final revised Incomplete Story Instrument. The value responses elicited by the incomplete stories were analyzed by means of a constructed typology based upon four continua, reportedly characteristic of low-income persons: Fatalism-Control, Authoritarianism-Equalitarianism, Alienation-Integration, and Concrete- neSSeAbstractness. (2:7) Each continuum was refined during coding to include twelve subject matter themes that emerged empirically from the data. In addition each value response was coded by degree, or its re- lative position along its theme-continuum. Five degree positions were delineated representing the five family classes into which low-income families were divided by means of their score on the Family Style Index. This instrument was devised especially for this study for the above purpose. Several scores were computed for each respondent for comparative purposes. For instance, the Index Score classified respondents into family classes while the Typology Score classified their value responses into these same classes. Findings indicated that approximately half of the respondents held values in a different class than would be expected from their Index Score placements. This trend needs to be tested further by larger randomly selected samples with sufficient statistical analysis before definitive conclusions may be made. All instruments devised for this study to collect and analyze data were revised according to their use and findings in this research project. They are still in the developmental stage, and need refinements based upon further use. In an effort to interpret findings in a more meaningful way, Value Orientation Profiles were constructed and case studies written on Ellen H. Voland each of the twelve respondents. Until more definitive instruments are developed or modified for use with low-income samples, small scale, individualized studies will make major contributions to the existing body of knowledge pertaining to poverty in the United States. LITERATURE CITED 1. Jacob, Phillip E., and Flink, James J., with collaboration of Hedvah, L. Shuchman, "Values and Their Function in Decision4Making," Supplement to the American Behavioral Scientist, IX, No. 9, May, 1962. 2. Irelan, Lola M., ed., Low-Income Life Styles, U.S. Department of H.E.W., Welfare Administration,Publication No.14. A PILOT STUDY IN INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT FOR IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF VALUES HELD BY LOW-INCOME MOTHERS by Ellen H. Voland A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Home Management and Child Development 1968 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This author wishes to express her appreciation to the following people without whose help this thesis could never have been written: To the twelve Headstart mothers who generously shared their time and values with this interviewer to make the whole study possible. To the Michigan State University Spartan Nursery School staff for their cooperation and additional insights into the families of the twelve Headstart mothers. To Mrs. Eleanor Morrison for sharing her knowledge and experi- ence in working with the Headstart mothers throughout the year, and for her review of and suggestions for the twelve case studies. To Mrs. Nancy Bean for her able assistance rendered in coding the value responses and for her suggestions toward refining the typology constructed for this study. To Dr. Beatrice Paolucci for her confidence in the author and for her contributions during the planning stages of this study. To Dr. J. Allan Beegle and Dr. Eugene O. Peisner, members of the guidance committee, for their encouragement throughout the study. To Dr. Jean D. Schlater, chairman of the committee, for her unlimited patience and continuous guidance in all phases of this re- search. And to this writer's family and friends, a special thanks for their patient understanding throughout the duration of this undertaking. ii PROLOGUE This study follows the philosophy of social research as espoused by Robert E. Park: You have been told to go grubbing in the library, thereby accumula- ting a mass of notes and a liberal coating of grime. You have been told to choose problems wherever you can find musty stacks of rou- tine records based on trivial sched- ules prepared by tired bureaucrats and filled out by reluctant appli- cants for aid or fussy do-gooders or indifferent clerks. That is called "getting your hands dirty in real research." Those who thus counsel you are wise and honorable; the reasons they offer are of great value. But one thing more is need- ful: first-hand observation. Go and sit in the lounges of the lux- ury hotels and on the doorsteps of the flophouses; sit on the Gold Coast settees and on the slum shake- downs; sit in Orchestra Hall and in the Star and Garter Burlesk. In short, gentlemen, go get the seat of your pants dirty in real re- search. (40:71) iii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION . . TABLE OF CONTENTS Who Are These Poor?. . . Importance of Studying Values of the Poor. . . Statement of the Problem . . Selected Definition of Values. . . . . . . . Master Research Project. Objectives . . II. RELATED RESEARCH . Selected Value Research in Home Management . . Value Research Pertaining to Lower Class Persons . III. ‘METHODOLOGY AND ITS CONCEPTUAL BASIS . . . . . . Procedure. . . Assumptions. . Definition of Terms. Hypothesis . . The Sample . . Collection of Data . Conceptual Basis for the The Incomplete Stories . Family Style Index . . . The Case Study Method. . Analysis of Data . . . . . The Constructed Typology Coding . . . Analysis . . . . IV. CASE STUDIES . . Analysis of the Sample . The Case Studies MISS. A o o 0 Mrs. Miss Mrs. B . Mrs. C . . . Mrs. D . . Mrs. E . . . Mrs. F . . G . H iv Incomplete Stories. Page ...: \OQVO‘J-‘UO 11 ll 13 17 17 19 20 22 23 24 25 29 31 35 37 37 4o 44 46 46 47 48 53 59 65 68 72 74 79 Chapter V. VI. Mrs. I . . . . . . . . . . . Mrs. J . . . . . . . . . . . Mrs. K . . . . . . . . . . . Miss L . . . . . . . . . . . FINDINGS O C O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Index Score. . . . . . . . . . . . . Typology Score . . . . . . . . . . . Value Orientation Profil . . . . . . Interpretation of Value Responses by Revised Incomplete Story Instrument. Suggested Revisions for the Typology SUMMARY.AND IMPLICATIONS . . . . . . An Overview of the Study . . . . . . Implications for Further Research. L I'I‘EM TIJRE CITED . O O C C O . C O O O O O O 0 APPENDIX A. Incomplete Stories. . . . . . . . APPENDIX B. Family Style Index. . . . . . . VITA . Case Study Data Page 84 90 99 104 111 111 116 123 128 135 147 . 151 151 154 161 . 164 179 186 Table 2.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 LIST OF TABLES The five Value Orientations and the Range of Variations postulated for each . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of respondents by the Revised Family Style Index 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O I O O O I O O O 0 Comparison of respondents’ Original and Revised Index Scores by family class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of respondents into family types by their Index Scores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comparison of respondents' rankings by Index and Typology Scores and their value responses by degree. . . . . . Comparison of respondents by family class and by Index and Typology Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Value Orientation Profiles and corresponding Typology Scores of respondents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Combined Value Orientation Profiles and correSponding Typology Scores of respondents grouped by their devi- ations from their expected value responses. . . . . . Comparison of themes and orientation continua by number and percent of responses and by Typology Scores of each reapondent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Theme analysis by number and percentage of reSponses. Story analysis by theme, continuum, and variability of responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Page 14 112 113 114 117 119 124 127 129 136 137 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1.1 Characteristics of poor families compared with all famil ies I O O O O O O O O O I O O O O O O O O I O O O O 4 5.1 Distribution of respondents into family classes by Index Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 5.2 Distribution of respondents into classes by Typology Scores Vb O C O O O C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O I 120 5.3 Location of respondents on quadrant by Index and Typology Scores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION From its inception to the Middle Ages recorded history reveals that mankind was primarily present or past time-oriented; however, with the advent of invention, progress, discovery and exploration more and more people began to orient their thinking and living styles toward future dreams. Increased industrialization contributed immensely to man's realization that he can and must control his environment to pro- gress. He must be able to make long-range plans to initiate change. He must be future-oriented to live in our present day complex society, as evidenced in Edward Kennedy's eulogy to his brother, the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. His quote of George Bernard Shaw is indicative of his brother's spirit and philosophy of life: Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not. (1:53) Government agencies are following the lead of major businesses and industries in programming for social development - called pro- grammed budgeting - in which they plan for a generation at a time. The computer has made it possible to control enough alternatives to shape the future. Boguslaw points out some vital dangers involved in these "New UtOpias": As computer-based systems become increasingly more signifi- cant in shaping the realistic terms of existence in contemporary society, it becomes increasingly more relevant to inquire about the implications contained for expression of individual values. (2:199) 2 The paramount issues to be raised in connection with the design of our new computerized utopias are not technological - they are issues of values and the power through which these values become translated into action. (2:200) The dominate value orientation of the utopian renaissance can best be described as "efficiency" rather than "humanitar- ianism." (2:202) Our own utOpian renaissance receives its impetus from a desire to extend the mastery of man over nature. Its greatest vigor stems from a dissatisfaction with the limitations of man's existing control over his physical environment. Its greatest threat consists precisely in its potential as a means for ex- tending the control of man over man. (2:204) Many segments of society can be characterized by what has been called the "powerlessness" form of alienation - "the expectancy or probability held by the individual that his own behavior cannot determine the occurrence of the outcomes, or reinforcements he seeks." The notion that those strange men who write equations on blackboards are the real arbiters of all our destinies is one that must be obliterated in any society that wishes to continue functioning in even an approximately democratic fashion. (2:26) Powerlessness, the lack of man's mastery over nature, and present time-orientation are only three of the major characteristics of low- income pe0p1e in America today (3:7) - a significant contrast to the world in which they live. Many of these lower class people have the hopeless feeling of not being able to cope with the existing society and are unable to even visualize Boguslaw's "New Utopias." "It will not be easy to motivate these people to try again. But we must. . . . Over the long pull, the gains to society from wiping out poverty will far exceed the costs. The time for action is indeed now." (4:13-14) This is the urgent plea of President Johnson's Commission on Poverty which was formed to help insure that the poor are not passed over by the "Great Society,‘ as they were by the "New Deal" and the post- war prosperity years. (5:48) The poor must be reached now or they will fall too far behind the rest of society to ever catch up. 3 Who Are These Poor? In contemporary America, if one belongs to certain groups characterized, for instance, by age, sex, race, place of resi- dence - the risk of poverty is great. In contemporary America, one's statistical chances of being poor are considerably above the average if one is, for example, over 65, a female head of the household, non-white, or a rural farm resident. (6:38) Weisbrod's "landmarks" of poverty are listed below. These characteristics of poor families are compared with those of all families in America as shown in Figure 1.1. - 1/5 of our families and nearly 1/5 of our total population are poor. - Of the poor, 22% are nondwhite; and nearly 1/2 of all non- whites live in poverty. - The heads of over 60% of all poor families have only grade school educations. - Even for those denied opportunity by discrimination, education significantly raises the chance to escape from poverty. Of all non-white families headed by a person with 8 or less years of schooling, 57% are poor. This . . . falls to 30% for high school graduates and to 18% for those with some college education. ' - But education does not remove the effects of discrimination: when non-whites are compared with whites at the same level of education, the non-whites are poor about twice as often. - 1/3 of all poor families are headed by a person over 65, and almost 1/2 of the families headed by such a person are poor. - Of the poor, 54% live in cities, 16% on farms, 30% as rural non-farm residents. - Over 40% of all farm families are poor. More than 80% of non- white farmers live in poverty. - Less than 1/2 of the poor are in the South; yet a Southerner's chance of being poor is roughly twice that of a person living in the rest of the country. - 1/4 of the poor families are headed by a woman; but nearly 1/2 of all families headed by a woman are poor. - When a family and its head have several characteristics fre- quently associated with poverty, the chances of being poor are particularly high: a family headed by a young woman who is non-white and has less than an 8th grade education is poor in 4 94 out of 100 cases. Even if she is white, the chances are 85 out of 100 that she and her children will be poor. (7:66) Figure 1.l.--Characteristics of poor families compared with all families (7:72) Characteristics of Percentage of Families (1962 data) Family Head: 0 25 50 75 65 years of age Education of 8 years or less Female Family Characteristics: Nondwhite No earners 4 or more children Rural Farm (1959 data) Urban - All Families; '1! - Poor Families ($3000+) ($3000-) The foregoing demographic analysis of poverty indicates there are a number of characteristics - age, marital status, family size, race, education, place of residence - in addition to amount of income that determine a person or family's poverty level. These types of data, then, would be essential for any study of poverty. Importance of Studying Values of the Poor The literature abounds with examples of families in which genera- tion after generation subsist on the poverty level, thereby caught in 5 the poverty cycle. ". . . one of the best ways to be poor is to be born into a poor family." (5:28) The "why" of the poverty cycle has never been answered. Could it be due in part to passing on their values and goals from one generation to the next? Millar conducted a series of six family case studies, inter- viewing three generations for each family. She concluded that: . . . skills and values persist from generation to genera- tion in a family while patterns of management tend to be in- fluenced by the times and culture. (8:3) From a slightly different view point, Oscar Lewis describes a newly rich Mexican family in this manner: They have achieved a North American material culture . . . Yet they have not entered the northern culture, they are merely up- rooted, divorced from the enrichments of their own sources with- out having received any substitutes other than objects; they are sounding brass and tinkling cymbals, being without love, being true to nothing. (9:ix) In other words there is more to life, more to a culture, than merely possessing its material objects that characterize it. Many poor peOple think they are in step with modern society when they purchase (often at the expense of the physical well-being of family members) the most expensive models of the latest material possessions they see advertised ‘on television. What they so often do not recognize are the nonmaterial possessions of society - its norms, values, goals, ideals - that are essential for a true sense of belonging and committment. Deacon and Bratton pursue this further in their emphasis upon the need to recognize and appreciate the family value system: Since evaluation of relative success in the process of management depends upon a clear conception of the goal or goals to be achieved, the recognition and appreciation of the under- lying individual or family values has considerable significance. From a management standpoint, it might be hypothesized: Indivi- duals or families who have developed or recognized a system of values which provides a basis for selection among attainable goals will experience more satisfaction in their management activities than those who have not. (10:763) 6 If Ornati is correct in his assertion that "the consequence of segregation associated with poverty is that it impedes the assimilation of the norms and goals of the larger community and thereby serves to perpe- tuate poverty," (6:70) and if Deacon and Bratton are correct in hypothe- sizing that in order to progress, the person must first recognize his goals and values, it is little wonder that poverty does perpetuate itself, widening the ever-increasing gap between the lower-class and the rest of society. The ensuing feeling of powerlessness and the fatalistic attitude of not being able to control their own destiny, cause many in poverty to resign themselves to fate as they do not know how to bridge this gap. Our lower income population is insecure and comparatively powerless in relation to the rest of American society. Reali- zing their submerged position, they have come to feel apart from society rather than a part of it. From their own helplessness, they have generalized to the belief that most of life is uncon- trollable. They are convinced of their own impotence so that, while they accept typical American values they are frequently lethargic in trying to attain them. (3:9) Values of lower class persons may be the same as those of the rest of society, but due to the poor people's alienation from that society, their commitment to those values and their management with respect to those values may be lacking. This, then, seems to be a po- tential area of concern for home management research, as inferred by Paolucci: Becoming aware of the value content in family living, recog- nizing that values can be expressed and perpetuated through the performance of mundane household tasks, and the ability to define those values that underlie the choices and decisions individuals make is the first concern of home management. (11:146) Statement of the Problem The importance of studying values, particularly those held by lower class persons at this point in history, has been established. 7 Boguslaw is concerned for the expression of individual values in our fast approaching computerized world. The "Great Society” is concerned that the poor, who are already alienated from the rest of society, will never bridge that ever-widening gap unless something is done now to help them. Similarly, Ornati and others feel that if the poor are not assimilated by society, they will continue to perpetuate themselves, thereby never catching up with the rest of society nor internalizing society's norms and values. According to Deacon and Bratton, progress hinges on the recognition of values so if the poor intend to escape the poverty cycle, they must first be aware of values. Since values are society based and underlie the development of the individual's attitudinal and behavioral patterns, they are crucial concepts that should be considered in research for the formulation of ameliorative programs designed to help the poor emerge from the ever- engulfing poverty cycle. What, then, are the values held by the poor and how can they be effectively elicited and measured? How do these values vary among social classes? Selected Definition of Values For the purposes of this study, Jacob and Flink's definition of values has been selected. They state that values are: . . . normative standards by which human beings are influ- enced in their choice among the alternative courses of action. . . . it is essential to recognize that there is a crucial distinction between the compass of the term "normative" as used in our definition and the term "norm" when used to connote a standard to which a social group customarily conforms. The definition here proposed allows for the operation within indivi- duals of standards which may influence them toward action which does not conform with that prescribed by the social norms of groups with which they are associated . . . so the concept of values as normative standards must allow for the great range of cultural and also individual differences. (12:10) 8 Thus it was felt that the flexibility and wide range of this definition make it especially suitable to thisstudy since some lower class values may not conform to those of the greater society. Jacob and Flink continue: Elaborating upon the definition proposed above, we conceive of values as normative propositions, held by individual human beings of what human beings ought to desire, e.g., the desirable. They are supported by internalized sanctions and functions as (a) imperatives in judging how one's social world ought to be struc- tured and operated, and (b) standards for evaluating and rationa~ lizing the prOpriety of individual and social choices. (12:22) A great deal has been written on the "culture of poverty" (4:8-9;13) in which it is believed that the poor have a different set of values than the rest of society. On the other hand, Rodman feels that: . . . the members of the lower class, in many areas, have a wider range of values than others within the society. They share the general values of the society with members of other classes, but in addition they have stretched these values, or developed alternative values, which help them to adjust to their deprived circumstances. (14:277) One aspect of what is involved in the lower-class value stretch is that the lower-class individual with the wider range of values must also have less commitment to each of the values within that range. (14:283) Whether they hold the same, but stretched values, or a differ- ent set of values, is not as important as identifying what values they do hold and how these affect their behavior patterns. Master Research Project The master project to which this study contributes is NC-90, entitled "Factors affecting patterns of living in disadvantaged families." This is an interregional effort to study poverty in fifteen states over a five year time period. Preliminary investigation discloses: 9 Areas which need further research include resource utiliza- tion by disadvantaged families, role relationships, value systems, skills possessed by members, patterns of decision-making. What . factors contribute to differences in patterns of living and func- tioning of families by income levels and family sizes? ‘More specifically, which factors contribute to the perpetuation of the poverty cycle? (15:2) The master project is committed to study three major phases of poverty namely: (1) resources, (2) interpersonal relationships, and (3) values, goals and orientations. The present research is designed as a pilot study to investigate the values aspect of the larger poverty research project, and to construct an instrument to measure these values in accord with the following objective of NC-90: Develop analytical design: select and/or construct and evaluate indicators, indices, and measurements of patterns of living applicable to the study of disadvantaged families. (15:4) In a pilot study, according to Goode and Hatt, the researcher ". . . is not putting neat hypotheses to the test at this stage but is clarifying and formulating hypotheses for a subsequent study. Not only is he uncertain as to the materials he wants to inquire about, but he may even be uncertain as to whom he wishes to interview. This stage does not usually warrant a formal sampling design, but the student must be sure that he interviews a wide variety of the various types making up the final sample to be studied. Further, he must be alert to field sampling problems which may warn him to take precautions at the stage of formal sampling design. The results of these "intensive interviews" must then be written up and carefully analyzed, for they furnish the logical basis upon which the subsequent questionnaire will be based. If well done and thoroughly exploited, the pilot study will usually prove to be a substantial saver of time and effort by helping to avoid erroneous and insignificant hypotheses. (16:146) This pilot study seeks information on values of the poor and how to measure them. Objectives The overall objective of this research is to serve as a pilot study in instrument development for researching the values aspect of the NC-90 Inter-Regional Poverty Project in the following ways: 10 1. To deve10p an instrument to identify values held by low- income mothers. 2. To pretest the instrument. 3. To develop a framework for analysis of identified values. 4. To analyze the values identified in the responses to the instrument by means of this analytical framework. CHAPTER II RELATED RESEARCH Since the primary objective of this study is to devise an instrument to elicit and measure values of lower class persons, the main focus in reviewing the literature is on methodology rather than findings. Selected Value Research in Home Management A number of studies have been conducted using a selected set of values to determine their hierarchal ranking. For example, Ketchum (18) chose the following values: security, influence, recognition, helpfulness, freedom, new experience, friendship, family life, religion, orderliness, wealth, workmanship. She used rank-order and forced- choice tests to determine their importance to the homemaker. She also asked two open-ended questions: "How did you use your time yesterday - from the time you got up until you went to bed?" and "Why did you use your time this way?" Her respondents had difficulty in verbalizing reasons for their use of time, and the correlation between the Open- ended and forced-choice tests was rather low. Dyer (19) used nine values similar to Beyer's (20) to study values of homemakers: health, family centrism, aesthetics, economy, education, religion, freedom, friendship, and prestige. Dyer followed Ketchum's procedure, but also included projective stories encompassing these nine values. She concluded that "the more projective the instru- 11 12 ment, the more likely it is to reveal values underlying the homemaker's behavior." (19:2) In searching for methods to use, then, in this present explora- tory study, it could be surmised from the above two studies that if Ketchum's middle-class homemakers had difficulty giving reasons for their behavior, lower class homemakers would have even more, since they are characteristically less verbal and do not think in these more abstract terms. Therefore, asking the respondent directly to verbalize her values or state reasons for spending her time the way she does, would tend to be less productive for lower class subjects than a more indirect method, such as Dyer proposed with her projective-type stories. Additional values studies have been conducted in which a pre- determined set of values, such as those mentioned in the above studies, was not used, but a general typology was constructed into which the respondents' elicited values fell. The combined studies of Engebretson (21) and Martin (22) are of this type. They composed and used a series of ten incomplete stories that were projective in nature and typical of middle class family decision situations. The respondents were instructed to write what the persons in the stories should do about the decision situation. Then they were to list all the reasons why they answered the way they did. The responses were placed into one of four types of values in the constructed typology: traditional, social, autonomous, and change- prone. The classified values were used to construct a composite value profile for each respondent. For the middle-class samples used, the majority of values were of the traditional and autonomous types while very few were of the social or change-prone types. Adapting the method used by Engebretson and Martin might have 13 decided advantages for use in this present study if the projective in- complete stories were written about incidents more related to lower class persons' everyday decision situations. Also, an open-ended instrument would be best in studying values of low-income people because their values would not, then, be forced to fit into the more typically middle class value system. Rather than utilizing the EngebretsonéMartin value typology, however, a typology derived empirically from the data, attempting to encompass lower class characteristics is imperative. Value Research Pertaining to Lower Class Persons The Kluckhohn-Strodtbeck Value-Orientations Model (24:12) has been applied to the Appalachian poor by Ford (25) and to the chronically poor by Schneiderman (26). Ford felt the Appalachian poor were sub- jugated to nature, lived in the present and were in the "Being” stage of more spontaneous activity. In direct contrast, Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck characterized the vast majority of Americans as masters over nature, living for the future, and as "Doers" and individualists. Schneiderman, when using the same value-orientation model, similarly established that the chronically poor are like Ford's Appalachians in their characteristic value orientations, while those social workers who serve them hold the more typically middle class American value-orientations. He concluded: Real differences do exist between the social classes and the social worker must know and be sensitive to them if his efforts at intervention are to be constructive. (26:18) Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck delineated five problems that they con- cluded were universally common to all human groups, but were dealt with in a variety of ways. These common problems of all cultures are: 1. What is the character of innate human nature? (Human Nature Orientation) 14 2. What is the relation of man to nature (and super- nature)? (Man-Nature Orientation) 3. What is the temporal focus of human life? (Time Orientation) 4. What is the modality of human activity? QActivity Orientation) 5. What is the modality of man's relationship to other men? (Relational Orientation) (24:11) These five value orientations were tabulated by Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck as shown in Table 2.1. Table 2.l.--The five Value Orientations and the Range of Variations postulated for each: (24:12) Orientation ' Postulated Range of Variations I Human Nature Evil Neutral ' Mixture of Good 1 Good & Evil Man-Nature Subjugation- Harmony-With-Nature Mastery-Over- to-Nature Nature Time Past Present Future Activity Being Being-in-Becoming Doing Relational Lineality Collaterality Individualism Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's interview schedule (24:80-90) con- sisted of a series of stories geared to the Southwestern Indian's culture. Each story was representative of one of the value orientations and had two to three alternatives that were representative of one of the types of variations shown in Table 2.1, such as past, present, or future time. The respondent was asked to rank the alternatives in the order he felt was best. Then he was asked to specify which one most other people in his culture, group, or community would feel was the best. Respondents could give equal weight to two, or even all three alternatives. The researchers did not want to use forced-choice items since the first 15 purpose of the research was to determine whether or not the respondents sensed significant differences between the alternatives and had preferences among them. The items listed under the "Doing" and "Being" activities were designed to point up any differences, if any, between what they actually did do and what they thought was the best thing to do. A study by Benner (23) was methodologically similar to the present study in that its purpose was to develOp a projective device for identi- fying values of students from different social classes. Instead of using incomplete stories for the projective technique, a series of ten pictures were shown to the subjects to elicit value responses. These pictures were: servant-employer relationship, tenement building, beggar on the street, man in work clothes digging a ditch, man carrying a lunch pail, person standing by a stove eating from a container on the stove, boy in a cap and gown, man at a bank window with money in his hand, large split- level home with two cars in the driveway, and a nicely set table. Benner analyzed the responses to these pictures by writing beside each response the value evidenced in it. The following categories of values, similar to the themes utilized in this present study, emerged: family, education, occupation, money and saving, religion and moral issues, recreation, interpersonal relations, and other. Among the social classes a difference in emphasis on the various values was found with one-third or more of the students in each of the classes expressing values in this order: 1. the upper middle class - dating and boy-girl relations, having friends, both a high school and college education, daughter helping at home, a desire for marriage and a family, travel and vaca- tions, and father helping with home improvement; l6 2. the lower middle class - religion and church attendance, daughter helping at home, a clean, neat home, and saving money; 3. the upper lower class - daughter helping at home, a desire for marriage and a family, and a college education as a means of becoming successful; and 4. the lower lower class - daughter helping at home, a desire for marriage and a family, concern for money and financial security, and disapproval of malicious gossip. The use of projective pictures to elicit values of lower class persons has decided advantages. It was felt by this researcher, however, that some of Benner's pictures were too suggestive and would be more productive if they were more projective. For instance, the picture of the man at the bank window with money in his hand is likely to suggest the value of saving one's money, while a picture of someone winning a $100 cash prize would be more apt to elicit a wider range of values from spending the money on just yourself to using it to pay off debts to putting it in the bank for a "rainy day." CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY AND ITS CONCEPTUAL BASIS Procedure To accomplish the principle objective of this study - to devise a fixed-choice instrument to elicit and measure values held by lower class persons - three steps were initially taken: First, an exhaustive attempt was made to find an existing instru- Iment that could be used to study values held by lower class persons. The recent editions of Buros' Mental Measurements Yearbooks and his Tests in EEiE£_were searched as were the Psychological Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, and Dissertation Abstracts. The card catalogue and the Educational Research Information Center Catalogue were likewise perused. Any articles manifesting possible sources for instruments were pursued further. However, most existing instruments were rejected on the basis of being geared to middle class subjects, or requiring more reading and writing skills than could be expected of lower class samples. Radin and Glasser after trying to use, and later having to modify, a middle class attitude scale to fit their lower class respondents, con- cluded that: . . . in reality there is little choice. Ideal instruments are not currently available, nor is it known when they will be developed. The alternatives facing the researcher or practitioner are limited. He may employ less-than-perfect instruments or make no effort to collect objective data about the views of dis- advantaged families until better devices are created. In light of the urgency of the current situation, can we afford to select the latter alternative? (17:382) 17 18 Thus began the task of selecting those methods and techniques used in previous value research (Chapter II) that might feasibly be used or modified for the present study. Second, twelve Headstart mothers, with whom this researcher had already established rapport through the parent education program for the 'Michigan State University (MSU) Spartan Nursery School, were inter- viewed. The interview schedule, consisting of a series of open-ended, projective-type, incomplete stories, was presented to the subjects to elicit their unstructured responses. These responses were analyzed by means of a constructed typology based upon four continua characteristic of lower class persons: Fatalism-Control, Authoritarianism-Equalitarianism, Alienation-Integration and Concreteness-Abstractness. After being coded, the responses were used verbatim, as much as possible, as the fixed- choice alternatives for the final revised schedule. This instrument should be meaningful to other lower class persons since both the ideas and the wording would be like that of their own. Third, to establish validity and reliability, this newly revised schedule, with fixed-choice alternatives for uniform coding purposes, was to be used at a later date to re-interview these same twelve respondents plus approximately twenty of their neighbors living in the same ten block area. This third step was not fully executed, however, in this research, since it was felt an intensive study of these twelve respondents would be more productive at this time. This researcher was already well- acquainted with most of the respondents and this additional background knowledge was helpful in understanding and interpreting each person's elicited value responses. Therefore, case studies were written for each of the twelve reSpondents, in lieu of the second interview, using a 19 larger sample and the revised projective, incomplete story instrument. Data for the case studies were gathered from contacts with each respon- dent at parent meetings and home visits by both the researcher and others working professionally with these mothers through the nursery school program. The Family Style Index, devised especially for this study to extract background information on the respondent and her family, was another major source for case study data. This instrument was ad- ministered in conjunction with the incomplete stories during the original interview. When appropriate, actual value responses elicited by the incomplete stories were also used in writing case studies for each respondent. Assumptions The procedure as outlined above is based upon the following assumptions: 1. Values of low-income persons can be identified. 2. Values of individuals are relatively stable. 3. Values operate as one of the governing factors in decision situations. 4. The decision situations in the incomplete stories will evoke the respondents own value responses. 5. The selected decision situations in the instrument will not presume to elicit the entire value system of a respondent. 6. Value responses elicited from this sample will be similar to those of other low-income persons. 7. The four value orientation continua - fatalism-control, authoritarianism-equalitarianism, alienation-integration and concrete- ness-abstractness - are basic characteristics of low-income persons. 20 Definition of Terms For the purpose of this study, the terms were defined in this manner: Values are "normative standards by which human beings are influenced in their choice among the alternative courses of action." (12:10) §£2£X refers to one of the series of twenty-seven incomplete projective-type stories composed to elicit value responses. Headstart refers to a process of "culturally conditioning" dis- advantaged children by drawing together all those resources - family, community and professional - which can contribute to the child's total development. Respondent is the mother of a low-income family who had a child in Spartan Nursery School and/or participated in the Headstart mothers' group and who completed the stories and the Family Style Index. Low-income family for this study consists of a head, at least one child eighteen years of age or younger, occupying a standard dwelling unit as defined by the United States Census, in a ten block neighborhood near ‘Michigan State University, earning less than $1000 per family member a year. Classes of low-income families are lower-middle, upper-lower, middle-lower, lower-lower, and hard-core-lower, depending upon the com- posite score received on the Family Style Index. ‘More detailed descrip- tions of the upper-lower and lower-lower families follow. The three other classes of families range in relation to these. The lower-middle-class family would range above the upper- lower-class family having adequate incomes and competencies in managing their own affairs, and being integrated with society. 21 The upper-lower-class family would tend to be "upwardly mobile", divorcing itself as much as possible from the immediate neighborhood and choosing friends for themselves and their children from outside the neighborhood - those who are "better off". They may limit the size of their family in order to be able to provide better care. The husband would maintain some degree of job security and participate in activities with his family. The middle-lower-class family would tend to fluctuate between upper-lower and lower-lower classes. The lower-lower-class family would tend to have proportionally more one-parent families, usually headed by a female, with the most inadequate incomes which may be supplemented by welfare allotments. Parents seem to be acquainted with their neighbors; this acquain- tance may serve as an avenue for borrowing supplies when needed, or for trading services. The hard-core-lower-class family would fall below the lower- lower—class family having poorer and more crowded housing conditions and more definite tendencies toward alienation and fatalism. FamilypStyle Index is a technique devised for this study to classify low-income families into the above broad classes, depending upon their score on the composite indices, namely: Family Structure, Occupation, Housing, Informal Interaction, Formal Interaction and Poverty Cycle Index. Detailed descriptions of these indices are on pages 32 - 34. Index Score was computed by totaling the Plus (+) and Minus (-) attributes for each respondent by means of the Revised Family Style Index on pages 112 - 113. 22 Continuum refers to one of the four continua: Fatalism-Control, Authoritarianism-Equalitarianism, Alienation-Integration, Concreteness- Abstractness. They are characteristic of the classes of low-income families described above and are detailed on page 39. Thgmg.refers to the twelve subject matter contents of the four continua. Two to four themes are encompassed by each continuum, totalling twelve themes in all. The twelve themes constitute an important aSpect of the typology, with each theme being coded only when its subject matter content is evident in the story responses. Degree constitutes the other major aspect of the constructed typology. It refers to the five-point or degree variation of responses for each theme, typifying the classes of low-income families. Typology refers to the descriptions of the sixty (twelve themes times five degrees) possible value positions constructed for analyzing the responses to the incomplete stories. Typology Score indicates the respondent's position along each continuum. Its computation is detailed on page 116. Value Orientation Profile, when coupled with the Typology Score, refers to the calculated symbolic representation of an individual's total value orientation showing the proportionate strength of each continuum (composite of its themes) coded in the individual's responses. The details of the calculation are explained on page 44- Case Study refers to the compilation of data about each res- pondent based upon the above Family Style Index,value responses elicited by the incomplete stories, and first hand experience with each respondent. Hypothesis Existing poverty knowledge is too meager to formulate definitive 23 hypotheses. However, to give guidance to the study the following broad hypothesis is proposed: Mothers of each class of low-income family, as determined by the Index Score will hold values that fall along theme-continua with the lower-middle and upper-lower-class mothers' values lying toward the right end of the continua, the lower-lower and hard core-lower-class mothers' values toward the left end, and the middle-lower-class mothers' values to- ward the center of each continuum. The Sample Since the study was designed to be exploratory and descriptive, no emphasis was placed upon selecting a random or representative sample. The emphasis was on eliciting a variety of individual's views and not on . generalizing from the findings. Twelve respondents were selected to compose the sample. In order to elicit a variety of value responses as suggested in the guiding hypothesis, respondents from a variety of Head- ' start. families were chosen. These respondents likewise varied by age, race, education, and marital status in an attempt to secure additional variation in responses to the open-ended incomplete stories. The researcher had been assisting with the parent education program for Headstart mothers whose children attended the MSU Spartan Nursery School throughout the school year 1967-68. This program consisted of films, discussions -.both structured and unstructured, field trips, refreshments, parent-child gatherings at the nursery school and the like. At first the Headstart mothers' group met by themselves in the basement of a neighborhood church, but by the end of the year they were integrated with another nursery school mothers' discussion group meeting weekly near the campus. 24 It was customary for this researcher and the coordinator for the parent education program to make home visits prior to each meeting. This served the dual purpose of meeting reminders and establishing better rapport with these mothers. By April, then, when the interviewing was conducted in the field, this researcher knew most of the mothers quite well, especially those who had actively participated in the Headstart mothers' group. Throughout the year, however, a number of these families moved out of this neighborhood since a new highway was under construction nearby. This rapid turnover was one reason for limiting the sample size to twelve. Only three Headstart mothers who had children in the nursery school program, were not included in the sample. Two of these mothers this researcher had never met since they were employed full-time, and the third mother was in the process of moving and was never at home when the interviewer stopped by to make appointments for interviews. All other mothers who were approached to participate in the study did so with real , enthusiasm. Collection of Data The respondents were accustomed to having home visits from this researcher regarding Headstart mothers' activities. During the routine home visits, appointments were made for interviews. Those mothers who ‘worked away from home were scheduled first. Several mothers who were "never busy" and "always at home" were not scheduled, but "dropped in on" 'when the interviewer was in the neighborhood with enough free time for another interview. ‘Most interviews were approximately two hours in length, although several were completed in an hour (working mothers whose time was limited) and two lasted for over three hours (other matters were 25 discussed during part of this time). The neighborhood from which the sample was taken is only a five minute bicycle ride from this researcher's home; consequently, this was the principle mode of transportation during this week of in- terviewing - a phenomenon that impressed the respondents as a whole. About half of the time the interviewer's five year old son rode along, too, playing with the respondents' children during the interview - resulting in fewer interruptions from youngsters. During and since the interviews the respondents have identified with the interviewer much more closely as a mother of young children, sharing many of their same problems including lack of adequate income, transportation, and housing. Several interviewees commented that they hoped they "gave the right answers to all those stories, so you (interviewer) can hurry up, finish school and move your husband and four children out of that two bedroom apartment into a big house with a big yard." The interview consisted of two schedules: (1) a series of twenty-seven incomplete, projective-type stories designed to elicit value responses and pertaining to real-life decision situations common to the subjects, and (2) a Family Style Index designed to obtain uniform back- ground information on each subject. In addition to collecting data by means of these two methods, other anecdotal information on each individual was gathered from personal experience with the respondents under various conditions. All sources were utilized in writing case studies. . Conceptual Basis for the Incomplete Stories Much support exists in the literature for using an incomplete story technique for eliciting values. Summary of the support for empirical base will be organized around the following characteris- tics which they either have or should have as developed: require a written or verbal response, be projective in nature, be formu- 26 lated as choice situations, and require answers in the "should" or "ought" mode substantiated by responses to "why". (21:42) Values are held implicitly as well as explicitly (27:415). It could be assumed that since low-income persons do not verbalize as readily as do middle-class persons, a higher proportion of their values may be held implicitly. Lindzey says: . . . a projective technique is an instrument that is con- sidered especially sensitive to covert or unconscious aspects of behavior, it permits or encourages a wide variety of subject res- ponses, is highly multidimensional, and it evokes unusually rich or profuse response data with a minimum of subject awareness cone cerning the purpose of the test. (28:45) A projective technique, then, should be an appropriate and productive type of instrument to use to elicit lower class values. (27:406) According to the criteria expressed by Engebretson above, the incomplete story technique should not only be projective in nature, but also formulated as choice situations. The possibility of revealing values through choice situations is supported by Williams: The criterion of choice seems to provide an adequate way of defining values empirically. We reason that any choice involves a renunciation of other values: the choice of A over B, B over C, and so on, would thus define a hierarchy of values. If we look for typical modes of choosing, we can then characterize dominant and subsidiary goals and, eventually, the standards of value by which selections are ordered in any given group\or situation. (29:403-404) These choice situations should also be meaningful to the respon- dents; therefore, twenty-seven projective-type stories were composed for this study. Their source was two-fold: (1) based upon current litera- ture describing lower-class persons and (2) based upon first-hand experience with these Headstart mothers. Whenever a situation described in the literature as being typical of lower-class persons was also observed to be so in reali life, an incomplete projective-type story 27 encompassing the situation was composed for the series of stories in the interview schedule. Because of this two-fold source and because the interviewer had established rapport with the subjects, the respondents readily identified with the characters in the stories and responded freely and meaningfully. Martin expressed concern that: Care must be taken in value research to elicit responses indicating the "desirable" and not merely the "desired". Con- cern is with the desirable as each individual or group of indi- viduals see it for themselves. This is more than what they desire, an expedient or emotive want; it is a more general class serving as a criterion or standard which includes cognitive as well as emotive aspects and by which desires may be measured and inhibited or promoted. Therefore, the questions at the end of each story, "What should be done?" and "Why?" were included to lead the res- pondent to express his conceptions of the desirable rather than what he or his family have done or felt would be possible in the situation. (22:40) Smith, too, was concerned with differentiating between the "desirable" and the "desired", between values and preferences. He pro- posed to: . . . adapt currently available instruments, revising them to employ a consistent language of "ought," "should," and de- sirability rather than of wish and preference. (30:347) Jacob and Flink, whose definition of values was selected as the basis for this study, state: If the concept of value just developed is acceptable, it becomes possible to identify values by such operational indices as: (l) "Ought" or "should" statements in rationalizations of action. (2) Statements indicating guilt, shame, or diffuse anxiety association with specific actions. (3) Statements indicating moral indignation or approbation of actions on the one hand, and of esteem or praise on the other. (12:16) Thus it follows that not merely the question of what should be done in each story situation, but also why this action should be taken, is of great importance as Engebretson pointed out: 28 By requiring the individual to answer "why", he is en- couraged to give his concepts of the desirable by which he decided what should be done. He is asked to evaluate, not just to select, and the grounds for his choices are brought to light and clarified. (21:46) One other criterion specified by Engebretson as being essential in using the incomplete story technique to elicit values is that of requiring a written or verbal response. Both Smith and Kluckhohn agree that a verbal expression is more reliable than a behavioral expression of values: That we are tapping something "merely verbal" is no occasion for dismay: the verbal symbolism by which values are knit into the fabric of the self is a source of their importance, not a limitation. Indeed, the notion that "behavioral values" would somehow be firmer stuff than verbal values, could we only get at them, seems to me quite mistaken. Overt behavior is never a direct index of any personological variable, being a result of components attributable to personality and the behavioral situation; for the contribution of personality in this case is further resol- vable into motivation and ability, and the motivation, in turn, arises only in part from the engagement of value standards. Talk is of course behavior, too, but it is behavior from which we can infer what is relevant to know about a person's values more surely and economically than in any other way. (30:346-347) Kluckhohn similarly states that: Sometimes what a person says about his values is truer from a long-term viewpoint than inferences drawn from his actions under special conditions. The fact that an individual will lie under stress of unusual circumstances does not prove that truth is not a value which orients, as he claims, his ordinary behavior. As a matter of fact, people often lie by their acts and tell the truth with words. (27:406) Not only should the reSponses be written or verbal, but also they should not be restricted in a pilot study. They should be open-ended to evoke a wide range of responses that can be analyzed and then later serve as a basis for a more concise, fixed alternative instrument that could be administered and coded more quickly with a larger sample. Scott supports oPen-ended responses: . an open-question measure . . . has the advantage of 29 permitting expression of a limitless variety of values, so that the researcher can determine empirically just what standards of "goodness" or "rightness" are expressed voluntarily by members of any given population. (31:301) The Incomplete Stories Following the above criteria a series of twenty-seven projective- type, incomplete stories were composed for this study to elicit values held by lower class persons. All stories were about families who lacked adequate income. The first seventeen stories pertained to the John Doe family, comprised of John, his wife Alice, and their six children ranging in age from about four to seventeen years. The last ten stories dealt with problems faced by John's sister whose husband left her when her three children were quite young. Since weisbrod stressed the high pro- bability of female headed families being poor, it seemed appropriate to aim some of the stories toward this type of family structure. The stories printed two to a page are included in Appendix.A. Story 1 presented a role structure conflict situation concerning Alice's right to visit friends if John did. Story 2 dealt with Alice's feeling lonely in a new neighborhood. Story 3 dealt with Alice's not having the house neat and clean when John came home in the evening be- cause it was too small and too crowded. Story 4 asked what Alice should do with a $100 cash prize she won on a favorite television quiz show. Story 5 described a fatalistic feeling Alice had about winning her $100 prize in that it might bring bad luck instead of good. Story 6 listed several major items the family needed, but income was inadequate to meet these needs. Story 7 discussed a possible new job for John. Story 8 stated that John lost his job and asked how he should Gare for his family until he could find another job. Story 9 suggested 30 the possibility of Alice's working even after John had obtained a new job. Story 10 presented the problem of what to do about sick children every winter. Story 11 explained Alice's quandry about desiring a new colored telephone to match her new decor in the living room. Story 12 dealt with John's spanking the children whenever he felt they needed it. Story 13 pertained to typical teenage "peer power" problems. Story 14 concerned the sixteen year old daughter's dating a Mexican American boy. Story 15 presented the dilemma of the oldest son's taking a football scholarship to college or taking a full-time job to help the family financially. Story 16 dealt with finding a quiet study corner for the sixth grade son who did not do his homework. Story 17 suggested the possibility of giving prizes to this son to do his homework. Story 18 was the first of the stories pertaining to John's sister, Joan, and her three children. This story presented a baby-sitting situa- tion in which Joan's Aunt did not tend her children closely when Joan was at work. Story 19 dealt with Joan's choice between buying new or used furniture when she moved from her aunt's house into an apartment. Story 20 presented Joan's predicament when her ex-husband did not pay his support money. Story 21 told of her not having money to buy gifts, for the children for Christmas. Story 22 described a speech problem that both of Joan's boys had developed. Story 23 described the situation in which Joan's unmarried daughter became pregnant the year after she finished high school. Story 24 discussed Joan's sixteen year old eighth grade son who was a "push out" rather than a "drOp out". Story 25 dealt with his younger brother who skipped school regularly. Story 26 concerned the possibility of the older son participating in the Neighborhood Youth Corps. Story 27 31 presented Joan's sudden illness from excessive worry and how this created even more problems. Each story was followed with the two questions, ”What should be done?" and "Why?”. This focused the respondent's answers on "normative standards" (values) rather than on what they have done, would or could do in each situation. What a person does is not necessarily in accord with what he feels he should do. Family Style Index Most interview schedules consist of three types of information: .' (1) face sheet (identification) information, such as name, address, date, ' time and place of interview, relationship of respondent to head, name of agency sponsoring the survey, and initials of interviewer; (2) census- 3 type (or Sociological) information, such as age, sex, marital status, education, employment status, occupation, income, race, nationality, religion, family size, etc.; and (3) problem information, composing the bulk of the schedule and pertaining to the information being sought by ' means of the questions composed for the interview schedule. The incomplete stories just discussed embodied the "problem information" section of thisstudy“s interview schedule while the Family- Style Index covered the "census-type information" section. Parten stated that this latter type of information about the respondent. . . . provides the variables by which the survey data are to be classified and also the bases for evaluating the sample. (32:163) Since the hypothesis for this study was based in large part upon classifying the respondents' families into various classes for further analysis, census-type information was essential to this classification process. Therefore, a six page detailed Family Style Index (Appendix B) 32 was devised for the purpose of securing necessary background information of a uniform nature from each respondent. This Family Style Index was a composite of six related indices. The first sub-index was entitled, Family Structure Index and included such items as marital status, age, race, nationality, years of school, church, and number and ages of children. Each item was further divided to better fit the respondent's circumstances. Each of these sub- divisions was weighted so that the respondent could be assigned a total Family Structure Index Score which was then added to the remaining five index scores, thus determining the respondent's final composite Family Style Index Score. This score (with some revisions) was used to de- termine the respondent's family class in relation to the rest of the sample. Since income and occupation are major determiners of a person's poverty level, a separate index was created to collect data such as employment status, hours worked per week, type of job, income, sources of income, job satisfaction, and employment history for those persons employed in the family. This comprised the Occupation Index. Weisbrod would consider the first two indices as being inter- related in that race and education are instrumental in the kind of job and the amount of income a person receives. Income, in turn, determines the amount of buying power available to the individual. A high propor- tion of the poor's income goes for housing which is often inadequate. In the United States in 1960, one in every twenty residences was con- sidered unsafe and inadequate shelter that would "endanger the health, safety or well-being of the occupants." (33:30) In addition, one in every twelve homes was ”in need of more repairs than would normally be 33 provided in regular maintenance." (33:30) In total, therefore, more than 10 million housing units, or 1 in every 6, were either dilapidated or in a stage of deteriora- tion requiring major repairs, if not replacement. . . . when both the condition of the structure and the availability of complete plumbing within the home are considered, about 1 in every 4 housing units was in need of major improvements. . . . Housing in rural areas is generally less adequate than in urban areas. In 1960, 4 in every 5 urban homes were in sound condition and con- tained complete plumbing. Little more than 1 in every 2 houses in rural areas met these criteria. (33:30) Again since housing constitutes such an intricate part of the poverty picture, it merited separate treatment in the form of the Housing Index. The following types of items were scored for this index: interior and exterior appearance and condition of the house, its general condition in comparison with others in the neighborhood, ownership, crowdedness, and "housing history" including length of time lived in one house and reasons for moving to better (or worse) houses. A major social aspect of poverty that seems to be present in varying degrees is the feeling of alienation. Characteristically, most middle-class persons feel a part of society and participate in numerous formal and informal associations that constitute the society. On the other hand, many poorer people who feel apart from society also avoid participating in it. Thus two more indices were constructed in an attempt to measure the respondents' degrees of formal and informal interaction. The Formal Interaction Index measured primarily membership in formal organizations by the respondents and/or any family members. Credit was given to membership, attendance at meetings and holding an office. Other items included the amount of time or services volunteered to organizations, friendships evolving with other members as well as any assistance received from agencies. ‘Moon and McCann's Social Parti- cipation Scale served as a source for some of these Index items. (34) 34 In her report as a participant observer in a low-income housing area, Jeffers (35) described the tendency of these mothers to neighbor with one another partially, if not entirely, for the purpose of main- taining avenues for borrowing in time of necessity. Borrowing and trading services were items measured, then, in the wife's section of the Informal Interaction Index. In addition, friendship patterns in and out of the neighborhood and favorite leisure-time activities for the children, parents and family as a whole were measured. Jeffers made another observation that was incorporated into the Poverty Cycle Index. Her sample revealed that most of the low-income mothers in the housing development were older children in large families and that their parents and younger siblings were now living comfortably (some siblings even attending college) at the expense of her subjects' early childhood. In most cases the parents both worked and these res- pondents when growing up carried out household tasks, including meal preparation and care of the younger children. Eventually the family of orientation climbed above the poverty threshhold, but usually not until after the older children had left home. The respondent's birth order and that of her husband, then, was included as part of this Index. (Perhaps it should be noted here that neither of Jeffer's observations were fully substantiated by the small sample in this study, but neither were they refuted. The sample appeared to be too small for patterns of interaction or birth order to develop.) An Index to measure the Poverty Cycle of the respondents seemed nmmt appropriate in a poverty study to reveal, if possible, any patterns of family structure, in particular, between the parents' families of orientation and their present families. Consequently, items similar to 35 those in the Family Structure and Occupation Indices were included pertaining to the families in which the parents grew up. A single attempt was made to tap additional values the res- pondents held that they could verbalize directly in answer to the question, "What things matter most to you in this world?" (36:286) This query was posed to the respondents in regard to their own family and also as a re- call of what their parents and in-laws felt were the most important things in life. A follow-up question of "How can these important things in life come true?" was also included in the Poverty Cycle Index. These questions were difficult for many of the respondents and many gave what the researcher felt to be "socially acceptable" answers such as educa- tion, religion, or citizenship. In some respects the overall Family Style Index served as a source for some of the respondents' "behavioral values", what they do, while the Incomplete Story Instrument elicited their "verbal values", what they ought to do, as distinguished earlier by Smith (page 28). The Case Study Method A great deal of data was gathered by the above two instruments, Incomplete Story Technique and the Family Style Index; however, in analyzing these data, it became evident that case studies on each res- pondent would contribute immeasureably. According to Jahoda (37) the case study is an appropriate procedure for evoking insights both because of the receptive, seeking attitude of the investigator and because of the , intensity of the study of each individual. One attempts to obtain sufficient information to character- ize and explain both the unique features of the case being studied and those which it has in common with other cases. (37:43) This researcher feels that until the existing body of knowledge 36 pertaining to poverty is expanded, more in-depth studies would contribute immensely to better understanding the disadvantaged. Hess and Handel discussed the function and value of the Case Study method especially as it pertained to "research on the internal processes of non-pathological family interaction and emotional structure." (38:v): . . . The detailed examination of cases suggests lines of thought, urges re-examination of contemporary theory, reveals areas of behavior in which our knowledge is Sparse, and stimulates hypotheses that may be tested in other research formats. Case analysis serves another function, perhaps more important: it translates abstractions into concrete components of actual lives. The social scientist loses touch with his subject matter if he confines his work to disembodied responses and acts grouped into categories. Learning in social science must have a sensory base; tables of data must have some connection with people who can be seen or heard in action. If tabulation of data advances pour science, case study and analysis serve to remind us that our subject is human action and feeling. Case studies have, perhaps, a particular usefulness when they deal with problems at the forward edge of an area of investiga- tion. They make it possible to illustrate in detail the referents of new concepts and to think about their ramifications. Concepts that have gained currency sometimes become so far detached from the phenomena they are intended to represent that they take on, unsuitably, a life of their own. Formal definition of concepts seldom suffices to locate them appropriately; indeed, such defini- tions often are possible, not to say fruitful, only after prolonged acquaintance with the phenomena from.which they issue. A group of cases serves to keep concepts closely related to the events we wish to understand. (38:v-vi) In a pilot study, such as this one, the case study seemed to play an important complementary role in both gathering and analyzing the data. As an illustration, when the responses of the twelve respon- dents were tabulated and analyzed, some trends seemed to be "out of line". For instance, one respondent in the upper-lower class tended to give value responses that were typical of middle-lower-class families. This did not seem incongruent to this researcher, however, based upon previous knowledge that this respondent had experienced prolonged poverty during 37 her first marriage. Since she re-married, she has been living com- fortably as evidenced by her Index Score, but she still retained some of the values she was forced to live by during her "poorer years". This sort of additional knowledge appeared in the case studies and would not likely be gathered during the routine interview. It did contri- bute to a better understanding of the respondent and her situation, a fact acknowledged by Hillway: . . . In analyzing the evidence gathered (by means of the case study method), the investigator usually searches for causes of the current condition or status of the subject studied. (39:221) Hillway did warn of one danger of this method: The case history investigator must earnestly try to maintain objectivity and refrain from passing moral judgement upon the cases he studies. His object is to learn the truth by diagnosis. (39:221) The case studies in this study were both descriptive and diag- nostic. They were a compilation of information from first hand ex- perience of the researcher and others working professionally with the Headstart mothers, and of data obtained from the Family Style Index and the value reSponses elicited by the incomplete stories. The combination of all three methods enhanced the understanding of each respondent and her family. Analysis of Data The Constructed Typology_ Engebretson stated: A problem to be solved in using the incomplete-story technique for data collection is the complexity of handling the unstructured responses in a logical, meaningful and unbiased way. (21:46) A typology is needed as a bridge from systematic, substantive theory to relatively unstructured data which have not been re- stricted to prearranged categories. (21:48) 38 What, then, is a constructed typology, how does it function, and what is its application in this study? The constructed type as conceptually developed by Becker and defined by McKinney is a purposive, planned selection, abstraction, combination, and (sometimes) accentuation of a set of criteria with empirical referents that serves as a basis for the comparison of empirical cases. (40:25) . . . the primary function of the type is to throw actual structures or courses of action into comparative light . . . (40:14) The comparison and measurement of empirical approximations reveals nothing but deviations from the construct. At some level, depending on the construction, nothing but exceptions to the con- structed types exist. This is not only to be expected, but is to be sought after, for it is the basis of the value of the typological method. These deviations will be relative - to each other and to the constructed type. This procedure, then, can lead to quantifi- cation in terms of degree of deviation. (40:12) The guiding hypothesis for this study suggested that value responses will vary along a continuum depending upon the class of low- income family. It follows that if types were constructed for either end of these continua, then the value responses would fall somewhere between, thus being "deviations from the construct". Based primarily 3 upon this supposition, a typology was constructed to analyze the data. If a constructed typology is to be a bridge between theory and unstructured data, it is essential that the constructed types be grounded in theory, whenever possible, so that the "empirical approximations" have some reliable standard from which to deviate. Therefore, four continua characteristic of lower-class persons were selected as a basis for the construction of the typology. There are four distinctive themes peculiar to lowereclass behavior, all apparently the result of a deprived, alienated condition: fatalism, orientation to the present, authoritarianism, and concreteness. (3:7) Since "orientation to the present" was so overshadowed by other continua in the value responses, it was decided to substitute the overall 39 orientation of alienation in its place. A feeling of alienation, of feeling apart from the rest of society, arises from the helplessness and powerlessness that exists among the lower classes. This, in turn, leads to fatalistic beliefs, or beliefs that external forces are un- controllable. Hand in hand with fatalism goes the persistent tendency to think in terms of the present rather than the future. (3:7) Authoritarianism is incarnate in the habit of classifying people as "weak" or "strong", in belief that deviance or disobe- dience should be severely punished, and in reliance on authority, rather than reason, as the proper source of decisions. Concreteness, stress on material rather than intellectual things . . . includes fewer generalizations, relies less on intellectual processes than on observation, and is more tied to the world of immediate happenings and sensations. (3:8) These four themes, therefore, may be considered continua in this manner: 1. Fatalism ---------- Control 2. Authoritarianism ------ Equalitarianism 3. Alienation --------- Integration 4. Concreteness -------- Abstractness According to the proposed hypothesis, the hard-core-lower-class families would be located near the left end of the continuum while those families with more middle-class tendencies of behavior would be near the right end. The typology was constructed with a five point (degree) variation since there were five classes of families delineated (see the definition of terms section, pages 20-21). As the preliminary coding of the value responses began, it became evident that the above four continua were too broad and should be re- fined into subject matter themes based upon the response content elicited. The refinement follows: Fatalism ----- - - Control Continuum 1. Resources . Child Rearing 2 3. Goals 4. Kinship 40 Authoritarianism -------- Equalitarianism Continuum 5. Role Structure 6. Power Structure Alienation ----------- Integration Continuum 7. Formal Interaction 8. Informal Interaction Concreteness ---------- Abstractness Continuum 9. Material Possessions 10. Human Possessions 11. Education 12. Occupation For this study, the final typology was constructed around these twelve themes, which emerged from the data and were treated as five degree continua, also. Based upon existing literature, a constructed type was formulated for either end of each theme-continuum, and the value responses were coded along one of these five degree continua depending upon the best subject matter fit of the response. With this background, the typology on the following two pages should be self- explanatory. For further clarification of the typological analysis an excerpt from the coding manual, including actual responses, may be found on page 43. Coding The coding manual, was written as an aide to the coders. Coding was done manually by two coders, this researcher and another graduate student in home management. She was provided with a copy of the typology and examples of actual responses fitting most of the sixty possible value positions of that typology (twelve themes times five degrees of variation along each theme continuum). Each of the 372 res- ponses was coded by theme and degree independently by each coder. Their resulting codes were compared, and the few differences encountered were discussed and resolved. 41 CONSTRUCTED TYPOLOGY Continuum: Fatalism l 2 3 Resources Theme: Kluckhohn's "Being"; little or no saving, budgeting, or planning; believe in luck or fate more than control of one's future. Child Rearing Theme: Parents want "respectable" children: obedient, clean, neat; control depends on adult's mood: inconsistent (strict or permissive) Kinship Theme: Duty & responsibility ties within nuclear & extended family, especially in emer- gencies; emotional ties greater than things of common interest. Goals Theme: Precedence of personal feelings & whims over group (family) goals. Continuum: Authoritarianism l 2 3 Role Structure Theme: Sharp delineation by sex: husband earns $; wife tends home & family; children take responsibility for jobs; task-oriented. Power Structure Theme: Rigid; adult-centered: Patriarchal - Matriarchal Children subordinate to parents. Control 4 5 Kluckhohn's "Doing"; emphasis on careful saving, budgeting & planning ahead to control one's own destiny; show initiative, creativity, resourcefulness. Respectability taken for granted; parents want self-reliant, res- ponsible children; parents are emotionally supportive: counsel so child knows consequences & responsibilities. Family harmony taken for granted; less dependence on extended fam- ily even in emergencies; things of common interest plus emotion- al ties present. Place group (family) goals above personal aims. Equalitarianism 4 5 "Togetherness": tasks shared by family; planned (schedules, due ties) by needs & abilities of family members; person-oriented. Flexible, permissive; child- centered; equalitarian (part- ’ ners); family council (older children). .uoU-né V firm- 42 J CONSTRUCTED TYPOLOGY (Continued) Continuum: Alienation 1 2 3 Formal Interaction Theme: Fear, suspicion, rejection of "outsiders"; will take their "due" (handouts); give up easily; powerlessness, inse- curity; may avoid professional help. Informal Interaction Theme: With same sex reference group or neighbors similar to self. Continuum: Concreteness 1 2 A 3 Material Possessions Theme: Susceptible to high-pressure advertising; desire new, ex- pensive models; "things" may be more important than people; lack repair skills so things are run down. Human Possessipps Theme: Children, husband, etc. treated as "things" for "owner's" self-enhancement. Education Theme: Ambivalence toward Occupation Theme: “Almighty Dollar" & prestige; prefer security of same old job to new job; rate practical experience higher than training or educa- tion; "detached" from work. Integration 4 5 Acceptance of responsibility in cooperating with outside groups & persons; try again harder; confidence, security; seek professional guidance. With mutual friends or mixed sex groups of varying ages. Abstractpess 4 5 Possessions for enjoyment & sat- isfaction plus tools for growth & develOpment of family members; people favored over "things"; can wait to buy until better able or make do with less expensive model; repair old. Family members treated as in- dividuals; real concern for an individual's growth & development. Emphasis upon (academic or other training) Nature of work (satisfying, chal- lenging, better the individual) so new job's OK, especially if promotion involved; education, training, innovativeness rated higher than practical experience alone; "attached" to work. 43 Excerpts from the Codinnganual: Resources Theme: from typology: Degree 1 Kluckhohn's "Being"; little or no saving, budgeting, or planning; believe in luck or fate more than control of one's future. Degree 2 Degree 3 1 (Could result in either direction: toward management or the lack of it.) Degree 4 Degree 5 Kluckhohn's "Doing"; emphasis on careful saving, budgeting & planning ahead to control one's own destiny; show creativity, initiative, resourcefulness. examples from actual responses: "John and Alice should just take what comes as it comes and let go what goes." "Joan should stay home and draw ADC." "Parents can always find a way to manage family debts." "It's not what you have, it's the way you do it. You don't have to have a turkey for Christmas - you can trim up a meatloaf and add extra dishes." "Joan's got to endure and be tough and not give up. She should be strong and not let things bother her... She should accept that she's on her own. She should plan ahead and know when things come up. She should buy in advance things that'll keep. If you set your mind to do something, it's not hard..." 44 Analysis Codes were counted by theme, by story and by respondent. A Typology Score was computed for each respondent, indicating her overall average position along the continuum. This Typology Score was compared to its corresponding Index Score for each respondent to see if her value responses concurred with the hypothesis or deviated from the kinds of responses she was expected to make based upon her Index Score. In addition, a Value Orientation Profile was computed for each respondent showing the proportionate strength of each continuum (com- posite of its themes) coded in that individual's responses. The following rules were followed in constructing this Value Orientation Profile: (1) Capital letters represent the predominant continuum, such as "F-C" means the Fataliserontrol Continuum.was predominant. (2) Lower case letters represent all remaining continua, such as "a-e" means the Authoritarianism-Equalitarianism Continuum is present but recessive, and likewise with the other continua. (3) An underline of lower case letters indicates that that continuum is half or more of the predominant con- tinuum, such as "F-C, 3:3". (4) Letters are arranged in order of strength of continua, such as FC, pg) ae, ai, which means that the first continuum in capital letters is predominant while the "par continuum.is at least half as prominent and the "ae" and "ai" continua are present, but to a lesser degree. Revisions were made in both interview instruments based upon their use in the interviews and the analyses of the data collected by each technique. A one page revision of the six page Family Style Index was suggested as was a fixed-choice, projective-type incomplete story instrument, featuring twelve instead of twenty-seven stories. Both revised instruments may be found in Chapter V. A major revision in the 45 Typology was also suggested in that chapter. All suggested revisions are subject to further refinement resulting from more use with different samples. CHAPTER IV CASE STUDIES Analysis of the Sample The sample for this study consisted of twelve Headstart mothers living in approximately a ten-block neighborhood near the Michigan State University Campus. This sample, when analyzed by marital status, age, race, education, family size, income, and occupation, exhibited the following characteristics: 1. Marital Status: Both Parents living at home: Female Head: Divorced: Separated: Unwed: NHNUlV 2. Approximate Age of Respondent: Range: 24 to "in the 50's" Approximate Average: 32-33 years 3. Race: White: 6 Negro: 3 Mexican: 3 4. Education of Respondents: Finished High School: 4 Approximate Average Grade: 10th Education of the 7 Husbands: Finished High School: 1 Approximate Average Grade: 8th 5. Number of Children: 5 or more: 6 Average/Family: 4.5 46 47 6. Receive Public Financial Assistance: Full-time ADC: 4 Occasional Assistance: 3 Rarely, if ever: 5 7. Employment Status of Respondents: Working Mothers: 3 Non-working'Mothers: 9 On ADC: 4 8. Average Family Income of $1000+/Family Member: Yes, above poverty threshhold: 5 No, below poverty threshhold: 7 Additional analysis of the data, particularly by the Index and Typology Scores and the Value Orientation Profiles will be discussed in Chapter V. The above analysis was presented here for the purpose of comparing the Case Studies to the entire sample of twelve. The Case Studies Individual case studies of each reSpondent comprise the remainder of this chapter. Each respondent is designated by a capital letter. These letters range from ”A" to "L", with “A" referring to the respondent who received the highest Index Score, "B" the next highest, and so on to "L" who received the lowest Index Score. The same letter will desig- nate the same respondent throughout the remaining chapters of this thesis. Sources of information for these case studies were the inter- views (Family Style Index and Incomplete Stories Instrument), first hand experience with the respondents throughout the school year by this re- searcher and others working professionally with them, and additional interviews with nursery school teachers. An attempt was made to inter- view social workers who served those respondents on.ADC, but the super- visor forbid this without the respondents' permission. This could pro- bably have been obtained; however, it was felt that rapport between 48 respondents and those working with them might be damaged, so this endeavor was terminated. Interviewee's Name: ‘Mrs. A Age: in her 20's Race: White Education: finished high school Marital Status: Married Number of Children: 2 Mr. and Mrs. A are a young hard-working couple with two pretty blond daughters. Mr. A sleeps during the day because he holds down "two jobs" at night working one and a half shifts. He has been a machinist for two years and earns $120 a week. Mrs. A, a slender blond, with almost shoulder-length hair, is always neat and well- groomed. She works hard keeping her home neat and tidy, too. In fact, it was spotless the day of the interview. Even so this interviewer followed her around the kitchen while she put the dishes away, and around the adjoining bathroom while she thoroughly cleaned it. She explained, "I usually don't have any dishes left out on the counter, except Monday mornings, since I leave my Sunday dishes to do then. Sunday is a quiet family and church day. We all attend church in the morning and evening, too. Then everybody lies down for naps during the afternoon." 'Mrs. A has been keeping her house even cleaner than usual since they have it up for sale by a realtor, and she wants it to look especially nice in case a prospective buyer comes. The house is modest from the outside. Unlike any others on the block, it was much decorated at Christmas time - with paper and foil bells, Santas, trees, etc. Inside there is thick carpeting on the living room floor, not to mention the nice furniture and piano there. She has the only piano visible in any of the homes included in the study. It appears to be a new spinet. 49 Her kitchen is large and recently remodeled, inoluding a garbage dis- posal in the sink and more than ample cabinets and counter tops. The girls' bedroom is just off the dining room while the parents' is next to the living room. The girls keep their bedroom fairly neat since they are supposed to play with one toy at a time, putting that one back before getting out another one. This helps keep the room neat, according to Mrs. A, and also reduces the noise and confusion created by less disciplined play. The girls are somewhat limited in having their friends over to play since their father does sleep in the next room during the day. Apparently he is a sound sleeper, but too many children in the house wake him at times. Mrs. A said her daughters have always gotten along together very well until the past year or so when the younger one has been too demanding of the older sister, fighting, biting, and hitting to get everything she wants. They had taught the older girl not to hit her little sister when she was a baby, and now she still will not fight back for her own possessions even when her parents tell her it is all right. Now the younger sister's hitting behavior is carrying over into her play with other children in the neighborhood and at Nursery School, too. Her teacher said she has improved, however, this year and is showing more compassion for the other children than she did when she first came to Nursery School mid-year. She has also learned to take some direction from her teachers. She seems to get so much direction (from the father mostly) at home that the teachers tried working around her in order to keep their directives to her at a minimum. Her teacher is sorry to hear that she is moving and not returning to Nursery School 50 because she really needs this socialization. This is especially so since the family has bought several acres in the country and are planning to build a new home with the money they will receive from the sale of their present home. The girls will probably not have any close neighbors with whom they can play regularly. ‘Mrs. A said she has noticed some change recently when her younger daughter plays with a little neighbor boy whom she used to "beat up regularly." Now sometimes when she wants something he has, instead of hitting him to get it, she hugs and kisses him. Mr. A feels that children should obey instantly, and since the behavior being learned at Nursery School was not of this nature, he wanted to take his daughter out of the school this spring. He did not like his daughter's increasing freedom in language and behavior at home (talking back to him,trying out new activities, testing out limits). Although various other mothers tried to reassure Mrs. A of the validity of the freedom at Nursery School and its importance in the child's growth, she reiterated her husband's concern. When Mrs. A helped at Nursery School, the teacher said she was eager to see "how they do it here" since she had recently taken over the responsibility of supervising their nursery at their church. Judging from this attitude, the teacher felt if Mrs. A were too authoritarian with the children at home, she would be more than willing to learn the more approved ways of working with children. ‘Mrs. A does seem to take special interest in her children and their "upbringing." She said her mother always worked when she was a child, and she would never do that. She would rather do without the luxuries. "You bring up children, not just bring them into the world." She also wants her daughters to have special lessons that will help their 51 growth and development as individuals. For instance, her older daughter is taking piano lessons, but does not really like them or the practicing that goes with them. 'Mrs. A began taking piano lessons this year, too, and refuses to attend any mothers' meetings held on Tuesdays because that is the day of her lesson. However, she said once to the discussion leader that she did not like or enjoy piano, but was only taking because she wanted her daughter to play. Stimulating her daughter's interest is characteristic of many of Mrs. A's responses to the stories. For example, she had strong feelings against giving a child a prize for doing his homework (Story #17). She said, "A child should learn res- ponsibility for his work, not just work for a reward. Alice should sit down and stimulate his interest so he'll want to do his homework. Perhaps she could keep his interest stimulated by getting him a microscope if that's what he's interested in - science. But that's different from a reward or prize." Similarly when confronted with a mode of discipline problem (Story 12), Mrs. A said, "If you control children when they're young, gain their love and respect, reward them when good, and so on, then you won't have problems with them when they're older. They'll want to do the right thing." Concerning Story 13, she said, "This depends on the situa- tion. Experience is the best teacher. Sometimes it is best to let them burn their fingers - they have to find out for themselves someday." In regard to Story 14 about the daughter's boyfriend, Mrs. A said, "If you say 'no', he becomes more attractive and she'll go behind your back any- way. So if you tell her to go with your permission, she might see it your way." In those story situations that Mrs. A felt were beyond her ability to handle, she knew exactly the approach she would use. For 52 instance, in Story 22 (Speech Problems) she said, "Joan should first take the boys to the family doctor to be sure there is no organic reason for the speech problem. If there is no medical reason found, then she should work with a speech therapist. There are speech classes at school and the teachers could tell her how to contact a speech therapist. She can get financial help from the Crippled Children's Fund." Mrs. A's older daughter came home for lunch before the inter- view was completed. She had a "CD" sign for them to place in their window. This is part of the Civil Defense program, in particular for the safety of young children walking to and from school. In case of impending danger, the children have been instructed to run for the house on that block with the "CD" sign in the window. That mother has like- wise been instructed as to what actions she should take if and when this should occur. These mothers are also supposed to be especially alert, watching the children as they walk past her house en route to and from school. Mrs. A does cooperate with school and community officials in a ' When she attended mothers' meetings spring term "middle class way.' that were "integrated" in that other Nursery School mothers, not necessar- ily all Headstart mothers, also participated, Mrs. A tended to migrate toward these "other mothers," identifying more closely with them than with Headstart mothers who also attended. She was very c00perative, however, in offering any of the Headstart mothers rides home following the meetings. This was the first "break through" in getting any of the Headstart mothers to assume responsibility for their own affairs. 'Mrs. A said she did not mind since the other mothers lived right on her way and she would always have a car; however, she only attended a few meetings since she became too involved in moving. She is anxious for 53 her family to re-settle and begin their "new life". Interviewee's Name: ‘Mrs. B Age: about 50 Race: Negro Education: grade school only Marital Status: second marriage Number of Children: 2, both adopted Mr. and'Mrs. B are very light-skinned Negroes. His mother was from Sweden and one of her grandparents was white, also. Mr. B was the sixth of ten children and his father made "good money", but he had to hold down two jobs to do it since his wife "thought she was a 'society lady' and she didn't know how to spend the money right - she wasted it and her time socializing." ‘Mr. B graduated from high school and has been a truck driver for sixteen years, now earning $110 a week. They have owned their home for two years. It includes two lots, all fenced and well-kept. The house is in excellent condition and stands out in the neighborhood because of this. The interior is always neat, clean and orderly. It has only two bedrooms, so the young son sleeps in the den just off the living room. A motel is interested in buying property in their neighborhood and Mr. B says he will sell for $33,000. Mrs. B only went through grade school, thus categorizing her as the respondent with the least amount of education and her husband as the male head with the most. She wanted to go further in school but she be- came too old compared to the other children in her class. At that time her father was with a construction company and they traveled from town to town, living where they could find housing on the outskirts. Usually school facilities were not adequate, especially for them (Negroes in the South about 40 years ago), so the children began to get further and further behind in their education. Two of her older brothers and sisters finished high school, but that was before her father had the construction 54 job. 'Mrs. B was the fourth of seven children. Her fondest memories are of her younger childhood on a farm in Florida where her father worked and her grandparents had before him. She always had food and clothes then; she said she never really knew poverty "as long as I lived in my Daddy's house. It was after I left . . ." She wonders what her life would have been like if she had married an older man she dated, who later became a teacher. He was good, kind and considerate to her, and she felt she would be happy with him, but her mother said the age difference was too great. All the young men she dated were " too fast" and "many's the time I had to slap them and walk home. My Momma always told me not to have no babies be- fore I was married because she never disgraced her momma that way and she didn't want me to disgrace her that way - and I'm telling my childrens the same thing. I want my childrens to have a good education and to be brought up in this world the right way with God's help." Mrs. B has been married twice. Her first husband left her when their son was a tiny baby. She had to care for him the best way she could because "in those days they didn't have no welfare like they have today." Her widowed mother moved in with her and cared for the baby for several years while Mrs. B worked to support all three of them. Then her mother became bed-ridden with a serious case of diabetes and Mrs. B had to quit her job to take care of her mother and her young son. Her mother's medicine was very expensive, and her mother would not take it unless ‘Mrs. B forced her, nor would she stay in bed or follow the doctor's orders. Mrs. B's brothers and sisters were all working and "making out fine," but none of them would help care for their mother. ‘Mrs. B said, "God showed me the way. . . He told me in my dreams what the winning 55 number was, so every Friday night after the others went to sleep, I'd go down to the corner store and play the numbers just long enough to win enough money to buy more medicine and food." That was how she managed through those very lean years. Much later after her mother died, Mrs. B and her son moved to Chicago where she met and married Mr. B. After moving to Lansing, her son "joined the Army and then he got a job playing the drums with a band in Chicago." One of the other band members had been involved in the narcotics racket and soon after he joined the band,'Mrs. B's son witnessed this person's murder. He was "put out of the way," too, because he might "squeal”. Apparently there was some time lapse between the two "murders" because Mrs. B said her son, with whom she was very close, "would come to me in my dreams. He told me 'they' were holding him in the basement of some big house on the south side of Chicago, using fierce police dogs to guard him. Once he said, 'Momma, they torture me and they're gonna kill me'. Then the last time he came to me in my dreams, he said, 'Momma you don't have to worry about me anymore now.‘ And all I could see of him was a hand like it was sticking up out of the water." Not long afterwards the police contacted her saying they had recovered her son's body from the lake where he apparently had a seizure of cramps while swimming. She, of course, does not believe this story especially since her son was an excellent swimmer, having done a great deal of underwater swimming while in the Army. ‘Mrs. B feels the police may have been involved with her son's disappearance; consequently, her attitude toward all police, both black and white, is negative. She complains there is not good police response in her present neighborhood as they delay some minutes or hours before coming. Now when Mrs. B tells 56 anyone about her son, she usually shows them his Army picture and says he was listed as "missing in action" when he was about twenty-one years old. Since then Mrs. B has adopted two beautiful children, a daughter who is now eight and a son, aged four. Mrs. B kept foster children for the court until she adopted these two (former foster child- ren). She relates how the case worker "used to bring me all the really bad cases because I could always fix them up fine. I remember one little girl they brought who just ran into the dark corner and stood there shivering and crying quietly. I got down on my knees so's I'd be the same height as she was and I crawled over to her on my knees and I told her to come here because I loved her and I wanted to help her, and hug her and make her happy. I kept talking real quiet to her until I got over to her and then I hugged her until she knew I wasn't going to hurt her and pretty soon she was hugging me. VI knowed then I'd won her over. All you have to do to little childrens is to give them plenty of love and fill up their little tummies." Mrs. B wants so much to have her children grow up "right." She is so afraid they will do something "wrong" that she is quite strict with them. Her husband plays cards and other games with the children, and "lets them get away with everything, according to Mrs. B. ‘Mr. B is very pleasant, well-informed about local politics, government and issues. He seems to present the more "human" side of adults to his children while Mrs. B, although aware of their "human development," too, is more concerned with their "proper upbringing." She always asks how her son is doing in Nursery School, wanting to know if he obeys his teacher like he is supposed to do. She just beams when told what a 57 good boy he is. She said her first son turned out to be such a nice boy "who everybody loved. . . He had a 'mother' in every town he lived in. . . Everybody loved him." She said he had a way of making people like him that she hopes these children will develop, too. Mrs. B's response to Story 17 explains her feelings on this subject more clearly: "What should Alice do? Don't give a prize; give a talk about homework. If you give childrens a prize for everything they do, they might ask someone else for money or something sometime and it would be embarrassing. You don't find this much nowdays, but you don't need to be paid to do everything; you should try to get that good ' Mrs. feeling inside when you just do things for others without pay.‘ B wants so much for her children to be good, considerate and respectable, but she feels to achieve this goal, she must know what they do every minute. For instance, in Story 13, she said, ”The teenager should listen to his parents at home and to his teachers at school. The teacher shouldn't try to run the child's life at home though. The parents should let the teacher take care of things at school, too." Her younger son's Nursery School teacher said he is a bit flighty and runs in spurts, but he is well-liked by all the children and the teachers, too. When his mother helped at Nursery School, she was so concerned that he always do whatever he was supposed to be doing, and that he obey his teacher, that she could not really relax and partici- pate in the on-going program as much as the mothers usually do. At a later date at the Nursery School Open House, Mrs. B slapped her eight year old daughter for some reason, but it did not appear to the teacher or others present that the girl had been mis-behaving in any way. Mrs. B seems to be somewhat "upwardly mobile" in her own way. 58 She is a good cook and takes pride in her baking. She bakes cakes for Nursery School staff at Christmastime and "outdoes herself" in fixing cookies, for meetings with other Headstart mothers. She always fixes more than anyone else at potlucks, being sure that the staff tastes her fried chicken, and whatever else she brings. Last year she resented having it passed first to a poorer mother who brought little or nothing to the picnic besides her three children. ‘Mrs. B does not like to ask favors of other people, but when they do a favor for her, she repays them by baking a cake, or sending along homemade jelly. Mrs. B is probably in her fifties. She says she has no real close friends anymore. Their last friend "went high hat on us" when she bought a house in a better section of town. Mrs. B does neighbor some with one or two women across the street occasionally, but not with any of those in the next block where the houses are more run down. Her daughter seems to have many friends at school, but is rarely allowed to bring any of them home to play because "they just nose through all the drawers where they don't belong." So her daughter plays with her little brother after school, usually in the house, but sometimes on their swing set in the back yard. There was no school the afternoon of the interview and the daughter was restricted to her room. When she asked if she could clean out some of her drawers, her mother said, "No, because you make such a mess." So she remained in her room quietly for almost two hours, peaking out occasionally. ‘Mrs. B had not been feeling well at that time and usually napped in the afternoons. She is overweight now, having traces of sugar in her blood which concerns her since her mother was so diabetic. In this interviewer's opinion, Mrs. B has her goals in "the right place," but her methods of attaining them show signs of needing 59 improvement. Like many parents she wants her children to have a "better life" than she did. She visualizes them as part of the "middle class society" of tomorrow and wants to be sure they will be ready to fit into that way of life. At times now, however, it is difficult for them to appreciate her concern for them. Interviewee's Name: Mrs. C Age: 41 Race: White Education: 11% years of school ‘Marital Status: 'Married Number of Children: 4 (One daughter died last year at the age of 5) Mrs. C is a petite person with red hair (formerly brown). She talks readily and easily, and is the only mother of those interviewed who makes jokes with the interviewer and the discussion leader - poking fun.at their habits or remarks. Mr. C, however, does not talk readily to strangers, but is very comfortable around his friends. For instance, last month'Mrs. C had been out of town for the day to a wedding and drove home with a relative after dark. They saw‘Mr. C walking down the sidewalk, so Mrs. C "made some catty remark to him" and he would not answer until they stopped the car next to him and she said, "Buck, this is your wife." On another occasion after dark, this interviewer and her husband stopped at the C's home to inspect a plant that the kindergarten class gave the C's last year when their five year old daughter died of leukemia. ‘Mrs. C, of course, did not want any- thing to happen to it, but was afraid it was too large for its original container and would need re-potting. She wanted the opinion of this interviewer's husband since he had been in Horticulture; however, when we knocked, Mr. C came to the door, looked out the window, turned around quickly, then went to the back bedroom without answering the door. His three year old son then opened the door. ‘Mr. C remained in the bedroom 60 until his wife called to him. After being introduced, he was quite friendly and conversed easily. ‘Mr. C has worked for twenty years for a construction company. He is a salaried labor foreman, earning $155 a week plus bonuses. Recently, however, his company had to shut down due to strikes, so the C's were with- out funds. He is not a Union member so received no aid there, nor is he actually layed off, so was not eligible for unemployment funds. Since Mr. C does not like to talk to strangers, his wife made an appointment with the Welfare Office. They were turned down by them, too, with the comment that "Mrs. C is able-bodied. She should find a job and let her husband stay home and baby-sit the children." Mrs. C had already considered this alternative, but hesitated taking a job on such a temporary basis. Part of the irony of the situation is that shortly before he was forced to quit working,‘Mr. C had had a feud with their neighbor, Mrs. K, about how unfair it was that he had to pay taxes to support her and her eleven children who were always on welfare and never did anything to help improve their situation - except come over to the C's to brag about all the "things" they had that the C's did not. ‘Mr. C concluded with, "Why should I work such long hours and let this sort of thing go on across the street?" Until then, Mrs. C and'Mrs. K had been good friends, having coffee together everyday. In fact, during Mrs. C's interview, Mrs. K dropped in for a visit and decided to stay to help answer the stories. The inter- viewer allowed this since many of the stories were based on Mrs. K's real life experiences with her large family, and'Mrs. C's prodding'Mrs. K re- vealed much more data than this interviewer could have elicited with her more limited rapport with Mrs. K. 61 Mrs. C said her other neighbors think it is terrible that "Welfare won't help us and that Buck isn't eligible for unemployment either." Their landlord told her, "Things are really bad when women with legitimate children can't get help when they need it. You ought to paint your face black; then you'd get all kinds of help in a hurry." This landlord is a Negro pastor for the small church next door to the C's, but he makes his living by means of the second hand store he owns two blocks away. Recently,‘Mr. C's company re-opened on a part-time basis and they are finding some part-time work for him, paying him a small amount each week. The C's are satisfied with this arrangement even though some of this pay now may be deducted from his bonus checks next year. Earlier, after contributions from nursery school staff had run out and they "had put the last of their beans on to cook," 'Mrs. C had asked this interviewer to drive her to the Salvation Army since they do not own a car. There she received a $12 money order for edible foods that she purchased enroute home. With only $12 to feed a family of six for a week, M... c was less conservative in her buying than this interviewer would have been. This interviewer made a few subtle suggestions, such as using hamburger instead of stew meat in goulash and buying grape instead of currant jelly; however, Mrs. C chose stew meat and currant jelly since her family preferred this, so no suggestions were made when she selected frozen homemade bread over the regular kind. Her bill was $2.25 over her $12 allotted, so the cashier, a friend whose late husband had worked for the same company, "took care of it for her." The C's seem to do without more things than many of their neighbors who earn less. Mrs. C says, "Buck works so hard and I can just make the money reach." She has bought several items of clothing, blankets, and other things on installment payments from local door-to-door salesmen. 62 She has also had more than one "party" for Stanley products, Tupperware, and the like. Although she is conscious of bargains, she does not seem to be aware of the hidden interest in the items bought at the door on a weekly payment basis. Their house is sparsely furnished throughout. The kitchen needs remodeling and the basement must need rewiring since light bulbs do not last there for more than two weeks. There is only one elec- trical outlet that she can use for her washer without being shocked. They have no dryer, but she does not mind. "I just get on my bathing suit and get a sun tan while I hang out my clothes." ‘Mr. and Mrs. C are in their forties and have four children. The oldest, a sixth grade boy, was selected to march in the safety patrol parade in Washington, D.C. this spring. They are very proud of him, especially‘Mr. C, since the two of them.have an unusually strong rela- tionship. In fact, they sleep together, going to bed shortly after supper. Mr. C has to rise at four.AM when his construction job is out of town. iMrs. C helps this son with his homework every night, making sure he learns everything he is supposed to now, so he will be able to keep up with his class in the upper grades. She quit school during her senior year and her husband never finished junior high school. This son teases his ten year old sister unmercifully. She is over weight and has been extremely sensitive for several years. ‘Mrs. C felt it stems from.when she had to spend so much time with their middle daughter before she died. This ten year old felt left out with her mother gone so much and her Dad so involved with her brother. This daughter is a good worker, being asked by her teacher to come back the day after school closed to help inventory and clean up the class room. After the second daughter died at age five, everyone said Mrs. C 63 seemed to have such good control of her emotions, but Mrs. C said it was still a shock. "You know she's going to die, but when it really happens, you're never really ready for it. I think our little boy tried to warn us. He woke up at 2:45 in the morning just screaming and I couldn't get him to stop. His Daddy finally calmed him down by telling him over and ~ over again that everything would be all right. About that same time we got a call from the hospital in Ann Arbor that our daughter had died. We'll never know, but I think our baby knew his sister was dead and he was trying to warn us." This "baby" is now three and a half years old and as daring as most little boys. His mother is constantly telling him to "be careful or you're going to fall and hurt yourself" no matter if he is jumping off a chair or off the sink into the bath tub he has filled with water. This summer he is enrolled in the summer Headstart Nursery School program at'MSU and feels very grown up now that he can ride the school bus with his five year old sister. This sister has enjoyed nursery school all year. Her teacher describes her as a happy child, not a leader or a foll- ower - just happy. She loves the doll corner, but does not miss out on other activities that interest her, too. She is independent in that she knows what she wants to do and does it. The teacher said, “Mrs. C is a delightful person who tends to have middle class ways and ideas. She thoroughly enjoyed helping at nursery school and the children loved her, flocking around her, especially when she began to read them a story in her deep, loud voice. ‘Mrs. C had more of a following than most of the regular nursery school teachers ever have. She lacked all the current training on working with children, breaking most of the rules in the book, but the children loved her. For instance, 64 she wouldn't listen to their comments or answer their questions while she was reading - the story was too meaningful and interesting to her to be interrupted." Both Mr. and Mrs. C are task-oriented in that they work hard all day. Their evenings, though short since Mr. C retires early and rises early, are times for relaxation with the family or each other. ‘Mrs. C has all the children pitch in at four o'clock to pick up their toys and put everything away so it will look nice when Mr. C comes home. They can still play in their bedroom, but no more toys are taken into the living room unless Mr. C wants to play with something with the children after supper. According to Mrs. C, "He usually drags out more stuff than the kids do." The evening this interviewer and her husband stopped in, he had painted a "tattoo" on the three year old's stomach and was playing "Hangman" with the older children who could spell or knew their letters. Everyone seemed to be having fun. Both‘Mr. and'Mrs. C smoke and enjoy a bottle of beer on warm sum- mer evenings in their back yard. Apparently this has created some dissen- tion among church members next door. Some of them "do not think the C's ' However, are the kind of peOple they want to rent their parsonage to.‘ when the "chips were down", as they were last year, this Negro Church provided a chicken supper for the sixty friends and relatives who came to the C daughter's funeral. Only thirty were expected. This expense was the church's as a gesture of kindness. Mrs. C refers to this church as "my church" sometimes even though she attends another church several blocks away. Recently she helped prepare a dinner at the Negro Church when they were short of help, so it appears as though the C's are "accept- able people" now. 65 'Mr. and Mrs. C were both middle children in families of ten chil- dren each. When asked if she were better off now than she was as she grew up, she replied, "Lord, no. We may have eaten more beans when I was a kid, but I can't begin to give my kids all the things they want to have." To this interviewer, it seemed to be a change of living standards rather than her being in more poverty now. Her children see things they want on tele- vision today while she never knew so many material possessions were even available as a child so never craved them. Mrs. C, however, insists she is far worse off now than when she was a child. Interviewee's Name: ‘Mrs. D Age: In her 20's Race: Mexican American Education: Completed High School 'Marital Status: Married Number of Children: 5 ‘Mr. and Mrs. D are Mexican Americans living in a nicely kept light yellow house. It is always neat and tidy indoors even after the new baby was born in February. There is new matching furniture in the living room. A large color television set, with the color never quite adjusted, domin- ates the room. A large velvet painting of a bull-fighter hangs on one wall and an equally beautiful bedspread is visible on the bed in the ad- joining bedroom. In addition to their middle class possessions, the D's seem also to have a middle class equalitarian relationship with each other except that their children are more subordinate than most middle class children. This seems to vary, however, as they are rather permissive with their children sometimes and at other times exact obedience - seen-but-not- heard type of behavior. Usually the children are not even present during home visits. When asked, "What do you think are the most important things in 66 life?", she answered, "Just to raise the children." One child is in speech class at school, but the others seem to be doing "OK". The nursery school teacher described their son as being "another wiry one we have to ' He is very well coordinated and is fearless as well. watch quite closely.’ He enjoys climbing up on top of the outdoor play house at nursery school, climbing over the railing and jumping to the ground. He can manage this feat since he is so agile, but the other children cannot. He does not like to wear wraps; his mother does not dress him adequately to be warm enough for outdoor play in cold weather. Some days he prefers staying indoors during play time to wearing a nursery school cap for warmth. Last year Mrs. D sent her youngster through her back yard to an- other Mexican-American family to be picked up by the nursery school bus (for the convenience of the bus driver). “Mrs. D did not like to do this because she objected to the way the other family lived, to the habits of the mother, and in general to having her children associate with that family. The mother in the other family, although she did not speak any English, came quite regularly to the mothers' group. She was always ex- tremely rouged and with heavy lipstick and powder; she participated in the manual activities (play dough, finger paints, etc.) with the delight of a young child. Mrs. D never helped at nursery school. She broke two appointments that were made for her son's free physical examination by medical students on campus. The third appointment has been scheduled now and a staff mem- ber is going to pick her up personally. Following these experiences, Mrs. D has been referred to as the typical "Manana-type'Mexican." She is short, stocky, with dark, lank hair. She goes out some everyday while her hus- band is at work. The only way he can really "ground" her is to take the 67 car to work himself. This he did once, shortly before the baby was born, after she had crumpled the car fender - just a week after obtaining her driver's license. She had been driving for'a long time, but fortunately had finally decided to get her license. Mr. D is a younger child in a large family. Both of his parents worked so the family could "live comfortably." His is a close-knit family. Her mother did not work, but they, too, lived comfortably. She was an 01- der child of a large family. She finished high school and now has five children, mostly school aged. She is under thirty, but her husband is older. He is a slightly-built, nice-looking young man who has been work- ing in maintenance at one company for eighteen years, now earning $109 weekly. He had a grade school education. Both Mr. and‘Mrs. D are very hospitable and friendly, inviting visitors in graciously and asking them to be seated. 'Mr.. D sat in on the first two stories of the interview, jovially indicating that "the woman's place is in the home" while Mrs. D maintained that a woman "needs to get out and widen her horizons." It seems as though this is a family joke that like all "good Mexican families," she should stay home and tend the house and children, but she leaves whenever she has a chance. He does not appear to be concerned about her going, however, since her closest companion is his twin sister. Where she goes and what she does has been a mystery until she revealed during the interview that she went to rummage sales regularly. She has promised faithfully to participate in the parent programs at the nursery school, but has never appeared. Usually her reason has been that her husband does not want her to go out so much. This was accepted until one day when a home visit was made when she was gone and her husband was home. He thought these meetings would be good for his wife to 68 attend and promised she would be there. She was not. A blond house guest sat in on the last two stories of the interview. Mrs. D told her what fun this was and how she had had a man from the college come last year to ask her questions. 'Mrs. D did appear to enjoy the inter- view. She was conscientious, identifying closely with most of the stories, asking to have some of them repeated so that she fully understood them be- fore answering. She seemed to want to give the "right answers," but she also showed empathy toward the characters in the stories and wanted to consider their well-being, too. There was one other interruption during this interview when a man from Central Michigan dropped in to inquire about a lady who used to live in the neighborhood. This man was an acquaintance (probably in a profes- sional - client relationship) whom neither of them had seen for years, but they greeted him as an old friend. He could not stay long, however, since he was here on business. The D's are so friendly and hospitable, yet she indicated on the Informal Interaction Index that they had few close friends other than rel- atives. In this interviewer's opinion, they appear to be in transition, possessing middle class "things," playing middle class roles, but not really being fully accepted by either the middle class or the lower class. Interviewee's Name: Mrs. E Age: In her 20's Race: Mexican-American Education: 7 - 8 years of school Marital Status: ‘Married Number of Children: 5 ‘Mr. and Mrs. E are Mexican-Americans who grew up in Texas. They have always had to work hard for the money they earn. Mr. E was a middle child in a large family. Since his father was sick most of the time, his 69 mother worked full-time in addition to trying to care for the children, her husband and the home. The family was subsidized by welfare funds to help make ends meet. 'Mrs. E was the sixth of seven children. Her father was a farm.worker, but apparently not in the migrant stream. One of her parents died when she was in the sixth grade and the other in the seventh. She quit school shortly afterwards. Mr. E only had about the same number of years of schooling. Now he is in construction work about eight months of the year, working for the landlord who lives next door. During the winter when.Mr. E is not working, he is very helpful around the house, baby-sitting so his wife can get her sleep. When he is working, however, Mrs. E usually misses out on her sleep. She works the night shift cleaning in some of the buildings on the University campus. She fixes the family their breakfast when she returns home in the morning. Then she cleans house until 9 a.m. when she goes to bed and tries to nap until time to fix lunch for her family. Sometimes she can work in another nap in the afternoons, but not always, and never on Mondays. That is her wash day and she stays up all day working at home because she is more rested, having caught up on her sleep over the week-end when she does not work at the college. She suggested having her interview on Tuesday right after lunch because she would be more rested on Tuesday than she would be some other afternoon later on in the week. She insisted she wanted to help with the study and to think nothing of her lack of sleep, since she was used to it. Her husband would be home yet that day and would baby-sit so she could rest later in the afternoon. It looked as though she must not have napped that morning either, however, since the ironing was hanging on a rope stretched across the din- 7O ing room. This interviewer was puzzled whether these clothes were evidence of the week's ironing or this was the "clothes closet." Actually the clothes were the only things that appeared to be out of place in the house. It was a modest house, but very neatly kept indoors. This was surprising since the outside is cluttered as is the glassed-in front porch. Mrs. E indicated during the interview that playing indoors was "off limits" for the children and their friends. They were to play outdoors or on the front porch. Her two and five year old children were playing quietly with each other on the living room floor periodically during the interview. Now and then‘Mr. E would call them into the kitchen with him, or she would tell them to go in with their father whenever she felt they were distracting. Both parents spoke in Spanish when talking to their children, but in English when speaking to the interviewer - that is, Mrs. E did, because Mr. E remained in the kitchen and left with the children shortly before the interview terminated. He and the landlord were going to begin their first construction job of the year the next day and he had a few errands to run. Mrs. E said her husband's income was between $3000 and $6000 while hers was between $3000 and $3999, placing them in the combined family in- come bracket of over $6000. She added that they had been on welfare a short while when they first moved here, but after he found a job, they became self- supporting and have been ever since. She began working about a year and a half ago. They feel they need her additional income even though her job is demanding on her in terms of adequate rest at least. This is the only way their children will ever have a chance to go to college, she says. Actually Mrs. E is a very soft-spoken person who is firm with her children, but not demanding. She is a plump, but attractive, young woman, with a personable air. She understands and speaks English very well, with 71 a direct manner of approach which is engaging. Her husband is of Spanish descent, and has (as do several of the children) eyes which are almost t0paz in color. She is fair, but with darker eyes than his. Mrs. E was active in the nursery school parents' group last year until she began working. She was busy at that time, too, with three pre- schoolers including the baby, but showed definite signs of managing her housework quite well. For instance, on the afternoons of the discussion meetings, she would make up the tortillas for supper at noon so she would not be so rushed at dinner time - dinner was at 3:30. The E's had had an unusually busy week-end a few days before the interview. Her brother had received a serious head wound in Viet Nam and had just been brought home. So her family drove down to Texas to visit him and other relatives during the week-end. They enjoyed the trip even though it was so short, because they do not get home to Texas too often. Mrs. E said that her children enjoyed most "riding in the car and going on picnics." Some of these picnics seem to be fiestas with dancing for the adults and games for the children. 'Mr. E sings with a group of friends every week-end and they get together frequently to practice and have fun. She enjoys tagging along. Sometimes they play cards. This is most fun when the husbands play against the wives, she says, especially if and when the wives win. The E's get together with their friends and rela- tives quite often. The E's moved to Michigan nine years ago and have lived in their present house for three years. They are "friendly with the landlord and his wife who live next door." Mrs. E helped once at nursery school this year and the teacher was sorry to have her take time out from her usual rest period to do this; how- ever, Mrs. E insisted she wanted to help. Her child had a few adjustment 72 problems which improved over the year, such as "being aggressive in a sly way" and hitting other children when no one was looking. The E's had another boy in nursery school last year who had several behavioral difficulties, too - defiance of limits, aggressiveness; but he made noticeable progress during the course of the year. The staff heard that he has been asked to repeat Headstart in public school, which seemed unwise to them, since he is a bright boy, and perhaps needs more challenge. Interviewee's Name: ‘Mrs. F Age: In her 30's Race: Negro Education: 9 - 11 years of school 'Marital Status: Married Number of Children: 4 Both Mr. and Mrs. F came from large families. He was one of the older children in his family and she was a younger one. They have four children of their own, two in school and two little girls still at home. The older daughter was in Girl Scouts last year and enjoyed it very much, but the troop does not seem to be meeting now. Mrs. F would like to have her son join Cub Scouts, but there does not seem to be a Pack around that he can get into. The F's are Negroes and she hinted that this might have something to do with their children not being included in these groups. Mrs. F belongs to the Eastern Star, but does not have time for much social life since she works full time cleaning house for people in East Lansing. Her mother, or else a neighbor lady, watches her younger daugh- ters for her while she is working. On days there is nursery school, the neighbor lady usually baby-sits so that her one daughter can catch the nursery school bus. This neighbor lady was involved in the parents' group last year since one of her granddaughters living with her then attended the nursery school. This year her own granddaughters are no longer living with her. She misses them so much that she has "adopted" the two little F girls. 73 Mrs. F is a neat, round-faced, very dark-skinned Negro with a re- tiring attitude. She rarely initiates conversation, but is obsequious and polite in responding to remarks made by staff members. In response to the incomplete stories, she usually gave one short statement with no explana- tions. She wants to please in an almost subservient manner, and is quite shy and does not talk more than necessary. Since she works full-time, this interviewer and others on the nursery school staff do not know her too well. She did take time off from.work twice during the year: once to attend the Christmas party at the nursery school and once to help when it was her turn. She was very quiet both times. Mrs. F's shyness seems to have carried over to her daughter in nursery school, too. The first thing her teachers noticed about her, however, was her unusually long interest span and ability. For instance, during one art session the teachers had made silhouettes of each of the children. 'Most of the children scribbled colors in a spotty fashion to make them look "prettier." The young F girl, on the other hand, painted hers a solid color and stayed with it until done. She was always much of a conformist at the beginning of the year, never doing anything wrong. Once toward the end of the year, however, she followed Mrs. I's daughter under one of the tables and ate her refreshments with her there. ‘Mrs. F's daughters always look as spotless as her house, wearing "good" dresses most of the time. Her house is neat inside and furnished with older used possessions that are maintained in good condition. They have one of the few plain black phones noticed by the interviewer in any of the respondents' homes. ‘Mrs. F, too, was the only person who said in response to Story #11 that Alice should keep her black phone. A large chest freezer in the dining room is clearly visible from the living room. 74 The interior of the house is dark, due to the blinds being pulled all day since no one is home. The exterior of the house is in need of repair and the yard is cluttered. The F's have been in this house for six years, having lived across the highway in the house now occupied by Mrs. I and her five children, when they first moved here from Arkansas. Mr. F's bro- ther lived with them when he first came to Lansing last fall. Mr. F works on an assembly line, earning about $100 a week. Between the two of them, they are in the over $6000 bracket. ‘Mrs. F proudly stated that they have never received assistance from a welfare agency, even when they first moved here. Mrs. F felt education was of prime importance to her parents. She never quite finished high school, however, and her husband just went to junior high. She says they want their four children to have a good educa- tion and hope they will work their own way through college. Interviewee's Name: 'Mrs. G Age: In her 20's Race: White Education: 8 years of school Marital Status: Married Number of Children: 5 Illness and accident seem to haunt the G family. During the inter- view, the four year old son was in the hospital in an oxygen tent with pneu- monia. His six year old sister was home sick from school. Both of these children had been sick most of the winter with respiratory ailments. The daughter was hospitalized with pneumonia once and a staph infection another time during this school year. Several times last year and again this fall, both of these children had received nasty injuries from "accidents." It was suspected that they may have been "battered children," but nothing was ever proved. Mrs. G was awaiting her turn in the hospital for a hysterec- tomy. She was looking forward to this "vacation" since one of her younger 75 sisters was coming to care for her and her family. Mrs. G is very close to two of her sisters - both of whom had babies out of wedlock this year. Mrs. G was busy hanging out a big wash the day this writer visited her to make an appointment for an interview. She really wanted to take a break then, but knew she would never get back to finish her wash. Due to her pending hysterectomy, she tires easily. She decided to schedule the interview for the next morning because she knew she would not feel like doing anything more than sitting and talking the morning after such a big wash. ‘Mrs. G and her daughters forgot the interview and went back to bed after "getting the menfolks" off to work and to school, so they were still sleeping at 10 a.m. when it was time for the interview. ‘Mrs. G had recently taken her son out of nursery school because he was sick so much and was younger than most of the other children. She felt after visiting school that he was not learning as much as he should. His teacher was very disappionted, feeling that it was normal for him to play by himself part of the time since he was younger, but that he was still gaining from being in nursery school and needed this contact and experience very much. His six year old sister had been in nursery school last year, but with a different teacher. She was more aggressive (and older); she was a "star" in a movie taken of Headstart children their first year in nursery school. The G's have three other children. The two year old daughter is quite a "momma's baby" and was especially so this winter when her mother took her off the bottle which she used to drag everywhere with her as she would a favorite toy. The other two children are both school aged boys. Both are in Special Education and travel to and from sChool in a taxi cab that picks up other children in the neighborhood, too. "They are Type A, which is slower learners than Type B." 76 The children's relationship with their father seems to be some- what strained, according to the mother, since he "yells at the kids and makes them all nervous - he expects too much of them." She says further that her husband's problem is that he was the "baby of his family, having only an older brother. He has been pampered all his life, until he got married and had to start earning a living and taking responsibility. His mother fed him too well, too. They had eggs, toast, cereal, and juice for every breakfast plus four vegetables and two kinds of meat every day. We can't afford to eat like that, but he'd like to. He'd like to just sit and do nothing but watch TV, too, and not have the kids bother him - just fetch things for him." Mrs. G said she just wanted three little girls, but when she ended up with five children before she could get even two girls, she figured that was enough children, so she convinced her husband he should get "his oper- ation so we wouldn't have any more kids." She recalled his "knocking me around a little bit because he didn't want to go, but after he found out the operation wasn't so bad, he bought me an ice cream cone - that's his only way of saying, 'I'm sorry.'" Now he is having chest pains from being over weight and doesn't want to go to the doctor and "is a real grouch again." Mrs. G has fair, smooth skin, dark naturally curly hair, dark eyes, and uneven teeth. Her manner is somewhat peremptory and direct, but she is friendly and open, smiling all the while she talks. She had been overweight until she joined the TOPS Club, losing the most pounds, thereby becoming the "Queen" for her club. Regional run-offs were to be the following week- end, but she would not go if her son were still ill. Since she dropped out of the mothers' group, TOPS is her only chance to "get out". They do not attend church: "Are you kidding? I can't get him out of his chair. He 77 really doesn't like me to go out either." She said she would like to go swimming once in a while, but they never go. Her husband says the water in the city pool is "too dirty with all them Negroes swimming in it." Mr. G finished the eleventh grade while she only went through the eighth, He has worked as a "Picker and Packer in the Parts and Service Warehouse" for fifteen years. His father and brother are employed by the same company. ‘Mr. G makes $50 a week take-home pay, but over $6000 a year, salary, according to his wife. His salary has been garnisheed. "Everybody and his brother has his hand out whenever we get any money." Mrs. C shows ability to manage money and take responsibility. She said her father taught her and her sister, who were the older of seven children, how to spend money wisely. He would send them to the store with a dollar to buy a certain item. If they shopped carefully, they could buy the item and he would let them keep the change. She discusses the advant- ages of pampers over other diapers, certain types of material for curtains or slip covers, etc. very knowledgeably. On the other hand, knowing and doing may be two different things. She has received special assistance from welfare agencies in the form of both money and personal help, such as someone to help her organize her housekeeping and get caught up with it. She seems to like having this extra help, understanding and motivation. Yet her house is always cluttered and dirty. It would be interesting to study Mrs. G in greater detail. There seems to be a difference between her behavioral and verbal values. Her responses to the stories indicated that she "was ready for a fight." For instance, in Story #1 she said, "Alice should go out anyway. She should call his bluff and let him know he's not boss." In answering Story #11 she said, "Alice should talk it over with John to 'sound him out' to see 78 how strongly he feels for or against it. Then she should try it anyway even if he says no. He'll simmer down OK if they don't charge it until next month's bill." In real life Mrs. G may do as Mr. G wishes to avoid a fight, but her resentment of this may build up inside her. Her responses indicate further to this researcher that if she had a better relationship with her husband, they would tend to be more typically "middle class." He seems to enjoy being at the authoritarian end of the continuum as a patriarchal "boss" while she seems to think he does not do enough to deserve that much authority in the family. Her responses indicate she would rather be at the equalitarian end of the continuum: (Story #3, about the neat house) "Alice should try her best; if he's not satisfied, he should try to help and understand her situation, etc." In real life she is a poor housekeeper, leaving food, clothes, toys, etc. everywhere. Could this be partly in defiance of her "would-be autocratic husband" to whom she would rather relate on a more equalitarian basis? Since she cannot seem to change his ways subtly, she appears to be on the verge of a fight that she does not want, at least not in front of the children: (Story #12) "Alice should not interfere with his discipline in front of the children. She should talk to him in private and then keep her mouth shut in front of the children." When asked what her parents felt were the most important things in life, Mrs. G explained that this meant two different things: (1) what they wanted for their children and (2) what they could provide. They wanted them to have the proper food and education, and they taught them how to stretch their money. She added that as for her own children, she would want them to have a better home and a good education. She wants her boys to grow up to be respected men in the community and her girls to be happy, well-adjusted women. 79 Interviewee's Name: Miss H Age: In her 20's Race: Negro Education: Finished high school Marital Status: Unwed Number of Children: 3 Miss H is a pretty, brown-skinned young woman, well-groomed and with good taste in clothing. She is very pleasant, smiling with her face and her voice when she speaks. ‘Miss H is the unwed mother of three chil- dren. Her son is in grade school, one daughter is in nursery school now for the second year and the other will probably start next year. ‘Miss H had "Child Support" funds when the children were smaller. Now she works full-time as a proof operator, earning just under $75 a week, thus placing her above the normally accepted $3000 poverty threshhold level. ‘Miss H and her children rent their small home from her parents, who live two doors away. There seems to be a mutual baby-sitting arrange- ment in which grandmother watches the daughters while Miss H is working; in return Miss H cares for some of her younger brothers and sisters who are close to the same age as her own son. There may be some formal arrange- ment between them, but this was not made clear. Discipline of the children apparently has been discussed. Miss H says, "My younger brothers and sis- ters sure have it easier now. My father used to spank us for everything, but now he talks to them, too." ‘Miss H was an older child in a family of thirteen. Last year both she and her mother had children in the Nursery School and both participated in the parent education program held in their church two blocks from their home. On one occasion Miss H said in the presence of her mother that she had found that spanking is not always the best way to discipline a child. In her response to Story #12, Miss H said, "A father's discipline is much needed nowdays in a family. It shows the 80 child his father loves and cares for him. The father (one who spanks only) will soon see other things and other ways to discipline.‘ Similar responses to other stories are : ". . . But parents are stronger if they are strict and do not yield to others" (are consistent in their discipline); "Love does a lot of things; mean stirs the mind. Don't tell the child in a mean way or he goes in the opposite way and sneaks;" "It's what the father should do, not Tim. It's the child's life and future they've got to look for;" and finally, "Parents can do a lot if they put their mind to it and don't say, 'I just don't know what to do with my child anymore'." Unlike many of the mothers interviewed, Miss H had very strong ideas about rearing children that were evidenced repeatedly in her responses to the incomplete stories above. It seemed to this interviewer from these and other comments that Miss H was fully aware of how much influence parents have in their children's lives even when they do not realize it. Miss H seems to have strong convictions about what she feels is right and wrong. She is especially anxious to do the right things for and with her own three children, thereby benefitting from the mistakes both she, and others she has grown up with, have made. This is, however, difficult for her since she is the only parent and must work full-time, depending upon some- one else, namely her parents, to care for her children. Miss H identified closely with Joan in Story #18, in which she said, "The aunt should love more; she'd be surprised at the difference it makes. If the aunt has rules (so the boys don't get hurt, etc.), the boys should mind the aunt better." Then as an aside she added, "If a baby-sitter's rules and ideas are correct, then the children should mind the sitter when with her because the mother is not right there and doesn't know exactly what does go on." 81 During the interview, Miss H called her younger daughter inside for a few minutes because she was "bossing the other kids too much and she just has to learn she can't do that." It is not known if the grand- mother does the same when she baby-sits. It is known that the older daughter "dominates the bus children and is beginning to dominate the other children as well," according to her nursery school teacher. She is "queen bee" in the doll corner and everyone does as she says in her very authoritarian way, "Get in those beds and go to sleep, damn you." The teacher is sure she gets this from her grandmother rather than her mother, who has such a quiet, "bland" manner. The daughter is a real leader and the only Negro in her class. Her teacher says she is quite dynamic, creative and imaginative, frequently singing songs she makes up herself. She uses colors well, but surprisingly has not learned to differentiate verbally between them after being exposed to (not taught) them for two years. Actually she is sensitive and can be moody if put down, but this does not happen too often. Just talking with her is usually enough to snap her out of it if it does happen, however. She usually arrives at school happy and in a gay good mood. Actually she is a sharp little girl with a great deal of potential. Miss H took off from work one afternoon to help at nursery school this year. She regretted not having done this last year because it was meaningful to both her and her daughter. The other children liked her, too. ‘Miss H attended the Christmas party last fall with her younger daughter, too. Her older daughter took such good care of her little sister, showing her everything in nursery school, that peOple there still remark about them. It is hoped that Miss H will continue to help at nurs- ery school Whenever she is able. Judging from her responses to stories, 82 she seems to realize the advantages of this: "Joan should have gone to school with the first problem. The teacher should confide in the parent and they should work together to solve the problem. If they don't work together, then the teacher doesn't understand and the parent doesn't understand the whole situation (Story #24). ". . . She has to have a part and the child won't do too much wrong. If the parent is behind him, he won't stray too far. . . . Joan should encourage him to go back to school. If he can't learn to endure school, he won't hold a job either. He has to learn to 'tough it out'." Learning to "endure" and "tough it out" appear to be a basis of Miss H's philosophy. She became very upset with Joan in Story #27, re- sponding, "Joan's got to endure and be tough and not give up; she should be strong and not let things bother her. She has to be a husband and a wife. She had a husband once; she should have made her marriage go. Now she should know she'll have problems and when she's alone, they'll double. She can't go to bed or she'll go crazy." On the other hand, Miss H was more philosophical about Joan's unwed pregnant daughter in Story #23: "Nowdays too many minds are disturbed, so it's better to keep the baby than to grieve over what's become of it later on. It's better to keep and take care of the child, to live with the predicament you got into." This, then, is what Miss H did. Apparently she has seen her mistakes and at times had little pa- tience with Joan for not seeing hers. For example, when Joan's ex-husband was lax about paying her support money in Story #20, Miss H responded, "Joan knows she has to pay the rent. She should ppypp_rely on a man or rely only a minimum on a man or he'll let her down. She should be by her- self and budget herself. She should try to get a better job if she needs 83 more money." In real life Miss H does try to do this. For instance, last Christmas she wanted to give her son a new set of drums that would cost at least $100. So all fall she worked overtime in order to earn the extra money for the necessary purchase. Her young son has a natural rhythm and has played drums in their church services for several years now. The old drums were too badly worn and she wanted to buy him some newer ones he could play since she could not afford to give him lessons. One of her teenaged brothers taught himself to play the drums and the guitar, too; he, in turn, teaches her son, or at least "plays music" with him now and then. . Miss H says she doesn't even have time "to clean my dirty house" as she would like. Actually her house is very clean by most standards and always neat indoors, giving evidence of attention to color and detail, with ruffled curtains, matching seat covers, pillows, etc. The outside is run down, however. Her furniture is not new, but is in good condition; each of her children has a brand new bicycle, however, that she "stores" in the living room every night since they might disappear if left outdoors. This interview was held on Miss H's day off at ten in the morning. She was preparing brunch for her daughters, who "are never hungry when they first get up so instead of fighting with them, I just wait and feed them a late breakfast." This morning's brunch consisted of scrambled eggs and toast with butter and jelly, which the older daughter ate quickly so she could go back outdoors to play. The younger girl played with her food instead, almost spilling her milk. After brunch, dishes were cleared from the table. Miss H then sat down to try to sew some matching outfits for the girls for Easter on the machine. Since her time is so limited, this in- terviewer had suggested that she could iron or sew during the interview. 84 She tried this for a few stories and then put it away since she found it distracting to her and was much more interested in thinking through the series of stories and her responses to them. Had her son not come home for lunch, she would probably have talked another hour or so since she did identify with the stories quite closely. Her responses tended to be more middle class than most of the respondents' in both thought, style, length and detail. Miss H did graduate from high school, while many of the other respondents did not. She is future-oriented in her thinking, but has not decided what she feels are the most important things in life, especially when concerning her children. She wants to "just get them raised. I would let them choose their own future, and if I can help them achieve their goals, I will." Interviewee's Name: Mrs. I Age: 30 Race: White Education: Finished high school Marital Status: Divorced Number of Children: 5 Mrs. I was the "baby" of her family of six children. Two married sisters live in town, too. Apparently both her parents are dead, but these older sisters help her out whenever she needs it, especially the one who has never been able to have children of her own. She buys clothes and toys for the children. She takes them for rides in the car sometimes, and once invited them to a cottage north of here. These trips are real treats for Mrs. I and her children since they have no car and the only time they get out is when she loads the three boys in their "broken down baby buggy", and the two girls help her push it down the walk. They all thoroughly enjoy these outings, but do not go regularly since it is such an effort. Two of Mrs. I's boys are blind and mentally retarded. They are three and six years of age and still in diapers although the older boy 85 wears training pants during the daytime now. He learned to walk (somewhat stiff-leggedly) last year and is learning to talk this year so that others can understand him. He repeats certain phrases, such as "You go bye, bye now?" "I go see doctor now." "Give me a kiss." Even so, he does not com- municate meaningfully with others yet. He has a comfortable relationship with his mother and goes through set "routines" with her when company's there to be entertained. She "fights" and "teases" him and he responds readily and wants more of her "rough play." This son (#1) has had over thirty operations on his eyes to remove cataracts and to treat glaucoma. He does possess very limited sight, enough that he can walk around the house without assistance. He is quite depen- dent upon his mother, however, and she realizes this is natural but not the best thing for him. She recently tried to enroll him in the School for the Blind, but they would not accept him because he was not "pottie trained" completely and could not dress himself alone. This rejection was disappointing to Mrs. I because she had been reassured by her doctor that he was ready for school. She said she thought about trying to put him in public school, but decided against it since he was so little and the other children would tease him. #1 is quite small for his age in addition to being mentally re- tarded, and he has a somewhat deformed head. He is such a happy boy; the only time he cries is when someone else is crying and he hears the cry, or when his mother puts him through one of his routines in which he supposed to cry - he does so sincerely with real tears. He has a three year old playmate in the neighborhood with whom he plays occasionally. The last time they played together, the neighbor boy took him for a walk and they ended up in the middle of the divided expressway a block and a half from 86 their home. Mrs. I said all traffic had halted by the time she got there and retrieved #1, who was completely unaware of the impending danger of his surroundings. Son #2 is also blind from cataracts, but apparently does not have glaucoma. This spring he is scheduled to begin his series of eye opera- tions in Ann Arbor. This entails an all-day trip for him and his mother, and a baby-sitter for his siblings at the expense and good will of com- munity groups and agencies. Son #2 just learned to pull himself up to a sitting position. Now he crawls and partly drags himself along the floor until he finds a spot of sunshine. Then he sits in it with one thumb in his mouth wiggling that hand in front of his face. Both boys use this same wiggling thumb-sucking movement. The doctor felt this was because they can see this motion especially if they are in a well-lighted place. Last fall #2 seemed fussy and to have a temper if he were disturbed. Now he seems as happy as #1, enjoying his mother's "horseplay" with him. Mrs. I has two daughters, aged 5 and 7, who appear to be normal and bright little girls. Both help a lot around the house, running errands, filling baby bottles, comforting baby brothers, etc. The five year old daughter thinks of her six year old brother as her baby brother, and is very good with him. She attends the Spartan Nursery School at MSU. Her teacher said at first she had some adjustment problems - in particular with wanting the whole doll corner to herself with no one else around to bother her. Now she has lots of children playing in the doll corner with her and enjoys having them. "The way to picture her," says her teacher, "is carrying a small container of water from the bathroom to the doll corner where she likes to play most - with water, that is." This teacher took her home one day after nursery school when the bus broke down and the 87 daughter tried to show her mother the pin-wheel she had colored at school, but her mother had other things on her mind and did not notice or pay attention, and even slapped her at one point about something else that had occurred. When the mother helped at nursery school, the teacher said she fit in well with the other helpers and the children seemed to like her, too. Mrs. I has been divorced about a year. Her husband "wanted a son he could go fishing with - not a 'blind brat'." He has since remarried, supporting his new family as well as hers. Mrs. I is on ADC and receives a regular monthly check from Welfare and they, in turn, collect support money from her ex-husband. He has been faithful about paying it regularly; however, for a while Mrs. I was concerned he might object (and violently) because the welfare people said he had to pay for the support of her fifth child, too. 'Mrs. I had an illegitimate baby boy (normal) last December, but because he was conceived before her divorce was finalized, the court affirmed that her ex-husband is responsible for supporting him, too. This baby's father had left town when he discovered Mrs. I was pregnant, but later returned and offered to pay support for the baby after he was born. The welfare officials would not accept his offer, saying it was the ex- husband's responsibility. 'Mrs. I had been worried, too, that "they" would take her other chil- dren away from her when they found out she was expecting another baby out of wedlock, but a Family Helper smoothed everything out for her. They assured her that as long as she gave her children the love and care they needed, no one would take them away from her. She does seem to give them this love and attention - although it may be just when visitors are present. She always gets her sleeping babies out of bed to show how much they have 88 learned since the last visit. She says this does not bother them because they will go back to sleep (and they do). At the beginning of this year, before her fifth baby was born, Mrs. I only got out of her house on Saturdays for an hour or so when she hired a baby-sitter and took a taxi to the grocery store. She was physically unable to get out for six weeks after her baby was born since she tripped over the cat and broke her foot, requiring a cast half way up her leg. The Family Service arranged to have a lady come in to clean and help her with her babies for about a week until she was able to navigate with her cast. During the winter her children had colds continually, but this spring she began attending the parent education meetings held weekly for Headstart and other parents of nursery school children. She looked forward so much to these sessions that she almost rescheduled her son's eye appointment so she would not miss a meeting. She was provided with a free baby-sitter and ride for each meeting. Her outlook on life seems to have changed from a mother couped up with her babies to a woman who wants to "begin all over again." She has been writing regularly to soldiers in Viet Nam at the advice of her sister. She has had "a couple dates here in town, too." Having a local boyfriend has further changed her "housekeeping habits.’ All year her house was very cluttered and dirty, reeking of diapers. Now it is often neat and clean as she herself is, too. This occurred at the same time as her inter- est in this new boyfriend. She is thirty years old and "that's not too old to start over again." She says, "I hope I can find somebody to marry so my baby won't ever know and will grow up with a dad, too - like other kids." Mrs. I is a small, dark-eyed, swarthy-complexioned person, with short straight dark hair, which she occasionally curls for special events. 89 She is outgoing and loquacious, always inviting visitors in and often offering coffee. She seems to have several friends, and is at home in a social gathering. She is somewhat untidy in her personal grooming, and her taste in clothing is mediocre, but on occasion, she can look quite pretty. She has been mistaken for Mexican even though she is a mixture of French, Dutch and English. Mrs. I graduated from high school in this city and this is probably why she moved back here after she was divorced - to be nearer to her family and friends. She spends a lot of time talking on the phone. She has a colored phone with an eighteen foot cord. During the interview she mentioned that her parents wouldn't want all this - motioning to her babies crawling around on the dirty, cluttered floor. She said her dad made "good money" because he used to give her 50¢ a day to spend anyway she wanted. He was a welder by trade, but she remembers he used to run the movie projector and her mom the p0p corn and candy stand at one of the local theaters. She felt they wanted more than anything to have their children graduate from high school, and she supposed that is what she would like her children to do, too. 'Mrs. I seemed uncertain about many of her answers during the inter- view as though she had not often thought through situations before. When feasible, she recommended "going on ADC." She was one of the two respon- dents who "seemed to believe" in the Evil-Eye (Story #5). This interviewer was never certain of her belief until following a recent heavy rainstorm. Mrs. I phoned to relate how frightened she and her children were when they took refuge in their basement for the night. The big tree in front of their house was uprooted, falling across her driveway and into the yard next door, just short of hitting that house. Mrs. I stated that "God was 9O mad about something and this was only a warning. . . That tree was pointed right at that house and they'd better watch out. (You know, they've been drinking and carrying on over there - even had the police come raid them for supplying liquor to minors.)" Mrs. I appears to be able to manage her money fairly well. She does not have any savings, but she is more likely to be out of debt than some of her neighbors. For instance, a local merchant sold her an auto- matic washing machine last fall on-time even though he told her, "I'm not supposed to sell anything on-time to people on ADC, but I know your credit is good and I'd like to help you out all I can." When she paid off the washer, he had a dryer lined up that was "just like new," and after the dryer came a new television "that can pick up five channels." Recently Mrs. I had a "new clothes party" at which clothes were modeled for the benefit of her and her friends who came to purchase their fall wardrobe. She said, "They're expensive, but really well-made." After Mrs. I's cat had kittens and were weaned, she gave away the mother and all but one kitten. Her girls were so upset with her for doing this that she bought a Dachshund puppy the very next day for $25. "He was one of those good dogs, but he just doesn't have any papers." In this interviewer's experiences with Mrs. I, she has been warm and friendly. Occasionally, she "yells at her kids," but she maintains a wholesome relationship with them, too. Hers has not been the easiest life, but she always seems optimistic. One day she was "modeling" a dress several sizes too large and said, "It's fun to be silly sometimes - it makes everything seem so easy." Interviewee's Name: Mrs. J Age: 27 Race: White Education: 11 years of school 91 Marital Status: Divorced Number of Children: 5 Several years ago Mrs. 3 found her real mother living in the Lapeer State Mental Home and Training School. She has had her home for short visits and wants to again soon in case they move out of the state. Mrs. J was raised by foster parents with whom she lived all her childhood. She had 150 foster sisters - no brothers - whom her "parents" cared for during that length of time. Her foster father was an Indian, being a butcher by trade. Both he and his wife believed firmly in bringing up children "by the Bible and the hickory stick." Mrs. J was no exception to their rule. She, in turn, wants her children to have faith in God like she has because it has "always helped me through rough times. If I tell the children to do something and they ask 'Why?', I just tell them, 'God wouldn't approve'." Religion entered into several of Mrs. J's responses, such as in Story #25, when she said, "There's not much she can do now. Joan should try taking him to church. She should have started when he was little. Ninety percent of the drop-outs have never been to church and have no moral background. Church makes you stronger and you can keep going; you have a real God - not just a joke like most teenagers say now. ‘My husband and I used to go to church when we were teenagers twice every Sunday. That's where I got engaged - he gave me my ring during the evening hymn sing. We were sitting in the back pew. . ." On a later occasion, Mrs. J said that her foster mother picked out her husband for her. She was dying of cancer and "wanted me settled and cared for before she died, so she picked out my husband for me. I was only seventeen then, but it worked out okay until three years ago when I let him out one night. . . You know, I've never planned anything. All my life things have just happened to me and I've learned to accept it - even my marriage and my baby's death." 92 Her eighteen month old son was run over by a car just two weeks before this interview. He had been playing in a puddle in front of, or possibly under, the car when a friend visiting his parents came out and drove off without ever knowing the child was hit. 'Mrs. J told her four other children that "God needed a special angel up in heaven and He looked until He found the very best one and that was our baby. Now he's a special jewel in Jesus' crown." Her children accepted this explanation with the exception of the oldest, a girl about eight years of age. She was "mad at God for picking our baby, but I told her she shouldn't feel that way since he was very happy now with God. But she said she was not happy with our baby gone. She has a strong faith and she will understand." This daughter feels responsible for her baby brother's death since she had come in and asked her parents if she could take him out to play. Mrs. J had consented if she would keep an eye on him. When the older daughter saw what had happened to her brother after the car drove off, "she fainted right in the middle of the yard. When she came to, we had already left in the ambulance. Ever since then, she has wanted to see her baby brother just one more time. But we wouldn't let any of them go to the funeral even though he did look so sweet in his coffin. we wanted the children to remember him as he was before he died." One afternoon before the funeral, this interviewer took Mrs. J's three older children to the zoo to see the animals and play on the play- ground. Ofirs. J's three year old daughter was staying with her Sunday School teacher the rest of that week.) On the way home from the park, the four year old boy just could not sit still in the front seat without push- ing buttons, so this interviewer was slowing down to buckle up his seat belt once more or else transfer him to the back seat, when he grabbed the 93 door handle instead of the window winder, and the door flew open. The car was stopped by then, but this frightened the older sister, who gave her brother a tongue lashing for five minutes, making him sit all buckled up next to her in the back seat where doors do not open unless the lock button is pulled up. She kept saying, "We don't want to lose you, too. Oh, dear, what would we do then?" Actually this baby who was killed by the car was illegitimate since he was born a year and a half after his mother was divorced. Theirs is a story-book situation: Mrs. J's husband had been seeing a mutual "acquain- tance". This lady's husband held down two jobs to provide for her and their seven children. One night he came home to find Mr. J in his bedroom with his wife, so he phoned the police. His wife declared she was tired of living with him and wanted to live with Mr. J, so the two of them walked out on him, their children and the police that night, leaving the state. That was three years ago. Since then Mrs. J has obtained a divorce so she could collect ADC, and has been living periodically with the husband of the woman Mr. J ran off with. This boyfriend has not been divorced but hopes to soon so he and‘Mrs. J can be married before their second baby is born next month. In defense of her boyfriend Mrs. J says, "That's pretty good really when you Stop and think I've only gone with one man in those three years since I was divorced. We're just trying to hold our two families together. My case worker wants to help us out any way she can. The last time I saw her, she asked if it would be easier for us if he was living with me all the time. She said they could keep us on ADC after we were married. They will take his paycheck and pay all his bills, including child support for his other children. We'll have his younger three living with us. By the 94 time they pay all that, there won't be enough left for us to live on so they will make up the difference with ADC funds." At present Mrs. J is paying $60 a month for a fairly nice house that she says rents for $200 a month, but the "Federal pays the difference.” Her financial circumstances fluctuate rapidly. For instance, the friend who ran over their baby, had a beige push-button princess-style phone in- stalled in their home - all billed to him. 'Mrs. J and her boyfriend needed $25 so they arranged to have the phone removed and $25 refunded temporarily. To date they still have not found the $25 again to re-install the phone. On the other hand, they have been able to purchase other items on credit, such as a large swing set for the children for $69.95 and a textile paint set her boyfriend is buying for her birthday for $39.95. Recently Mrs. J was telling another respondent,‘Mrs. C, about these purchases, adding a shorttime later that she was not going to be able to send her four year old to the summer Headstart Nursery School because he did not have any shorts to wear. ‘Mrs. C asked this interviewer upon two occasions, "What's wrong with that lady? Why don't she take that money she's spending on all them other things and buy them kids some clothes?" This, in turn, sparked another bone of contention and Mrs. C said, "You know what that lady (Mrs. J) had the nerve to tell me? She said I should go to church more often. That she was raised by the 'Bible and the hickory stick' and that's the best way. . . What I'd like to know is what happened to that Bible and that hickory stick.when she had them two illegitimate children." When Mrs. J does not have sufficient funds, she does not hesitate asking others to help, often with no intention of repaying. For instance, during the interview the paperboy came to collect. ‘Mrs. J asked this in- 95 terviewer if she could have two dollars because all she had was a five dollar bill and she did not want to break it. Fortuneately, this inter- viewer had ridden her bicycle and had not brought her wallet along. On another occasion,‘Mrs. K had the $50 required to bail her boyfriend out of jail, but had no transportation to the town 25 miles away where he was incarcerated, so a staff member was persuaded to drive her there, and to sit with her children until she and her boyfriend returned home in his car some time later. He had been hunting with several friends. One "friend" shot a deer out of season and then ran, leaving his "friends" to "take the rap." Mrs. J's children seem to have picked up some of her importuning characteristics. Especially the older child whines and begs, even an adult she meets for the first time, to buy her something or to take her and her siblings somewhere. The children do this in front of their mother and she rarely asks them to stOp - it is left up to the other person to make the decision or rationalization why he cannot do what the child is asking at that time. In this interviewer's opinion if her children were easier to manage, more people might be inclined to do more with them. Her four year old, for instance, has a "history" of setting fires both indoors and outdoors, "flying" off porch roofs, opening moving car doors, and fighting too roughly with his siblings and neighbor children. He has a speech problem in that he cannot be understood by other people, nor often by his mother, when he talks. He had been in speech clinic last year, but his mother took him out this year because she thought he would be "too bored going to speech and nursery school both. His older brother had a speech problem at that age, too, and he outgrew it. This boy will, too. If not, he will have to 96 learn to live with it. We try to treat him like any normal boy." This boy has been good in nursery school, but recently his teacher " for no special reasons. He is hard to truly said he has been giving "no's perceive - just like his mother is - but he would be a challenge, according to his teacher. She describes his mother as being a "blob" - hard to de- scribe or understand fully. "She's like a 'baby doll'. She looks like one: cute and chubby; she acts like one: takes no responsibility for her actions. Everything is pre-destined and she accepts what happens to her - the good as well as the bad. For instance, she was sorry to lose her baby recently, but never showed her emotions as everyone would've expected. When the nur- sery school parents' group bought new clothes for her other four children, she accepted this as being right and just that they should have new clothes. She was more concerned with 'how to turn them up' than with how or why she received them. That was pre-destined." This teacher felt Mrs. J was somewhat like "the existentialists without even realizing it. She can never be blamed for anything since it is 'out of her hands'. She does not make moral judgments although she is not an amoral woman. She has her life made - just accepting things as they come. She doesn't complain, and if she did you'd get mad at her for not fighting for what she wants. She's so accepting, and explains things by her religion and her faith in a pre-destined plan." ‘Mrs. J is fair-skinned, blue-eyed, dark haired and very young - with a problem of obesity. She is unabashedly gregarious and extremely informal with callers - calling out from the back of the house for them to come on in. She offers coffee, or diet pepsi, and carries on a stream of conversation - mostly one-sided in her favor. She is expecting her sixth baby in July, but did not go to a doctor until mid-May and then only through the endeavors of professional people 97 working with her. The doctor told her he thought her weight problem.was due to a glandular imbalance, but he did not want to do much testing un- til after the baby was born. Then he plans to "give me my operation so I won't have anymore babies. I overovulate and got pregnant on the pill. He wants to take out my appendix and put me on a special diet, too. I'll be in the hospital for at least two weeks. Do you know anybody who wants to baby-sit? It would have to be a woman because I won't leave my little girls with no man - not even their dad." 'Mrs. J says, "I know I'm going to have a baby girl. I couldn't stand having a baby boy now. I gave away all my other baby's things after he died - I couldn't stand putting them on another baby. The children.want a baby boy to take our other baby's place. We'd keep a baby boy if that's what I have. He's a human being and you can't give away human beings. I hope we have a little girl, but I love all babies - until they get big enough to start talking back." 'Mrs. J's older children do get on her nerves and she yells a lot at them or gives them a whack if they pass by close enough to where she is sitting. On occasion she yells at her boyfriend, too, and he at her. Once during a home visit in the winter, Mrs. J was very discouraged and said she was going to move out of the county back to the farm. The children liked the farm.where they used to live when she was still married. An aunt knew an older man living on a farm that was "interested in me. He has a hearing aide that he could turn down whenever the children get too noisy." She was considering this alternative since her boyfriend was be- ing so slow about getting his divorce. She said, "I'm getting tired of waiting for him to make up his mind what he is going to do." On this same home visit Mrs. J complained again about the twice 98 monthly inspections by the Housing Commission. She resented their inva- sions of her privacy and their suggestions about her cleaning up the house. They wanted her to scrub the upstairs linoleum with ammonia, but she can- not do that because one of her boys gets asthma whenever he breathes a- monia fumes. ‘Mrs. J had recently been ill for about two weeks. Her boy- friend had come over whenever he could to watch the children and fix meals, but the housekeeping was "let go.‘ The housing inspectors were not pleased with any of this and‘Mrs. J feared thay would evict her. (This was the basis for Story #27.) It may be interesting to note that her house was usually dirty, cluttered and reeking of wet diapers (ammonia) until after the baby died. Since then it has been picked up and clean on most occa- sions. Her boyfriend has apparently moved back in, too. The boyfriend has held quite a few jobs during this past year, sometimes working for someone else, but often for himself doing odd jobs such as painting, roofing and the like. ‘Mrs. J's response to Story #7 was, "John should do whatever makes him happiest; a man earns a better living if he's happy with his job." This is a very acceptable type answer, as were many of Mrs. J's, but in this researcher's opinion her interpretation is different than most middle class persons' would be. She seems to place his happiness above any semblance of accepting responsibility for providing security for himself and his family. This may seem to be of less importance to them since Welfare is there to fall back upon in case of need - a false security. Similar related responses Mrs. J gave are: "They should take what comes as it comes and let go what goes." (Story #6); "John should go to Welfare and collect ADCU for unemployed fathers." (Story #8); "If they're working good and have to pay the phone bill anyway, a colored 99 phone wouldn't matter. You can pinch pennies too much; you have to have some joys, too." (Story #11); "I'd like to go charge a whole house full of furniture - all brand new - and then hOpe I can pay for it. Alice should make the house look as nice as she can for what she has." (Story #19); "She should see the prosecuting attorney and he'd advise her to get aid (ADC)." (Story #20); "Alice should spend it on anything hernheart de- sires - not on anyone else unless she wants to - spend it on her." (Story #4). In this researcher's opinion, Mrs. J is the most fatalistic of the twelve respondents, relying heavily upon Welfare, Family Helpers, Nursery School staff, and others to help her manage those affairs that she feels need to be managed. The rest are pre-destined and will happen according to an already devised plan. Interviewee's Name: ‘Mrs. K Age: About 50 Race: White Education: 9 - 11 years of school ‘Marital Status: Separated NUmber of Children: 11 (only two live at home regularly now) Mrs. K.is an affable woman, slightly gray, in her late forties or early fifties. She dresses simply, but neatly and appropriately. Her hair is short and well-kept in a straight coiffure. Her manner of speak- ing is direct, but smiling. Sometimes she gives the appearance of curt- ness, but follows with a smiling rejoinder. Mrs. K is an example of someone caught in the poverty cycle. She grew up in a family supported by Welfare funds, her children were and are raised on ADC, and her grandchildren for the most part are, too. This was the crux of a recent argument between Mrs. K and the C's who live across the street. ‘Mrs. K and‘Mrs. C had been close friends, drinking coffee together frequently, until one day when‘Mr. C's feelings got the better 100 of him during a conversation. He told.Mrs. K he did not see how she could sit there, collect ADC, and watch all her eleven children do the same with- out even trying to help them be better people. Mrs. K is the only respondent who does not have children in the Spartan Nursery School. The parent education program for Headstart mothers is set up so that others in the neighborhood are welcomed to participate, if interested. 'Mrs. K had attended some of the meetings and outings with Mrs. C. She did not feel out of place, then, discussing the incomplete stories with Mrs. C and the interviewer, the morning she dropped by in the middle of‘Mrs. C's interview. (See‘Mrs. C's Case Study.) Both respondents answered the remainder of the stories together that day, but were each re- interviewed separately at later dates. Mrs. K.attended high school, but never completed it. She describes herself as being separated from her husband. Apparently, he has been in and out of Jackson Prison most of their married life. Right now he is out and seems to migrate from Lansing to Chicago to California and back again. They had eleven children, most of whom are grown and have families of their own now. ‘Mr. K was around home more when the older children were little. Mrs. K said, "They used to hate how tough their Dad was on them, but now they are thankful he was around at least part of the time when they see how their younger brothers and sisters are turning out with only me to raise them." The meaning of this is clarified by her response to Story #12 about the father's spanking: "Alice should be glad he's there to do something. I really threaten mine, but don't very often do anything about it when they're bad. It's hard when you're alone. . ." Mrs. K had a definite stand she advocated in Story #14 about the daughter and her MexicanaAmerican boyfriend: "Alice might just as well 101 whistle if her daughter is going with a Spanish boy. They're dark and handsome and good dressers, and this really appeals to young girls. The Spanish believe the man is boss and the woman must do all of the changing; the more she fights, the worse it gets. . . They shouldn't let their daugh- ter bring him around home. I don't." This was the ultimatum Mrs. K re- cently handed down to her youngest child, a sixteen year old daughter, when she began going with a Spanish boy from school. This daughter gets around it by not bringing the boy home, but sneaking off to be with him, very much against her mother's wishes. Mrs. K said, "She was always such a fine girl before - she never caused any problems." At least two of this girl's older sisters married Spanish men (one was Miss L's brother). They had poor marriages because of the cultural differences. One sister, with the help of the husband's parents who were on her side, is still "making a go of her marriage." The other sister is divorced now and living on ADC with her five children. She is a poor money manager, however, and has been evicted numerous times. She usually ends up moving in with her mother, Mrs. K, for as long as they can exist that way. This daughter "drinks up most of her ADC money in the bar." Recently when the father was in town, he took her ADC money from her purse while she was drunk in the bar. Twice during the second interview with Mrs. K alone at her house, she signaled rather perturbedly at someone outside the window. The second time she explained it was her grandson and she "could not stand him and didn't want him around, even if that did sound like an awful thing to say. He is just plain mean and bad, and should be in school right now, but his Dad doesn't make him go." The boy was living with his father since‘Mrs. K did not want him at her house where his mother and siblings were living at 102 the time. A fourth daughter is not married, but living with a Mexican man. In addtion to marriage problems, two of Mrs. K's teenaged children are presently mixed up in "trouble with the law." When her third from youngest child, a girl, was in high school, she was accused of shop- lifting several times. "Finally after being accused of it so many times, she began to steal things. She figured, 'What's the use? They'll blame me anyway' ." Mrs. K's seventeen year old son is considered "incorrigible" by those who know him, including his mother and "the law.’ ‘Mrs. K's only re- sponse to Story #24 was, "It can happen; you can't please them (teachers). My son is a 'push out'." Now he never tells his mother where he is going nor what he does. Apparently, there is little, if any, communication be- tween them. He may or may not sleep and eat at home. "The law" told him the last time they picked him up that they would put him in jail if he ever ran away from home again. During the second interview that week (Friday afternoon), Mrs. K mentioned that this son had been gone since 'Monday and she "just didn't know what she should do." If she reported him missing, they would put him in jail. If she did not, "he might get into worse trouble by doing something wrong." She said she had had to go as far as Ohio after him before. He and some boyfriends stole a car, run- ning out of gas and money there, and they were picked up. This son had two "Big Brothers" when he was younger. Both of these "Big Brothers" were Michigan State University students. The first one was so good for her son, and helped her understand him a lot better, too. He also smoothed over a problem her son was having with a teacher at school. They were so sorry to see him leave town after he graduated, but 103 they knew he could not stay forever. They applied for another "Big Bro- ther" than and were assigned another student. This man had a family he was trying to support while taking course work. Finally he ran out of money, gave up school, and took a full-time job in another town. Then her son had no more "Big Brothers" because there were not enough to go around. Mrs. K feels certain that if her son had another "Big Brother" like that first one who would spend at least one day a week with him and be ready to help out other times, he might have turned out OK. He did have some real big brothers, but "they all had their own problems and didn't need to bother with him, too." Mrs. K's house was immaculate with a highly polished linoleum floor. In one corner of the living room is a plastic model chord organ that she bought for $20 from a lady who was purchasing a larger model. Mrs. K enjoys playing it "even though I'm not too good and don't have much music for it. I'm copying off some more music though. It's so relaxing to play." Like her house, Mrs. K dresses immaculately. She always seemed to have on her "Sunday clothes", even when this interviewer dropped in on her for the second follow-up interview. That whole week she was "halfdway expecting the law to stOp by for me about my son." Perhaps, then, she wanted to be dressed and ready to go in case they did come. In this interviewer's opinion, nothing much about‘Mrs. K's appear- ance, her conversational manner, or her home would reveal any inkling of the kind of life she has had - growing up in poverty, perpetuating it in most of her eleven children and their children, being the wife of an habitual criminal, and the mother of juvenile delinquents. 104 Interviewee's Name: 'Miss L Age: 24, youngest respondent Race: MexicaneAmerican Education: 9 years of school Marital Status: Unwed Number of Children: 3, their father is a Negro Miss L was an older daughter in a‘Mexican family of fourteen chil- dren. She grew up in hard core poverty conditions in which her father's income from garbage collection and other odd jobs he found, had to be sup- plemented by welfare funds. Most welfare and school officials have "about given up on" the older L's. They say they have worked with them for years, but everytime they donate clothes and supplies for the children, Mr. L sells them. ‘Most of the children, including‘Miss L, are drop-outs and get into trouble of some kind. ‘Miss L was sent to a Catholic Girls' School in Grand Rapids during junior high school. Then she returned to Lansing, attending a large high school one day, and quitting the second because "it was too big and I did not feel I belonged there." Her somewhat alienated feelings toward school still are evident in her response to Story #24: "He did try, but they couldn't understand him, so what else could he do? He is a 'push out'. There isn't anything Joan can do either, but to go along with Jim." This is further corroborated by her response to the next story: "When the truant officers come, Joan should tell them she sends him to school,~but she don't know where he goes. . .She can't take him by the ear to school - he's too big and she's too busy." Then she added, "That son should try going to school so he won't be like his other brother or he'll end up in the Juvenile Home." ‘Miss L is of medium height with a tendency to overweight. She has long dark hair, dark eyes, rough skin, a smile which lights up her whole face and reveals even white teeth. She tends toward somberness and 105 aloofness, but when she feels comfortable, will talk at some length. She has a side-long, oblique way of glancing at people which gives the impres- sion that she is "sizing up" the person. She is proud of her three children, all of whom are pretty, light- skinned brown children ranging in age from one to three. The father is a Negro man who is now married to a younger Negro woman. He told Miss L that he loved her, but had to marry this other girl since she was pregnant, too, and still "not of age." ‘Miss L is on full-time ADC, but he helps to support their children because he wants to. She said she felt so torn apart every time she saw him, so she tried not to let him come see the children any more than necessary. She says she feels so desolate because she really cares for him, but she can't feel he really cares for her, or he wouldn't have married the other girl. At one time Miss L said she accused him of being ashamed to be seen on the street with a Spanish girl. At this point, another Headstart mother,‘Mrs. J, replied, "I would think it would be the other way around." Like so many of the Headstart mothers,‘Miss L is "on the pill" now, even though she is Catholic. Usually Miss L lives in the back room in her parents' house with all her brothers and sisters who are still home. Her youngest sister is now in kindergarten. Her parents' house is quite worn down from constant use and abuse over the years. Still it is "Home" to‘Miss L and those of her siblings who maintain a good relationship with their parents, the sen- ior L's. The house has a small stoop for a porch in front. It has no roof and the choice of two sets of steps, both broken and with no railing. It is almost safer to jump from the porch than to navigate the steps - that is what the children usually do. Inside there is one fairly large room furnished with several beds 106 that serve as chairs in the day time. The television soap operas are usually on during the home visits. These are watched regularly by the children and adults alike with very little other communication between family members. Often an attractive teenager clothed in gold slippers and a negligee is stretched out on the bed near the door talking on the phone, completely oblivious to her surroundings. The small children watch TV or else play quietly. Often the older children (also pre- schoolers) care for the younger ones, so the adults are not bothered. When‘Miss L's baby was small, his corner of the room with his bed or playpen was the only clean Spot in this room. The floors are rough, badly worn lumber and have no rugs on them. Both the floor and walls are filthy. There is no table that can be set for family meals. The kitchen stove is used sometimes in winter for warmth. It is not uncommon to find the mother wrapped in a blanket, huddled on the edge of a bed. She has been plagued by headaches for several years that aspirin does not affect. Many of the children go barefoot in the house year around. At Christmastime they were outside barefoot, too. On that visit Miss L had arranged some greens around the front window and strung some lights around it to substitute for a tree. The children were so excited. Miss L's mother was planning to fix a pinata, too. In addition to this family home, Mr. L owns a small truck farm with a shack on it and some old cars parked around it. A friend of the discussion leader lives near there. One night they were disturbed by a wild party some of the older L children were having. When it was reported to older‘Mr. L, he was stringent in saying he did not allow drinking and carrying on in his house and he would see that it never happened again. 107 Miss L's social worker feels she would be better off in a place of her own. Last year they rented a small house for her in Lansing, but this arrangement did not last long since Miss L and her parents felt she "be- ' About a week before the interview, her social worker longed at home.‘ again placed her in an apartment in Lansing. This interviewer dropped by one day to chat with Miss L's father to get directions to his daughter's new home. He did not know the street number or name, but sketched a map in the dirt. Mr. L does not read or write and his wife does not speak English - at least she wishes to leave this impression, although she has been known to speak it if she so desires. ‘Mr. L was very verbal, telling of various experiences he and his children have had with firemen and police- men in the neighborhood. His general attitude was negative toward their ability to do their jobs or to relate adequately to private citizens. Our. L would be an excellent subject for informal, unstructured chats as he works with the interviewer "helping out" to establish better rapport.) A few mornings later this interviewer was delivering two old bi- cycles promised to Mr. L to fix up for his children to ride. ‘Miss L just happened to be at her parents' home, and came out to visit. She and her children had walked there the day before, spending the night since she was going with them to see a lawyer after lunch about "some peOple who are ' ‘Miss L has become a trying to take my parents to court about something.‘ real boon to her parents who now depend heavily upon her to be their "go- between" with "outsiders." She manages their business affairs and problems quite adequately. Miss L was happy to be interviewed right then since she had nothing else planned to do in the morning. Her younger brothers and sisters had no school so played games with the interviewer's young son on one of the 108 beds in the living room. They took him on bike rides outdoors, too. All had a good time. Miss L's mother sat next to her on another bed in the same room, pretending not to understand English, and being ignored by Miss L. The interviewer sat on the only chair in the house. At one point Mr. L entered the room from outside where several men were helping him do something to his truck. Miss L asked him what he thought the people in the story should do, speaking partly in Spanish and partly in English. He agreed with her first idea that "If the parents really cared for their children, they would buy a larger house so there would be a room the children could play in without bothering their parents." Near the end of the interview,‘Miss L's mother asked her in Spanish if the interviewer could drive Miss L to pick up a check for her father. He was to be in the hospital for an operation the following week, and they would need the money before he got out. On this drive, the interviewer approached‘Miss L about the possibility of her going to night school since she had given this type of suggestion in response to some of the stories in the interview. Discussion centered around her potential as an individual and possible job opportunities, such as helping other Spanish-speaking fam- ilies relate to the "outside" as she does so well with her parents. (It should be noted that this job possibility for‘Miss L had been previously discussed by nursery school staff who knew her. This seemed like an oppor- tune time to approach her - to see if she were interested in "practicing what she preached" for some of the characters in the stories.) Miss L seemed pleased with the interest in her, saying she had gone to night school when she was pregnant with her first child, but had not completed the business training after the baby was born. She was inter- ested if she could arrange for the care of her children, but did not com- mit herself then, nor was she expected to do so. 109 Miss L had had to take her daughter out of Nursery School when she moved into her apartment. Her daughter's teacher was sorry no arr- angements could be worked out because the child was showing signs of real progress compared to her shy behavior last fall when she stayed in the coat room, being too frightened to enter the play room where all the other people were. However,‘Miss L now lives too far from the Nursery School bus route and too far to walk her daughter to her grandparents daily. Her grand- mother is not well enough to keep her regularly either, with the idea of catching the bus at her house. Consequently, no one heard fromeiss L after the interview for almost two months until one day she unexpectedly phoned this interviewer "just to see what's new." She said, "You gave me your phone number that time you visited me in the hospital in case my mother needed a ride, and I just ran across it and decided to call you up." She was invited to the nursery school picnic the next day and was recruited to assist with the summer Headstart Nursery School program since she indicated she was bored in her apartment with no television, just a radio. Her parents' telephone had been disconnected, too, since they could not pay the bill, so she could not even call them up now. Miss L was picked up at her new apartment which is the upstairs of a large old house. The rooms were spacious and not crowded with furni- ture. She had purchased a nearly new electric range when she moved in, but the large refrigerator was already there. She also had purchased a small chrome dinette set for the kitchen. This impressed the interviewer since eating at a table was not a customary habit for the L family. Miss L and her three children (who call her by her first name instead of the more familiar term of mother) were waiting at an opened window with no screens, watching for the interviewer to drive up the driveway. They did 110 not come down right away, however, so the interviewer would have to come up to be shown the new apartment. It was neat, clean and much nicer than her parents' home. There was a small porch by the back door where‘Miss L had several articles of clothing hanging to dry on coat hangers that were clipped to the rain gutters along the bottom edge of the roof. Miss L seemed to like her apartment very much, and was not as concerned as this interviewer about the long open outside stairway they have to use going straight down the back of the house. Her two and three year olds are able to navigate the steps, but she has to carry her one year old yet. Miss L still misses the companionship of her family, but she does not seem to be content to sit idly by while all sorts of things go on about her as her mother does. She has a great respect for her father and a good understanding of her mother. During the interview she said in response to one story that her mother "just talks to the kids and they don't listen to her at all, but my father Spanks the kids and they listen to him, so spank- ing is best.". Later she said that "sometimes a mother feels one way about something, but cannot say anything if the father thinks the other way." A study comparing‘Miss L and her mother might be productive toward a better understanding of the poverty cycle. Her mother is content to let things happen, while Miss L shows more signs of controlling her environment - a characteristic that possibly could help her escape the poverty cycle. CHAPTER V FINDINGS Index Score The Family Style Index was described in Chapter III as being a composite of a number of indices, namely: Family Structure, Occupa- tion, Housing, Informal Interaction, Formal Interaction, and Poverty Cycle Index. This composite index is six pages in length and may be found in Appendix B. When this six page instrument was coupled with the fourteen page incomplete story instrument, the interview became too long for a few of the respondents. In addition, many of the interviewees did not have the informa- tion necessary to answer a large number of the more detailed questions involved in the index schedule. For instance, they did not remember the number of years of schooling their parents had, nor their approximate income. They could, however, subjectively indicate whether or not their nuclear family was "better off" than their family of orientation. There- fore, since uniform data were not being gathered for each respondent in all areas of the Family Style Index, the need for revision and short- ening this Index arose. Consequently, a one-page condensed version of the original index was constructed and used in analyzing the data. This revised Index, as used in this study, appears on the following page as Table 5.1. 111 Table 5.l--Distribution of 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. Items . Both ParentsHome . Head: 25-55 Years White American Male: High School H H Female: Fewer than 5 Children . No Extended Family . Average+ Informal 112 respondents by the Revised Family Style Index Interaction (friends) . Fam. Vacations Member of 2 or more groups No help from Agency House as good+ as Neighbors Housekeeping Not Crowded (2- people/room Full-time work Skilled, foreman, professional Income: $1000+/ Family‘Member Nuclear Family "better off" Total +'s Total -'s Revised Index Score Respondents ABCDEFGHIJKL+-Blank +++++++-----750 ++++++++++ -101 1 +-+---+-+++-660 -+----- 16 5 + - - + - - - + + - - - 4 8 0 +++--+-+---+660 +++++-+-+---750 --+-_t--------211o +++ - -----363 +++--+--++--66 o ++-+++------57 0 ++-+-----+--480 ++++++-+--++93o ++++++++++111220 ++i+++++"“35 0 - - + - - - - +- 2 6 4 +++-++:-----670 ++:++ :-----67 1 14 15 l4 14 11 9 9 8 7 6 5 3 3 104 -3 -4 -6 -7 -8 -8-1l-10-10-ll-13-14 105 12 10 8 4 l 1 -3 -3 -4 -6-10-11 113 The condensed index consisted of eighteen statements, repre- sentative of each Index, which the respondents were equipped to answer. The statements were coded in that the respondent received a plus(+) or a minus(-), indicating whether she had this attribute (+) or she did not have it (-). In some cases she may have received a plus and a minus (1) if, for instance, this nuclear family was "better off" than the wife's family of orientation, but not the husband's. If certain infor- mation was not obtainable, or did not apply to this respondent, a blank space was left. The Revised Index Score, then, was simply computed by adding the total number of pluses and minuses together. With eighteen items being tested in the Revised Index, the possible range was from (-18) to (+18). The Index Scores for this study actually ranged from (-11) to (+12). These Index Scores from the revised instrument were consistent with those from the original Family Style Index when compared in Table 5.2. Table 5.2-~Comparison of respondents' Original and Revised Index Scores by family class Respondent Original Index Score Revised Index Family Class Score A 123 +12 LoweréMiddle Class B 117 +10 Upper-Lower Class C 116 +8 I! H H D 109 +4 I! H H E 106 +1 Middle-Lower Class F 101 +1 II II II C 93 _3 n n u H 68 _3 H I! H I 67 -4 Lower-Lower Class J 65 _6 I! H H K 51 _10 II II H L 41 -ll Hard-Core-Lower Class 114 When the Original Index Scores were compared to the Revised Index Scores, as in Table 5.2, the respondents still ranked in the same order, but with some differences in the size of the interval between each score. Two pairs of respondents received the same Revised Index Scores, so their Original Index Scores were used to assist in ranking these particular respondents. Since the Revised Index Scores for this sample are representative of the Original Index Scores, they will be used hereafter being referred to as Index Scores. The professionals working with the Headstart mothers during the 1967-68 school year had surmised from observations during meetings and home visits that Respondent A was really not typical of lower class persons, and Respondent L, haVing grown up in a hard-core poverty family, might still be classified as such. Therefore, to be represen- tative of each of the five classes of families, the possible range of Revised Index Scores, (-18) to (+18), was divided into five equal sections, each with a range of 7.2. This breakdown was indicated in Table 5.2, but shown more concisely in Table 5.3 below. Each respondent was placed in her proper family class according to her Index Score. (It should be noted that this classification was devised for this particular sample in this study and may not be appropriate for a different sample.) Table 5.3--Distribution of respondents into family types by their Index Scores. Family Class Range of Index Scores Respondents in Each Class LoweréMiddle +10.8 - +18.0 A (12) Upper-Lower + 3.6 - +10.8 B (10), C (8), D (4) ‘Middle-Lower - 3.6 - + 3.6 E (1), F (1), G (-3), II (-3) Lower-Lower -10.8 - - 3.6 I (-4), J (-6), K (-10) Hard-Core-Lower -l8.0 - ~10.8 L (-11) Both Tables 5.2 and 5.3 indicate the normal distribution of the 115 twelve respondents into family classes with one respondent in each of the two extreme family classes, three in the next extreme classes, and four in the center family class. This distribution is illustrated graphically in Figure 5.1. Figure 5.1--Distribution of respondents into family classes by Index Scores Number of Respondents 4 3 2 l o l - I'l I O I II!!! -18 -9 0 +9 +18 Rang of Index Scores Hard Lower Middle Upper Lower Core Lower iower Lower ‘Middle Family Classes This distribution was not intentional or forced but typifies the distri- bution that might be expected from a larger low-income sample. Reiterating the guiding hypothesis for this study: ‘Mothers of each class of low-income family, as determined by the Index Score, will hold values that fall along theme-continua with the lower-middle and upper-lower-class mothers' values lying toward the right end of the con- tinua, the lower-lower and hard-core-lower-class mothers' values toward the left end, and the middle-lower-class mothers' values toward the center of each continuum. If the above hypothesis is to hold true, then it would be assumed that Respondent A would hold values in a correspondingly higher class than Respondent B and so on. Therefore, 116 their distribution of value responses should be similar to that of their Index Scores as shown in Figure 5.1. The next section deals with the respondents' value responses as elicited by the incomplete stories. Typology78core In Chapter III it was established that the incomplete, pro- jective-type story technique should be an effective method for eliciting value responses held by low-income persons. A series of twenty-seven such stories were composed and presented to twelve respondents individual- ly. The value responses elicited by these stories were then coded according to a constructed typology that allowed for a five-degree variation in value responses from hard-core-lower class (1) to more typical middle-class responses (5). A weighted Typology Score was then computed for each respondent, based upon where her coded value responses fell along the l - 5 degree continuum. Table 5.4 includes this Typology Score for each subject plus the number and percentage of her responses that were coded under each of the five degrees of the five-point continuum. Each degree was weighted according to its own number value, and, as such, was crucial in computing the Typology Score. For example, the number of responses coded for Reapondent A, as presented in Table 5.4, were 5 for degree #1, 2 for #2, 8 for #3, 14 for #4, 5 for #5. The Typology Score was computed by mul- tiplying the number of responses coded for each degree by the number value of that degree, adding these five products, and dividing that sum by the total number of responses coded for that respondent: (5 X 1) + (2 X 2) + (8 X 3) + (14 X 4) +-(5 X 5) all divided by 34 (Respondent A's total number of responses coded). The final weighted Typology Score for Respondent A, then,was 3.35: (5 + 4 + 24 + 56 + 25) = 114 divided by 117 o.ooa mm o.ooH om o.ooH om c.00H Nm o.ooH wN o.oo~ Nm o.ooH om o.ooH om c.0oH mm o.ooH mm o.ooH om o.ooH «m N z HmuOH H.o m.m N.o H.o N.oH N.m 0.0 m.m o.m m.N o.oH N.¢H N a.mm n.0m o.ON o.m m.om ¢.No n.0m o.o¢ ¢.mm a.mm m.mm o.H¢ N HH HH 0H 0N HH NH HH ON OH «H z ¢ oouwmm ma meflumHHm> omcommom N.HN N.oN m.mN a.mN ¢.¢H ¢.NH m.MN m.MN m.wN ¢.HH N.©H a.mN N N Z N.m o.oH m.MN a.mN N.oH H.m a.mH N.©H w.NH o.ON m.mN w.m N N H.0m m.MN N.oN m.¢m m.N ¢.NH o.ON N.©H N.oH o.w N.oH N.¢H N OH OH NH NH on.N Nw.N mm.N wN.N wo.m mm.m Nm.N mm.N No.m 0N.m N¢.N mm.m ouoom mem honoame .mouwoc mp mmmcoamoa osam> Hausa was mouoom hwoaoaze was KovcH Na mwcfixcmu .mucowaommmu mo nonwhuaaouuu¢.m magma uaov IGOAmom 118 34 = 3.35. Weighted Typology Scores were similarly computed for each of the other respondents. In Table 5.4 the respondents are shown in the rank order of their Index Scores, but their rank according to their Typology Scores is given in column three. When the Index Scores were grouped by family classes, the range of scores, (-18) to (+18), was divided into five equal parts. When the Typology Scores were divided into corresponding groups, the total possible range was 1 to 5, while the actual range of scores was 2.28 to 3.68. Thus the range of Typology Scores for this sample could be rounded off to extend between 2 and 4. This meant that any scores not within this range would be extreme cases: those below 2 would be very hard-core-poverty persons and those above 4 would hold firmly to American middle-class values. None of the respondents in this sample was expected to receive extreme Typology Scores since none of their Index Scores were too extreme. Consequently, respondents were divided into family classes by their Index and Typology Scores in the manner shown in Table 5.5 Closer inapection of the first and last columns in Table 5.5 indicated some shifting of classes by respondents. In other words the distribution of respondents in the right hand column was not the same as that in the left hand column, thereby indicating that some respon- dents did not express the degree of value responses expected by their Index Score placement. Figure 5.2, comparable to Figure 5.1, portrays this changed distribution graphically. The distribution of respondents by their social class and Typology Scores is not a normal distribution like that indicated in Figure 5.1 by their Index Scores. To determine even more graphically what deviations did occur, 119 Table 5.5--Comparison of respondents by family class and by Index and Typology Scores Respond- Range of Family Range of Respond- ents by Index Class Typology ents by Index Scores Scores Typology Scores Score A(12) (+10.8) - (+18.0) LoweréMiddle 3.5 - 3.99 H(3.68) G(3.53) B(lO) (+3.6) - (+10.8) Upper-Lower 3.0 - 3.49 A(3.35) C(8) C(3.26) D(4) D(3.07) E(l) (-3.6) - (+3.6) Middle-Lower 2.5 - 2.99 B F(l) E G(-3) F(2.97) H(-3) K(2.87) L(2.76) J(2.57) I(-4) (-10.8) - (-3.6) Lower-Lower 2.0 - 2.49 I(2.28) J(-6) K(-10) L(-ll) (-l8.0) - (-10.8) Hard-Core-Lower 1.99 or less 120 Figure 5.2--Distribution of respondents into classes by Typology Scores Number of Respondents 6 5 . l I . u . i l r > 1 2 3 4 Range of Typology Scores Hard-Core-Lower L-L M-L U-L LéM Classes Figure 5.3 was constructed by combining Figures 5.1 and 5.2 into a quadrant.v Figure 5.2 is represented by the "X-axis" of Typology Scores while Figure 5.1 was turned ninety degrees counter-clockwise to form the "Y-axis" of Index Scores. A grid was constructed both horizontally and vertically to delineate class areas. Respondents were plotted in their proper class areas, according to their coordinates (Index and Typology Scores). Scanning vertically, then, Respondent A was in the lower-middle class according to her Index Score. Examining her position horizontally, she is in the upper-lower (U-L) class according to her Typology Score. Further examination discloses that Respondents C, D, E, F, and I are the only ones who remained in the same class according to both their Index and Typology Scores. The other seven respondents shifted to a different class: Respondents A and B each dropped one class while 121 Figure 5.3--Location of respondents by Index and Typology Sjores U-L L4M +18 Hard Core L-L ‘M-L / / / 4/ A / + mp5; /4 // C / / flK/a- as D// /Z /' P / / / F / // / / G H / V Hard Core L-L M-L U-L L-M - 18 Index Score Lower ‘Middle Upper Lower Middle Lower Typology Score Middle Lower Lower Lower Hard Core Lower 122 Respondents J and K ascended one class and Respondents G, H, and L ascended two classes above their original placement by their Index Scores. If the guiding hypothesis for this study were completely supported by these data, the respondents would be plotted in a fairly straight diagonal line beginning with Respondent A in the upper right hand corner of the quadrant and ending with Respondent L in the lower left hand corner. In Figure 5.3 a diagonal line has been drawn to indicate the expected alignment of respondents. The dotted diagonal lines were added to include the range of scores allowed for each class. Only the five reSpondents within the bounds of these diagonal lines, then, support the hypothesis. Those two respondents 0A and B) above and to the left of the diagonal lines fell below expectations while the remaining five res- pondents (G, H, J, K, and L) below and to the right of the diagonals were above expectations. Trying to understand fully why these respondents deviated as they did from the expected (diagonal lines) is crucial to poverty research. Could it be assumed that the five deviants are upwardly mobile, holding values on a higher level than would be expected of persons in their cir- cumstances? Similarly, could it be assumed that the other two deviants are akin to Lewis' newly rich Mexican family in that they have attained more of the material than the non-material aspects of society? Findings based upon the Typology Scores tend to indicate this. These scores resulted from analysis of coding value responses by degree. The typology also involved coding value responses by theme; therefore, it would be sagacious to examine results based upon theme analysis before jumping to conclusions. Some additional findings are 123 likely to result because, based subjectively upon this researcher's personal acquaintance with the respondents, not all seven of the deviants are actually upwardly mobile or "materially oriented" as their deviations would tend to indicate. Value Orientation Profile Some score or system of classifying the respondents by their coded themes was sought to be comparable to the Typology Score that re- sulted from coding value responses by degree. It was felt that such a score would be less complicated if the four continua (composites of the twelve themes) were used as a basis. An individual's degree of commit- ment to the values of society is indicative of his value orientation. Therefore, when his continua, representing the subject matter content of his value responses, are arranged in order of their strength (determined by the number of times a value response was coded for that continuum), his value orientation should be identified. Consequently, a Value Orientation Profile was constructed, according to the rules on page 44, for each respondent showing the proportionate strength of each continuum coded in the individual's responses. Theoretically, when this Value Orientation Profile is coupled with its corresponding Typology Score, (to indicate the respondentksposition along each continuum), it would then be a symbolic representation of the respondent's total values that were elicited by the incomplete stories. Value Orientation Profiles are presented in Table 5.6 with the corresponding Typology Scores for each respondent.. There are some similarities among Value Orientation Profiles as shown in Table 5.6. For instance, the profiles for the two respondents in the lower~middle class are the same, FC, 23, ae, ai. It is interesting 124 Table 5.6--Value Orientation Profiles and corresponding Typology Scores of respondents Respondent Type of Total Value Representation Family Class H Profile: FC 33_ ac ai LowerAMiddle Score: 3.67 3.43 3.00 4.00 G Profile: FC gg_ ae ai LowereMiddle Score: 3.57 3.56 3.00 4.00 A Profile: CA fg_ ai ae Upper-Lower Score: 3.64 3.45 4.00 1.80 C Profile: FC 3;. g;_ ca Upper-Lower Score: 2.93 3.67 2.88 4.25 D Profile: FC 23' ai ae Upper-Lower Score: 3.22 3.14 3.50 1.67 B Profile: CA f3 ai ae Middle-Lower Score: 3.71 2.00 3.00 2.33 E Profile: FC g1. gg_ pg Middle-Lower Score: 3.00 2.75 2.83 3.33 F Profile: FC 22 ai ae Middle-Lower Score: 3.00 2.92 3.33 2.50 K Profile: FC 31. ac ca Middle-Lower Score: 2.33 3.50 2.50 3.80 L Profile: FC gg_ ae ai Middle-Lower Score: 2.83 3.75 1.50 3.00 J Profile: FC g§_ ae ai Middle-Lower Score: 2.21 3.25 1.75 3.25 I Profile: FC 52. ai ae Lower-Lower Score: 2.08 2.38 3.14 1.40 125 to note that these are two of the three respondents who skipped two classifications as portrayed in Figure 5.3 earlier. Of further interest is that the third respondent (L) who likewise skipped two classes, has the same profile, too. Only one other respondent, J, has this same Value Orientation Profile. It should be noted here that if the Typology Scores for these four respondents for their most prominent continuum, Fatalism-Control, were rounded off, the following would result: H: 4, G: 4, L: 3, J: 2. Applying these degree scores to the Fatalism-Control Continuum, then, it would seem that Respondents H and G value managing their own affairs since their responses were coded toward the Control end of the continuum. Respondent L shows potential of managing her affairs, also, especially if her case study is re-examined. She grew up in a hard-core poverty family and was the only one of the reSpondents to be placed in the hard- core-lower class. All things considered, this researcher feels that Respondent L has accepted her position as the unwed mother of three children, aged one, two and three, and will after they are of school age manage her life so that she continues to climb upward out of poverty. Respondent J, however, shows a lack of management (Typology Score of 2) and a tendency toward the Fatalistic end of the continuum; in fact, her whole life, as pointed out in her case study, is controlled for her, she feels, by a predestined plan. She has learned to accept the bad along with the good and rarely, if ever, tries to alter her life. From the above discussion, it could be assumed that possessing a profile such as the one held by these four respondents, FC, £3, ae, ai, might indicate potential for upward mobility; however, the Typology Score must also be considered here to display at which end of the continuum the 126 respondent's value responses lie. The Typology Score, then, could be assumed to help determine the direction of movement. Table 5.6 shows that the prominent continuum (capital letters) for all but two of the respondents is the FC, or Fatalism-Control, Continuum. The two exceptions both had the CA, or Concreteness-Abstract- ness, Continuum as their dominant one. Both of their profiles, in fact, were identical: CA, £2, ai, ae. Of special interest, too, is the fact that these two respondents, A and B, have other things in common as well, namely: they received the two highest Index Scores in the sample and they were the only two respondents who, according to their Typology Scores, held values one class lower than had been expected from their Index Scores. Could this mean, then, that the Value Orientation Profile, CA, :2, ai, ae, might indicate potential for possessing values lower than expected? Further analyses indicate one apparently noteworthy? difference between these two profiles when considering the corresponding Typology Scores for the second most prominent continuum (FC). Mrs. A is toward the Control and of this continuum while Mrs. B is toward the Fatalism end. If the above discussion regarding Mrs. J is valid, then it could be assumed that Mrs. A has the potential for changing her position. If there are similarities and differences noted between Value Orientation Profiles of those three respondents who held values two classes above expectations, and those two who held values one class below, then it would be worthwhile to look more closely at the profiles of the res- pondents when grouped according to their deviations from their expected value responses. This is displayed in Table 5.7. Value Orientation Profiles, grouped as they are in Table 5.7, definitely do reveal patterns associated with the amount of deviation 127 from the expected norm. There are, however, unexpected similarities, too, such as the profiles for Respondents D, F, and I who remained the same, and those for Respondents H, G, and L who moved up two classes. Their profiles are the same except for the reversal of the last two re- cessive continua. Table 5.7--Combined Value Orientation Profiles and corresponding Typology Scores of respondents grouped by their deviations from their expected value responses. Respondent Combined Value Profile and Typology Score Movement A CA(3.64) £g(3.45) ai(4.00) ae(l.80) Descended one class B CA(3.71) £212.00) ai(3.00) ae(2.33) H FC(3.67) 23(3.43) ae(3.00) ai(4.00) Ascended two classes G FC(3.57) 93(3.56) ae(3.00) ai(4.00) L FC(2.83) 23(3.75) ae(l.50) ai(3.00) J FC(2.21) ggfi3.25) ae(l.75) ai(3.25) Ascended one class K FC(2.33) gifi3.50) ae(2.50) ca(3.80) C FC(2.93) ai(3.67) gs(2.88) ca(4.25) Remained in same class E FC(3.00) 1142.75) 330.83) 936.33) D FC(3.22) 23(3.l4) ai(3.50) ae(l.67) F FC(3.00) 93(2.92) ai(3.33) ae(2.50) I FC(2.08) 33(2.38) ai(3.l4) ae(l.40) Mrs. J's profile has already been discussed in relation to those of Respondents H, G, and L. class was‘Mrs. and E, both of whom remained in their same class. The other subject who moved up only one Her profile is the same as that of ReSpondents C This researcher feels that the reason Mrs. K ascended was because she was influenced by Mrs. C during part of her interview (see their case studies). If this is so, 128 then it could be assumed that the profile, FC g; ae ca, would be more typical of respondents who would remain in their same class as expected. Results of this analysis of value responses elicited by the twenty-seven incomplete stories from the sample of twelve Headstart mothers indicate the following trends concerning Value Orientation Profiles: 1. Persons with CA £2.31 ae Profiles may hold values a class lower than would be expected by their Index Scores. 2. Persons with FC(3+) g§_ae ai profiles may hold values at least one class higher than would be expected from their Index Scores. 3. Persons with FC gi_gg ca or FC gg_ai ae profiles may hold values that would be expected from their Index Score placement. Replications of this study and its forms of analyses using a much larger sample would have to be executed before any definitive conclusions could be drawn. Interpretation of Value Responses by Case Study Data At this point, with evidence based only upon the sample of twelve, case study material substantiated by data from theme analysis (Table 5.8) is essential to help understand and interpret results. Respondents A and B, who received the two highest Index Scores, both exhibited Typology Scores one class lower than their Index Scores would indicate. Could this mean that actually they are living beyond their means and experience? It is possible that this could be the case, especially with Mrs. A. She emphasized that her mother always worked and never had time for her as a child. She, as a direct result, "will never work, if possible." "My husband works one and a half shifts regularly to earn more money so we can have the things we want most for our children. 129 Table 5.8--Comparison of themes and orientation continua by number and Re- Responses: Fatalism . . . . . .Control Authoritar- spon- Re- Child ianism . . dent Item Total sources Rearingp Goals Kinship Total Role Power A N: 34 3 7 0 1 ll 2 3 Z: 100 8.8 20.7 0 3.0 32.5 5.8 8.8 Score: 3.35 3.67 3.09 0 3.00 3.45 1.50 2.00 B N: 30 2 5 l l 9 2 1 Z: 100 6.7 16.6 3.3 3.3 29.9 6.7 3.3 Score 2.97 1.00 2.60 2.00 1.00 2.00 2.50 2.00 C N: 35 4 6 3 1 l8 2 6 Z: 100 11.3 17.1 8.5 2.9 38.8 5.6 17.1 Score 3.26 3.75 2.44 2.00 4.00 2.93 3.00 2.83 D N: 28 5 7 l 1 l4 1 2 Z: 100 17.8 25.0 3.6 3.6 50.0 3.6 7.2 Score 3.07 3.80 3.00 4.00 1.00 3.22 1.00 2.00 E N: 30 4 3 2 1 10 1 5 Z: 100 13.3 10.0 6.7 3.3 33.3 3.3 16.7 Score: 2.97 3.25 3.33 3.00 1.00 3.00 4.00 2.60 F N: 30 7 4 l 1 l3 2 0 Z: 100 23.5 13.3 3.3 3.3 43.4 6.7 0 Score: 2.97 3.29 2.75 4.00 1.00 3.00 2.50 0 G N: 32 6 6 2 O 14 l 4 Z: 100 18.8 18.8 6.2 0 43.8 3.1 12.5 Score: 3.53 4.00 3.50 2.50 0 3.57 4.00 2.75 H N: 28 4 6 1 1 12 2 3 Z: 100 14.4 21.5 3.5 3.5 42.9 7.2 10.6 Score: 3.68 3.75 4.00 4.00 1.00 3.67 2.00 3.67 I N: 32 5 3 2 2 12 2 3 Z: 100 15.7 9.6 6.1 6.1 37.5 6.1 9.6 Score: 2.28 2.00 2.67 2.50 1.00 2.08 1.50 1.33 J N: 30 6 6 l l 14 2 2 Z: 100 20.0 20.0 3.3 3.3 46.6 6.7 6.7 Score: 2.57 2.17 2.50 2.00 1.00 2.21 1.00 2.50 K N: 30 6 3 l 2 12 2 3 Z: 100 20.0 10.0 3.3 6.7 40.0 6.7 10.0 Score: 2.87 2.67 1.67 2.00 2.50 2.33 2.00 2.33 L N: 33 6 4 l 1 12 2 4 Z: 100 18.2 12.1 3.0 3.0 36.3 6.1 12.1 Score: 2.76 3 17 2.00 4.00 3.00 2.83 1.50 1.50 130 percent of responses, and Typology Scores of each respondent. .Abstractness Occupa Educa Total ‘Material Human tion. Equali- Alienation-Integration Concreteness. tarian Formal Inform. Possessions: Total tion . Inter. Intera. Total I433 .I. 75 263 75 262 62 [41].... .l. 90 121... 90 125 90 12!... 90 124 272 25 [.../+3 1 60 .13]... 03 603 2 30 133 75 26/... 75 263 30 O O 131 12 39.9 2.92 132 263 30 133 75 262 25 983 10 131 25 26/... 86 553 ..I. 10 13/4 [40 [+24 1 20 26/... 20 264 60 553 1 law/... [4.0 [.../.._.]... 1 20 27/... 20 27/... 263 63 O. 392 10 262 551.. 1 62 863 30 13].... o. 261 [42 I433 ..I. 30 .13]... 00 303 1 47 43.1 1.. 1&5h 30 13]... 70 264 26/4 20 393 26 0. 393 00 683 .l. 00 .131... 131 We have already bought property in the country and will build a new house there as soon as this house is sold." Mrs. A, herself, is a hard worker, dedicated to rearing her children and managing her household the "right way". Mrs. A says, "I do not place a high value on 'things', but rather upon necessity." Her value responses confirmed this in that she received her highest theme Typology Score (See Table 5.8) on the‘Material Possessions Theme (4.50 which means that material things are used for the growth and development of family members). Her concern for family members is further illustrated by Mrs. A's assertion that she would never leave her two children with a baby-sitter in the neighborhood in which they now live. This is a strong motivation for moving to their new home where the environment is more conducive to rearing children the "right way". In this researcher's opinion,‘Mrs. A seems almost compelled to become a middle class wife and mother for the well-being of her children - and possibly to show her mother, for one, that "it can be done without the mother working away from home." ‘Mrs. A is still in her twenties, so it is likely that with her determination, she will attain her goal in spite of her tentative "upper-lower-class" Typology Score. ‘Mrs. B dropped a class lower than was expected by her Index Score. As was mentioned earlier, this was probably due to having lived a long time in dire poverty after her first marriage, still retaining some of her earlier values. Table 5.8 shows a very low score on resources (1.00) which indicates a strong fatalistic attitude. This is not evident in all areas, but she does have faith that God will reveal a way for things to work out all right "if you just leave it to Him." Her high 132 scores, valuing human beings over material possessions seem incongruent with her lower scores on child rearing theme. This, however, is typical of her in real life: she was relaxed and adept at raising foster children, but when she adopted two of them, she became "too strict" with them. ‘Mrs. B is upwardly mobile and is afraid that her children will not be able to adjust to "middle class ways" if she does not raise them care- fully. It would be revealing to re-test these two respondents, A and B, who dropped a class in their value responses, to see if over time they continued this pattern or began to hold the values that would be expected for their living patterns. If they did show signs of change, it would be interesting to observe any changes in their Value Orientation Profiles as well. Do they tend to be more like those of persons who re- main in the same class, or those who move upwardly, or do they remain the same as they were when first tested? One possible rationalization for why five of the respondents' response scores were at least one class higher than expected could be the learning experiences in the parent education groups associated with the Spartan Nursery School. Not all mothers were active in this group all year, however, so there must be additional reasons as well. Respondent L, as mentioned earlier, was the only respondent classified as hard-core poverty by her Index Score. She functions as a "go-between" for her parents and "outsiders" in the community, following through on most of their business dealings and problems. She is effective in this type of endeavor in most areas except those involving school officials with whom her responses indicate she felt a high degree of powerlessness, or alienation. Other responses, however, indicate that 133 Miss L places a high value upon education (4.50), recognizing the need for a good education in obtaining a good job. Miss L is very attached to her family of orientation, and they to her; however, she also recognizes the advantages of being on her own, starting a new life for herself and her three children. Respondent H is similar to‘Miss L in that she,too, is an unwed mother of three children, being Negro instead of‘Mexican. Her children are older than L's and‘Miss H has been working for almost two years to support herself and her family. Miss H has hopes of being entirely self- supporting on a higher level than she now is. She is patient and knows she can reach this goal through dedication and hard work. If she met and married the "right kind of man", she could attain her goal sooner, but she does not want to "rely on a man"; she would rather "budget her time and her efforts," doing it on her own. Her goals (4.00) in life and her child rearing (4.00) methods are high and seem to have evolved from her not wanting to perpetuate present and past circumstances. Her Formal Interaction Typology Score (4) indicates she knows the importance of dealing with others in society. Miss H reacted more as a middle class person might during the interview; however, she had fewer values coded than did most other respondents (28 responses for 27 stories), since she took a stand and defended it. Mrs. G, the third respondent to ascend two classes, indicated some bitterness in many of her responses although this is not very obvious in her real life. As mentioned in her case study, her authoritarian husband and his garnisheed salary seem to be the objects of many of her frustrations. Her Typology Scores (Table 5.8) indicate she knows the value of managing her affairs, of feeling at ease in dealing with "out- siders", and of placing a higher value on people than on things, 134 especially in her role as a mother. If Mrs. G, H and L had "middle-class husbands", these women could probably adapt to ”middle-class ways" of living with far less effort than could be expected from their present Index Scores. All three had the same Value Orientation Profiles, featuring strong management values, and all three held values that would be expected of persons two classes above theirs; consequently, they must at the present time stretch their values to fit their deprived circumstances. As mentioned in her case study,‘Mrs. K's appearance and behavior is not that expected of a lower-lower class person. In this researcher's opinion, she is not as independent nor can she manage as well as the three young women above (G, H, and L). ‘Mrs. K has been on welfare all her life and has exercised little control over her eleven children; however, her ability to interact with others tends to compensate for her lack of responsibility and management. One important reason why Mrs. K's Typology Score was higher than expected, is due to her being influenced somewhat in her responses by‘Mrs. C, as explained earlier. ‘Mrs. J in this researcher's opinion is a more typical fatalistic lower-class person entirely dependent upon welfare for her living. It looks as though she will continue in this way for some time even if she does marry the father of her two younger children. She can manage small things such as hanging clothes to dry on coat hangers to conserve line space; however, large important things "just happen" due to a pre-destined plan over which she feels she has no control. ‘Mrs. J's Typology Scores indicate high ratings for human beings compared to material possessions. This interviewer feels sure that this was influenced greatly by the death of her eighteen month old baby shortly before the interview. Since then, 135 the initial shock has worn off some, and Mrs. J and her boyfriend are again making purchases of material possessions that far exceed their combined incomes - swing set ($70), textile painting set ($40), not to mention the stream of Tupperware, Cosmetics, and other such "parties". Everything is purchased on credit. Mrs. J "knows the right answers" and often gave two - what she would do and what Joan or Alice should do. There is a wide difference between her verbal and her behavioral values. All this contributes to her having a higher Typology Score than expected. This interviewer feels, in summation, that‘Mrs. J and Mrs. K might not receive higher than expected Typology Scores if they were re- interviewed under more normal conditions. The other three respondents (G, H, and L) who each accended two classes above expectation, however, show promise of enough potential to work their ways out of the poverty cycle, especially if they are encouraged. ‘Mrs. A and Mrs. B both held values a class lower than expected, not surprisingly so in Mrs. B's case and probably only temporarily so in‘Mrs. A's case. Revised Incomplete Story Instrument The primary objective of this pilot study was to devise a fixed- choice instrument that would elicit values held by low-income persons. The first step of this instrument deve10pment was accomplished by com- posing incomplete open-ended stories that were projective in nature. The purpose for having these stories open-ended was to elicit more value res- ponses from the pilot sample that could then be used as fixed choice a1- ternatives for the final instrument. Some stories, however, elicited value responses that were coded under more than just the single theme to ‘which the story was geared. Revisions must be made in the stories, based Upon data from this study, so that the fixed-choice value response al- 136 ternatives will all pertain to the single intended theme. Table 5.9 indicates the number and percentage of the total value responses that were coded for each of the twelve themes that emerged empirically from the data gathered in this study. Table 5.9--Theme analysis by number and percentage of responses Coded Value Responses by Theme Number Percent 1. Child Rearing 60 16.2 2. Resources 58 15.6 3. Formal Interaction 52 13.9 4. Human Possessions 44 11.8 5. Power Structure 36 9.7 6. Material Possessions 24 6.5 7. Role Structure 21 5.6 8. Education 20 5.4 9. Goals 16 4.3 10. Informal Interaction 15 4.0 11. Kinship 13 3.5 12. Occupation 13 3.5 Total = 372 100.0 Table 5.10 shows by means of a modified theme profile, the major themes coded for each story. Capital letters indicate predominant themes while lower case letters indicate less prominent themes. If the lower case themes are underlined, this means that theme was coded at least half as often as the predominant theme. In addition to the theme profile for each story, a corresponding continuum profile was also constructed and included in Table 5.10. In addition to having the final stories pertain to a single theme, it is also important that each story elicit a variety of responses. Therefore, the degree of variation of responses was figured roughly and indicated in Table 5.10, also. The use of this table can be illustrated briefly with Story #1 (visit) which elicited predominantly role structure themes with some power undertones. Both of these themes are encompassed 137 Table 5.10--Story analysis by theme, continuum, and variability of responses Incomplete Theme Profile Continuum Variation of Story Profile Value Responses: Large Moderate Small 1. ROLE-power AE X 2 . INFORMAL INTERACTION- AI X formal interaction 3. CHILD REARING-ROLE-power AE-FC X 4. GOALS FC X 5. RESOURCES FC X 6. HUMAN POSSESSIONS-resources CA-fc X 7. OCCUPATION CA X 8. FORMAL INTERACTION- AI-FC X RESOURCES 9. RESOURCES-role FC-gg X 10. HUMAN POSSESSIONS-formal CA-g__ X interaction 11. POWER-material AE-ca X 12. CHILD REARING-power FC-gg' X 13. CHILD REARING FC X 14. CHILD REARING-POWER- FC-AE-gi. X resources-informal inter- action 15. EDUCATION CA X 16. RESOURCES-child rearing FC X 17. CHILD REARING FC X 18. CHILD REARING-kinship FC X 19. MATERIAL POSSESSIONS CA X 20. MATERIAL POSSESSIONS- CA-AI X FORMAL INTERACTION 21. RESOURCES-formalrinter- FC-gifca X action-human possessions 22. FORMAL INTERACTION- AI-ca X informal interaction- human possessions 23. KINSHIP-human possessions FC-g§_ X 24. FORMAL INTERACTION- AI-gg:£g_ X education-child rearing 25. FORMAL INTERACTION-EDUCA- AI—CA-fg' X TION-child rearingehuman ppssessions 26. FORMAL INTERACTION-child AI-fg. X rearing 27. RESOURCES-formal inter- FC-gi. X action 138 in the Authoritarianism-Equalitarianism Continuum. The responses tended to vary from the Authoritarian end of the continuum in which the wife should stay home to tend the children and do the household tasks, to the Equalitarian end of the continuum in which the husband should help out with some of the household tasks so that he and his wife will be free to have a social life - together and/or separately. On the other hand Story #2 (lonely) elicited predominantly the Informal Interaction theme; however, the majority of these responses were consistently encouraging Alice to take the initiative in making friends with her neighbors. Only one respondent said Alice should wait and let the neighbors come make friends with her first. Since this story did not elicit a variety of responses, it would definitely need revision before being used again with this same type of sample. The following stories, according to data presented in Table 5.10. best meet the criteria of predominantly pertaining to one theme while eliciting a variety of responses: 1, 5, 7, 12, 19. However, not all of these stories were meaningful or of vital interest to the respon- dents in this study. Story #5, for example, was not especially meaning- ful to this sample, but it may be to a more lower-lower-class sample in which fatalism is more dominant. Actually only approximately two res- pondents seemed to believe in the "Evil Eye" story. While a few tried to relate it to their religious beliefs, others rejected this as super- stition and still others tried to suggest ways Alice could overcome this feeling. This interviewer felt that most of the respondents did not believe in the "Evil Eye" themselves, but they may have identified so closely with Alice that they were trying to suggest what she should do if she really were that concerned. 139 Intuitively, based upon interest and reactions of respondents during the interviews, this researcher would possibly reject the following stories unless they were revised: #2 - little variation in responses; no real decision felt by respondents. #5 - not meaningful for these respondents. #6 - Medicare has alleviated the problem of "putting off operations" until there is adequate money; not meaningful unless revised. #7 - difficult to code the degree of variation since the alter- natives suggested did not fit the typology; therefore, the typology or this story needs revision. #8 - if #7 is rejected, this one could be also; some respondents who had identified closely with the characters in the stories were shocked that John lost his job. #10- little variation in responses; story suggests a choice be- tween just two alternatives, so needs revision if retained. #13- most of these respondents have not yet experienced teenaged problems themselves so this story was less meaningful to them than it would be to families in later stages of the life cycle. #15- this sample is biased toward education, having been influenced by the nearby university; therefore, there was little variation in the responses of this sample, but might be more in another sample. Based upon interview and coding experiences, this researcher feels most stories retained for further use would need some revision with special attention given to the following points: 1. ‘Meaningfulness of the story to the sample. 2. Potential variability of responses along the continua. 140 3. Best fit of fixed-choice alternatives to the typology. 4. "Zeroing in" on one single theme. This researcher has attempted, as a final outcome of this research, to transform the original incomplete story instrument into a fixed-choice device, using the value responses elicited by the original open-ended stories as fixed-choice alternatives for a revised instrument. The four criteria mentioned above were taken into account as much as possible in the following manner: 1. ‘Meaningfulness of the stories to the sample: The original twenty-seven stories were based upon actual incidents observed in working with the Headstart mothers as well as being typical of low- income persons as reported in the literature. The revised stories include the same or similar situations, so should be meaningful to this pilot sample at least. 2. Potential variability of responses along the continua: In most of the revised stories there are three suggested fixed-choice alternatives, each one representative of either the upper-lower (U), the middle-lower (M), or the lower-lower (L) class of value response. A fourth alternative could be labeled "Other" to insure the inclusion of values possibly omitted. The instrument could be administered in more than one way: (1) as a fixed-choice instrument in which the story as well as the al- ternatives would be read to the respondent. The respondent would then be asked to indicate which alternative is the best. (2) as an open- ended instrument in which just the story is read to the subject to elicit his response. The interviewer would then check.which alternative best fits the subjects response, or write in his response under "other" 141 if none fit. (3) as an instrument to elicit values and their rank- order, too. The respondent would be asked to indicate which alternative is the best and which is the worst. (Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck asked each respondent which hg_thought were the best and worst alternatives and which he thought others in his community would say were the best and worst.) 3. The best fit of fixed-choice alternatives to the typology: The alternatives for the revised stories were based upon discussions be- tween the coders of typical responses describing the various positions along the continua. They were also adapted from actual value responses elicited by the original twenty-seven stories so that the wording would be meaningful to the respondents. 4. "Zeroing in" on one single theme: To insure equal employment of all themes, one story was written pertaining to each of the twelve themes of the existing typology, thereby shortening the instrument by more flhan half. (Ideally, this researcher feels that more than one story should be written on each theme to better check reliability in the respondent's value responses.) The twelve revised stories are written as a series of exper- iences occuring in the same John and Alice Doe family. All of the res- pondents in the pilot sample have experienced family life with both parents present either as a child and/or at the present time in their own nuclear family; therefore, they are able to relate adequately to this type of fictitious family. If, however, the sample were more predominantly hard-core with more female headed families, stories featur- ing "Joan", for instance, would be more appropriate. In administering this revised instrument, the order of the 142 fixed-alternatives should be systematically rotated so that the first alternative is not always representative of the lower-lower class (L) family and the last alternative of the upper-lower class (U) family as they are now arranged. The same introduction to the John Doe family that was written for the original instrument is applicable to this instrument. Any additional instructions should be made depending upon the manner in which the instrument is to be used (see the second criterion on page 140 - 141.) Visit Informal Interaction Alienation-Integration John and Alice are both friendly people and enjoy visiting friends and relatives they've known since childhood. John really doesn't like Alice's friends too well and their "girl talk", and Alice feels that way about John's friends, too. What should they do? Nothing: It's always good to keep old friends because you never know when you might need them. They understand you and your problems better so they're easier to talk to or to borrow from, or to just be with. "A friend in need is a friend indeed." John and Alice should begin to find new friends that they both enjoy. They should plan more things that they can do together with these new friends rather than only visiting their old friends separately. Neat House Role Structure Authoritarianism-Equalitarianism John likes to come home to a clean, neat house every evening, more likely than not, the kids' toys and boots are scattered over the house. Alice says the house is just too small, the kids have no other place to play in bad weather, and it's too hard for her to clean house with all the kids and all their things underfoot. What should be done? Story: Theme: Continuum: l. the But all men (L) a. (U) b. Story: Theme: Continuum: 2. but all (L) a. (M) b. Alice should get the kids to pick up their things. John has worked hard all day and should be able to have some peace and quiet when he gets home. It's her job to keep the house nice. Alice really should try to keep her house better, but she (U) Story: Theme: 143 can't be yelling at the kids all the time because they get nervous and so does she. They should have some place, like maybe one room, where they can play with their toys. c. John and Alice should talk to their children to see what they can all do to help. ‘Maybe John and the older boys could build storage shelves while Alice and the rest of the children plan jobs like dusting, dishes, picking up, and so on for each person to do, depending on his age and interests. $100 Cash Prize Goals Continuum: Fatalism-Control 3‘ (L) (M) (U) Story: Theme: Alice has a favorite television quiz show she likes to watch in the afternoons. Two weeks ago she entered one of the con- tests and the unbelieveable just happened! Alice won a $100 cash prize. What should be done with the money? a. Alice should spend the money on anything her heart desires. She won the money by herself so should spend it on herself. b. Alice should pay some bills with the money and spend what's left over on something special for the whole family, or at least share it with her husband. c. Alice should put the money in the bank and save it for a "rainy day" - so they will have some money in case they really need it someday. Furniture Material Possessions Continuum: Concreteness«Abstractness 4. (L) 0%) (U) John and Alice have had a long winter with the children indoors a lot of the time. The house and furniture really took a beating. A neighborhood store dealer offered to get them some new living- room furniture that they could pay for on time while they were enjoying having it in their home. What should they do? a. John and Alice should buy the new furniture from that dealer before he sells it to someone else. You can pinch pennies too much; you should have some joys in life, too. b. New furniture is pretty expensive these days. They should look around for some used furniture that is in good condi- tion and buy that instead. It wouldn't cost as much as new furniture and they could probably still pay for it on time - a few dollars every week or two. c. Alice and John should not be too hasty; they should start saving some money for some different furniture. In the meantime they should try fixing up what they have. The Story: Theme: Continuum: Fatalism-Control (L) (M) (U) 5. Story: Theme: Continuum: ConcretenessqAbstractness (L) (U) 6. 144 boys could re-tie the springs and the girls could help Alice sew some slip covers or throw cloths. They might find their old furniture isn't so bad afterall and will last them at least until they can save enough money to buy something else. Lose Job Resources John Doe lost his job and he has no savings. His family needs to eat. What should be done? a. John shouldn't worry too much. He has been out-ofdwork before and everything has turned out OK for them. Losing his job was a bad break, but he'll get a lucky break - something will turn up soon. b. John should go down and try to collect unemployment benefits or welfare assistance to tide them over. His church might help out, too, until he gets some money or another job. That's what they're there fdr - to help out in time of need. c. John should do odd-jobs or part-time work until he can find a full-time job, so that they will have some money coming in anyway. Maybe Alice could find part-time work, too, to help the family out until John finds work. New Job Occupation John found a job; in fact, he can choose between two jobs! There was a mix-up where he used to work and they want to hire him back on his same old job at his same old salary plus the money he would have made during the time he was off work. John did find another job, too. The work is different from anything he has ever done before, but they will train him and he will be able to move ahead at his own rate. The pay is a little less now than his old job, but he will be able to earn more, depending upon his own ability. Which job should John choose? a. John should go back to his old job where he knows the people and the job. It's hard to change once you're used to a job. Besides John has some seniority in his old job and the pay is still higher without even counting the bonus he'll get making up for back pay. b. John should take the new job. This new training will do him good and might help him get another even better job someday. This job is a real challenge and if John works hard, he will soon be making more money than he could ever hope to on his old job. It's a good chance to make some- thing of himself. Story: Theme: Continuum: 145 Skip School Child Rearing Fatalism-Control 7. John and Alice have a son, Joe, who is fourteen and is only in the sixth grade - when he goes to school, that is. He has been skipping school a lot, especially this past year, so that now he is in trouble with his teachers and the truant officers. What should be done about Joe? (L) a. (M) b. (U) c. Story: Theme: Continuum: He should be left alone. He is too old for those children in the sixth grade and his parents will just make life miserable for him if they make him go to school every day. He doesn't learn anything when he does go and just causes trouble in the room. John and Alice should leave it up to Joe and maybe he will shape up on his own and go back to school if nobody pushes and nags at him. He should be punished. Joe should be "grounded" after school until he quits skipping school. Alice should keep him busy doing his homework and other jobs around the house as soon as he gets home from school every day. Joe's parents should sit down and talk over with him the problems he is causing for himself by skipping school and not learning the things he needs to know. They should try to find out why he has been skipping school and then all go down to talk to his teacher to work out plans for what's best for Joe. Skip School Formal Interaction Alienation-Integration 8. What should John and Alice do when the school officials come around to see why Joe has not been attending school? (L) a. 0%) b. (U) c. Story: Theme: John and Alice should juSt tell them that they send Joe off to school every morning and they don't know where he goes after that. They can't take him by the ear and walk him to school - he's too big and they're too busy. John and Alice should tell the school officials that they are working on Joe and think they have him in line now, and that they don't think he will give them anymore trouble. John and Alice should welcome the officials and cooperate with them in any ways they can to work out whatever is best for Joe. He won't stray too far if he knows his parents and teachers are interested in him and want to help him. College Scholarship Education 146 Continuum: Concreteness-Abstractness 9. (L) (M) (U) Story: Theme: John and Alice's oldest son, Tim, works week-ends at a nearby gas station and the owner said he could work there full-time next year after he finished high school. Tim just found out that he could get a football scholarship that would pay all of his expenses at College next year. He knew his Dad was counting on him to earn some money working next year to help out with some of their extra debts and expenses at home. What should be done? 3. Tim should take the job at the gas station. He has not been able to work much after school because of football practice. It has cost the family a lot to buy clothes and supplies to keep him in school and he should pay them back. b. Tim should give the scholarship a try. He could still work some week-ends and during vacations to help out at home. c. Tim should take the college scholarship for sure and work real hard to make good. Education is so important these days. After college Tim could get a better job and re- pay his parents then. It's his future they should think about. Boyfriend Power Continuum: Authoritarianism-Equalitarianism 10. (L) CM) 03) Alice and John's sixteen year old daughter is dating a Spanish- American boy. John objects violently and orders his daughter not to see this Spanish boy any more and warns her not to date any more boys who are not the same as she is. The daughter is upset and says they were really meant for each other. What should Alice do? a. What can Alice do? Sometimes even if the mother feels differently, she cannot say anything if the father is so sure he is right. He is the head of the family and what he says, goes. b. Alice should talk to her daughter and tell her she under- stands how she feels, but that her father is older and more experienced and knows best. The daughter is only sixteen and should really date other boys before she sets her heart on one. c. If Alice and John say "no" to their daughter, she might go ahead and see this boy anyway behind their backs. The three of them should talk over the problem, trying to see the daughter's side, too. Alice should try to talk John into letting the daughter bring her boyfriend home so they can 147 all get to know each other better. This might help to open everybody's eyes: John may not be so hasty next time or might even get to like the boy, too; the daughter may decide there are other boys she would like to date, too. Story: Pregnancy Theme: Human Possessions Continuum: ConcretenessqAbstractness 11. The summer after John and Alice's daughter finished high school, she went to the big city to work. But that next spring she came home with the news that she was pregnant and the baby's father had left town when he heard about it. What should Alice and John do about their daughter? (L) a. They should make it clear to the daughter that she has done wrong and has brought shame to them all. She knew better and should take the consequences for the predicament she got herself into. (u) b. Alice and John should accept the fact that their daughter is going to have the baby. They should give her the love and understanding that she needs so badly right now. Story: Pregnancy Theme: Kinship Continuum: Fatalism-Control 12. What should the daughter do about her baby? (L) a. She should ask her mother or a relative to care for the baby while she works. The baby is a member of their family now, too, and needs them. On) b. She should consider putting the baby up for adoption so the baby will grow up in a home with two parents who will love and care for him (her). (U) c. She should not depend upon her family and relatives, but should hire a reliable baby-sitter to care for her baby while she works. Suggested Revisions for the Typolpgy A broad typology consisting of four continua - Fatalism-Control, Authoritarianism-Equalitarianism, Alienation-Integration, and Concrete- ness-Abstractness - was constructed and presented in Chapter III. These continua are reportedly characteristic of lower-class persons (3). Each continuum was further refined during the preliminary coding process 148 to include twelve subject matter themes that emerged empirically from the data gathered. Each theme was similarly treated as a continuum with definitions formulated for the constructed types at either end of each continuum. Value responses were coded by their subject matter content to fit the appropriate theme and, also, by degree to locate their position along this theme continuum. The constructed typology was adequate for this exploratory pilot study; however, it should be refined to provide a better means of coding all potential responses that might emerge with larger random samples. A notion that was not perceived during the pre- liminary coding process was that each theme would fit under more than one continuum. In constructing this typology, each subject-matter theme was placed under the one continuum that fit most of the responses best. For instance most child rearing responses elicited in this study actually pertained to the child's learning to control his own behavior; consequent- ly, the theme was placed under the Fatalism-Control Continuum. However, there were a few responses, such as "I wouldn't let my child do that" or "Father should spank so the kids know who is boss" that should actually have been coded under the Authoritarianism-Equalitarianism Continuum in a second child rearing theme. In this study these responses were coded under the Authoritarianism-Equalitarianism Continuum, but in the 22323. $2222.1n3tead° In other words a suggested modification of the existing typology would entail some restructuring of the axes so that a typical page in the coding manual pertaining to child rearing might be as follows: Child Rearing Theme Continuum: 1 5 "F-C" "I really threaten my kids, "Alice should sit down with but I don't do much when him to stimulate his interest \ 149 they are bad." so he'll want to do his home- work." "A-E" "Father should spank so "They should talk it over with the kids know who is their daughter to get her ideas, boss;" "The four year too, since it concerns her." old should watch his two year old brother closer." "A-I" "What more can Joan do? "The parent should confide in He is a 'push out'." the teacher so they can work Jim's problems out together." "C-A" "He's too old for those "Education is so important children. He's not these days. They should do all improving himself any so they can to encourage Tim to go he should quit school." to college." The revised typology, then, would consist of subject matter themes being listed across the top with the four broad continua down the side, thus creating four possible cells for each theme. Each cell would be further broken down to include a definition for at least two value positions representing the left (1) and right (5) ends of that continuum. Such a comprehensive typology should include a value position for any re- sponse according to its subject matter content (theme), its general orientation (continuum) and its classification (degree). There were too many "blank cells" for this to be a workable typology for the pres- ent study; however, with larger samples and different stories, such a typology could be constructed. One means of develOping definitions for the constructed types would be to compose stories on one theme, such as child rearing. Some stories would pertain to this theme from the Fatalism-Control aspect, seeking responses that were representative of the five possible value positions along that continuum. Similarly, other stories would pertain to the same theme, but from the perspectives of each of the other continua. If several stories were written on this theme from each of the four 150 perspectives, a built-in reliability check would result. New batteries of stories pertaining to other themes would likewise aid in refining definitions for those constructed types. CHAPTER VI SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS An Overview of the Study This research was a pilot study designed to develop an instrument that would elicit values held by low-income persons and a typology to identify and organize these values in a meaningful manner. In an effort to accomplish this task, a projective-type incomplete story instrument was devised. It consisted of a series of twenty-seven stories centering upon decision situations believed to be common to low-income families. Each story was followed by the questions, "What should be done?" and "Why?" in an attempt to guide the respondents to express their "normative standards" which influence "their choice among the alternative courses of action" - the selected definition of values for this study. The stories were presented to twelve Headstart mothers. The value responses obtained were coded by means of a typology constructed around four continua: Fatalism-Control (FC), Authoritarian- ism-Equalitarianism (AE), Alienation-Integration (AI), and Concreteness- Abstractness (CA). Each continuum is reportedly a major characteristic of low-income persons with values of hard-core poverty persons (1) falling toward the left end of the continua and middle-class persons (5) toward the right. Each continuum was further divided into two to four subject matter themes that emerged during the coding process. There were sixty possible positions to code the 372 value responses elicited depending 151 152 upon their selected location in one of the five placements along one of the twelve subject matter theme continua, comprising the constructed typology. A Value Orientation Profile was constructed for each respondent representing the proportionate strength of each continuum (composite of its themes) coded in her value reSponses. A definite pattern emerged when these profiles were grouped according to the amount of deviation of each respondent's value responses from their expected course. Each respondent had been classified into one of five family classes contingent upon a score derived from her Family Style Index data. A second score, the Typology Score, had been devised after coding each subject's value responses. It indicated the composite position of each respondent along the one to five-degree value continua. Comparison of these two scores indicated that seven of the twelve respondents held values either higher or lower than would be expected from their Index Score classification. Results revealed that those respondents who deviated to a higher class held the same Value Orientation Profile, FC (3+) pg ae 81. (The "3+" means that those respondents held values near the management end of the continuum.) Similarly, both of the respondents who deviated to a lower classification held the same Value Orientation Profile, CA fig ai ae. Those respondents who tended to remain in their original classi- fications, as predicted by the guiding hypothesis, held either of two Value Orientation Profiles, FC gi.g£.ca or PC gg_ai ae. These Value Orientation Profile trends cannot be considered conclusive based upon the small sample; however, they do show evidence strong enough to warrant further investigation using a larger sample. 153 Since the primary objective of this pilot study was that of instrument development for the values aspect of the NC-90 Poverty Pro- ject, revisions were made in the two instruments devised and used in the interview phase of this study, namely: the Family Style Index and the Incomplete Story Instrument, used to elicit background information and value responses, respectively. The Family Style Index can be used in its entirety to collect case study type material for a fuller understanding of sample subjects. When used in analysis, for classificatory purposes, however, the full six pages of data are not necessary. Consequently, a shortened condensed version of the major items in this Index was formulated and used in this study to compute the Revised Index Score for classifying the res- pondents into family types. This pr0posed Revised Family Style Index is one page in length and consists of eighteen items that are scored simply by a (+) or a (-), depending upon whether or not the individual possesses the attribute. The Incomplete Story Instrument was revised by transforming it to a fixed alternative device. Twelve stories, similar to or the same as some of the original twenty-seven incomplete stories,were written using actual value responses elicited by the original open-ended instru- ment as the fixed-choice alternatives. Each alternative is represen- tative of the upper (U), middle (M), or lower (L) positions along the continua. Each story is geared specifically to one single theme. Thus the revised instrument is pre-coded according to the constructed typology making analysis of data quicker, easier and more uniform. Since the pilot sample was small and since the researcher had known most of the respondents previously, case studies were written on 154 each respondent to assist in understanding and interpreting findings more meaningfully. Until a larger body of knowledge is established in poverty research, there are decided advantages in proceeding slowly with small sized samples and in-depth studies of an exploratory nature. Implications for Further Research A pilot study can do no more than indicate possible trends by disclosing what appears to be true for a particular sample, and suggest tOpics for further research. (8:5) The most significant trends disclosed by this pilot study, of course, are those Value Orientation Profile configurations that tend to differ according to whether the respondent holds values a class higher, or lower, or the same as those expected by his Index Score. If this trend proves to be statistically significant with larger random samples, it would lend more support to those ameliorative programs that "help the poor help themselves" since those persons holding values a class higher than expected from their actual circumstances adhere to strong management values. Since the value responses were elicited from decision-situations and since values, decision-making, and management, are all crucial con- cepts, especially as they relate to the family, the trends suggested by the Value Orientation Profiles merit further study by researchers in home management and other fields of social science. As suggested earlier, in addition to replicating parts of this study to verify the Value Orientation Profile trends, using a larger randomly selected sample and statistical analysis, it would be advantageous to retest at least the five respondents (A, B, G, H, and L) who deviated the most from their expected value classifications. Do they continue holding the same values over time? The same Value Orientation Profiles? 155 If the direction of their deviations change, do their Value Orientation Profiles change likewise? If so, how? In other words, Respondent A held values in this study that were somewhat lower classwise than expected. This researcher personally feels that this is a temporary situation and that if‘Mrs. A were re-tested, she might hold values on the level expected of her, or perhaps even a class higher in time. If the latter were the case, it would be interesting to determine if Mrs. A's Value Orientation Profile remained as it is, CA £g_ai as, or if it, too, changed to take on the same characteristics of the profiles of the three respondents who held values two classes above their expected ones, FC gg_ae ai. Similarly, it would be valuable to further study the three res- pondents, G, H, and L, whose "verbal values" were typical of a higher class than their "behavioral values" due to a significant lack of finan- cial resources, not to mention the potential marital status and race problems confronted by Misses H and L. Rodman (14) would say that these respondents have "stretched" their values to fit their deprived circum- stances. This appears to be true; however, how far and how long can these values be "stretched" before the elasticity gives way and the point of no return is reached. This apparently happened with Mrs. B who still .adheres to some of the same lower class values held during her years of ciire poverty twenty and thirty years ago. Could it be assumed that if Iiespondent G, H, or L were re-tested, evincing a Value Orientation Profile, CHA fig ai ae, indicative of someone holding values lower than expected, the "Galasticity of her stretch" had begun to give out? Such a "predictive" technique would be valuable in research and in the real world as well. This pilot study was definitely exploratory in nature, dealing 156 primarily with devising instruments and procedures for analyzing the data collected. In Chapter V it was stressed that these instruments, and procedures all need further refinement that could be achieved most readily through further use with different samples. To insure more reliable measurement, attention should be given to proper emphasis being placed upon specific Family Style Index items. For example, Mrs. B would not have received as high an Index Score, and hence would have "performed as expected," if she had been scored lower on the Family Style Index due to her former long-term poverty ordeal. Similarly, the two unwed mothers in this sample seem to have much more potential than their Index Scores indicate. Both Misses H and L lost credits, not merely on marital status, but also whenever an index item was directed toward husbands alone. When the Family Style Index was being constructed, the researcher was aware of this "unfairness", but discounted it because of the emphasis Weisbrod placed upon female headed families being in poverty. Unless Misses H and L are "exceptional" unwed mothers, this weighting of the Index against female headed families seems too great. Additional evidence is needed, however, before this assertion is confirmed. The typology is still in the deve10pmental stage and needs further test and appropriate revision as suggested in Chapter V. A 118W battery of stories should be written, perhaps in a specialized manner concentrating on one theme at a time, in an effort to develop more com- ;rrehensive definitions for the constructed types of the revised typology. After the typology is refined, it could then be tested in other ways. Fbrr instance, projective-type pictures such as those used by Benner (23), C0111d be used instead of projective-type incomplete stories to elicit 157 values that could then be analyzed by means of the constructed typology. This typology, being based upon continua, is adaptable to more varied samples. For instance, a sample comprised of middle as well as lower class subjects could theoretically be used with this typology since the continua range from hard-core-lower class (1) to middle class (5). If such a sample were used, special attention should be given to the story or picture source to be sure they are meaningful to all subjects. It would be valuable to use the EngebretsonAMartin Typology with a lower-class sample to see if there would perhaps be more social or change-prone types of values, since lower-class peOple characteristi- cally are present,rather than future, time oriented, so may be more apt to satisfy present whims than to be overly concerned or conservative about possible future consequences. To satisfy the curiosity of this researcher, the value responses of the present sample were coded roughly by the Engebretson-Martin typology, revealing a higher proportion of change-prone type of values than were evidenced by their original middle- class sample. It has been emphasized before that there is a definite place in poverty research for in-depth analysis of small samples, or of one technique, or one person. Personally, this researcher knows Mrs. J fairly well. She is easy to get acquainted with and eager to share her ideas. Yet there are still many facets to Mrs. J and her fatalistic pre-destined world, that this researcher does not fully comprehend. A quite detailed case study of‘Mrs. J or others like her including taped interviews, etc. would shed more light in an area of semi-darkness. A two or three generation study of the L family would also reveal a better understanding of hard-core poverty families. Since one of the L boys 158 married one of the K girls, a similar study of Mrs. K's family would have additional contributions. Observations and Index-type findings from this study tended to support Weisbrod's "Landmarks of Poverty" discussed in Chapter I. Other relationships, only some of which are discussed in the literature, did evolve. however, and are listed below: 1. Holding values toward the Fatalism end of the orientation continuum is directly related to remaining in the poverty cycle; con- versely, holding values toward the Control and of the continuum is directly related to potential for escaping the poverty cycle. 2. Continued alienation from society so that no other way of life is perceptible is directly related to remaining in the poverty cycle; conversely, continued activities integrated with society are directly related to potential for escaping the poverty cycle. 3. Being head of a lower-lower class family varies directly with holding values toward the Authoritarian end of the continuum; be- ing head of a middle-class family varies directly with holding values toward the Equalitarian end of the continuum. 4. Maintaining a wide difference between verbal and behavioral values is directly related to a tendency to remain in the poverty cycle. 5. Living in poverty, maintaining the "value stretch" concept over a prolonged period, varies directly with a tendency to remain in the poverty cycle; conversely, maintaining a narrow difference between verbal and behavioral values so the "value stretch" concept is unneces- sary is directly related to potential for escaping the poverty cycle. 6. Uneconomical consumer practices vary directly with the ten- dency to remain in the poverty cycle. 159 7. Interpretation of abstract concepts, such as happiness or aesthetics, varies by class. 8. Friendship patterns of low-income mothers tend to be directly related to "return benefits" for these mothers in terms of borrowing and exchange of services. 9. Housekeeping practices of low-income mothers tend to be directly related to "return benefits" for these mothers in terms of keep- ing the house clean for the companionship of a boyfriend or the ADC allot- ments administered by the case worker. 10. Being an older daughter in a large low-income family varies directly with her being a female head of a poor family. 11. Persons with CA £2 ai ae Value Orientation Profiles will hold values at least one class lower than would be expected by their Index Scores. 12. Persons with FC (3+) g3 ae ai Value Orientation Profiles will hold values at least one class higher than would be expected by their Index Scores. 13. Persons with PC gi_§g ca or PC g§_ai ae Value Orientation Profiles will hold values in the same class as expected from their In- dex Score placement. Much poverty research to date has dealt with compilations of Index-type data. This information is beneficial for descriptive and classification purposes; however, poverty appears to be more complex. This study indicates a difference between Index and Typology classifi- cations, meaning a person does not necessarily hold values comparable to his family class as determined by his Index data. In other words Index techniques may be used to classify the degree of poverty while 160 the relative stability of this class of poverty for a given person is dependent upon additional techniques to measure his values and potential for mobility. In this study such instrument development and data analy- ses were explored. If similar pilot studies were conducted in the other research areas of NC-90 (resources, interpersonal relationships, and goals), many of the unmanifested aspects of the poverty picture would be brought into sharper focus. ' 10. 11. 12. 13. LITERATURE CITED The New York Times, Vol. CXVII, No. 40,314, Sunday, June 9, 1968. Boguslaw, Robert, The Utopians, A Study of System Design and Social Change, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1965. Irelan, Lola M., ed., Low-Income Life Styles, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of H.E.W., Welfare Administration Publication No. 14, 1966. President's National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty, The People Left Behind, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Printing Office, September, 1967. Harrington,‘Michael, The Other America: Poverty in the United States, Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1963. Ornati, Oscar, Poverty Amid Affluence, A Report on a Research Project Carried Out at the New York School for Social Research, New York: The Twentieth Century Fund, 1966. Weisbrod, Burton A., ed., The Ecgpomics of Poverty, An American Para- dox, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1965. Millar, Pamelia Lott, "A Pilot Study of Patterns in Home‘Management Over a Period of Three Generations in a Selected Group of Fam- ilies," Unpublished Masters Thesis, Department of Home Manage- ment and Child Development,‘Michigan State University, 1959. Lewis, Oscar, Five Families, New.American Library, New York, 1965. 7 Deacon, Ruth E. and Bratton, Esther Crew, "Home‘Management - Focus and Function," Journal of Home Economics, LIV, November, 1962. Paolucci, Beatrice, ”Home‘Management," Golden Anniversary White House Conference on Children and Youth, Conference Proceedings, Wash- ington, D.C., March 27 - April 2, 1960. Jacob, Phillip E. and Flink, James J., with the collaboration of Hedvah L. Shuchman, ”Values and Their Function in Decision- Making," Supplement to the American Behavioral Scientist, IX, No. 9,‘May, 1962. Lewis, Oscar, The Children of Sanchez, Autobiography of a‘Mexican Family, New York: Random House, 1961. 161 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 22.". 25. 162 Rodman, Hyman, "The Lower-Class Value Stretch" in Ferman, Louis A., Kornbluh, Joyce L. and Haber, Alan, editors, Poverty in America: A Book of Readings, Ann Arbor: The University of‘Michigan Press, 1965. , (aigrf , .“V,« B ,H. a! .74 ~ ' ’, ,4,“ ‘~ i . . NC-90, "Factors Affecting Patterns of Living in Disadvantaged Fam- ilies," 1967. Goode, William J. and Hatt, Paul K., Methods in Social Research, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1952. Radin, Norma and Glasser, Paul H., "The Use of Parental Attitude Ques- tionnaires with Culturally Disadvantaged Families," Journal of ‘Marriage and The Family, August, 1965. Ketchum, Frances Netti, "A Study of Homemakers' Values as Reflected in Time Used for Family and Personal Activities," Unpublished ‘Masters Thesis, Department of Home‘Management and Child Devel- opment,‘Michigan State University, 1961. Dyer, Doris‘M., "Students' Wives Values as Reflected in Personal and Family Activities," Unpublished‘Masters Thesis, Department of Home Management and Child DevelOpment,‘Michigan State University, 1962. Beyer, Glenn H., Housingpand Personal Values, Cornell University Ag- ricultural Experiment Station Memoir 364, Ithaca, New York, July, 1959. Engebretson, Carol L., "Analysis by a Constructed Typology of Wives' Values Evident in Managerial Decision Situations," Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Home‘Management and Child De- velopment,‘Michigan State University, 1965. Martin, Esther A., "Analysis by a Constructed Typology of Family: Members' Values Evident in Managerial Decision Situations," Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Home‘Management and Child Development,‘Michigan State University, 1965. Benner, Norma, "The Development and Use of a Projective Type Test to Determine Values of Students from Varying Social Classes," Un- published Masters Thesis, School of Home Economics in the Grad- uate School, Southern Illinois University, 1963. Kluckhohn, Florence and Strodtbeck, Fred, Variations in Value Ori- entations, New York: Row Peterson, 1961. Ford, Thomas R., "Value Orientations of a Culture of Poverty: The Southern Appalachian Case," in American Home Economics Associ- ation, Working With Low-Income Families, Proceedings of the AHEA Workshop, University of Chicago Center for Continuing Education, March 15 - 19, 1965. 26. ’27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 163 Schneiderman, Leonard, "Value Orientation Preferences of Chronic Re- lief Recipients," Journal of Social Work, Vol. 9, No. 3, July, 1964. Kluckhohn, Clyde, "Values and Value-Orientations in the Theory of Action: An Exploration in Definition and Classification," in Talcott Parsons and Edward A. Shills, editors, Toward a General Theory of Action, New York: Harper and Row, 1962. Lindzey, Gardner, Projective Techniques and Cross Cultural Research, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1961. Williams, Robin, American Society, A Sociological Interpretation, Second Ed., Rev., New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1960. Smith, M. Brewster, "Personal Values in the Study of Lives," The Study of Lives, Robert W. White, ed., New York: Atherton Press, 1964. Scott, William A., "Empirical Assessment of Values and Ideologies," American Sociological Review, XXIV, June, 1959. Parten,‘Mildred, Surveys, Polls, and Samples, New York: Harper and Brothers, 1950. Agricultural Economic Report No. 101, Rural People in the American Economy, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Printing Office, October, 1966. Moon, S.G. and‘McCann, G.C., Subregional Variability of Adjustment Factors of Rural Families in the South, Bulletin No. 11, South- ern C00perative Series, 1966. Jeffers, Camille, Living Poor: A Participant Observer Study of Pri- orities and Choices, Ann Arbor? Ann Arbor Publishers, 1967. {J‘C'li fk/ ’Lt Smith,‘M. Brewster, Bruner, Jerome S., White, Robert W., Opinions and Personality, New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1956. Jahoda, Marie, Deutsch,‘Morton, and Cook, Stewart W., Research in Soc- ial Methods, New York: Dryden Press, 1951. Hess, Robert D. and Handel, Gerald, Family Worlds, A Psychosocial Appgoach to Family Life, Chicago, I11.: The University of Chicago Press, 1959. Hillway, Tyrus, Introduction to Research, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1956. McKinney, John C., Constructive Typology and Social Theory, New York: Meredith Publishing Company, 1966. APPENDIX A Incomplete Stories 165 MARS/EV Subject No. INCOMPLETE STORIES: Here are some stories about John Doe, his wife Alice, and their six children. Jehn and Alice are in their thirties and their children are four to seventeen years of age. When John has a "good" job, he makes about $100 a week, which is enough to feed his big family, but not enough for all those extra things they would like to have. He has been out of work a few times since they were married, but they have always been able to get by OK. We would like you to finish the stories. There are no sighs or‘ypppg answers. We would just like to know'what you think the people in the story should do and why you think they should do this. 1. When John and Alice were first married, they used to fight about little things. For example, John thought Alice's place was in the home - cleaning, cooking, and tending the kids. Alice liked getting out and visiting with her girl friends, and she still enjoys it. Jehn still says "NO" to this, even though he gets together with the boys two or three times a month. What should Alice do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 2. For a long time after she and John moved into their house, Alice felt so "alone" because none of the neighbors came to visit her. She had grown up near lots of relatives who were always coming over to visit her. She really missed them, since they lived so far away now and it was hard for Alice to get out with the new baby. Alice wondered if these neighbors just did not visit her or if they did not visit each other either. What should Alice do about her loneliness? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 4. 166 Subject No. John likes to come home to a neat, clean house every evening, but more likely than not, the kids' toys and boots are scattered all over the house. Alice says the house is just too small, the kids have no other place to play in bad weather, and it's too hard for her to clean house with all the kids and all their things underfoot. John says that's no excuse - she's had all day to get the house cleaned up. What should Alice do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. Alice has a favorite television quiz show she likes to watch every afternoon. Two weeks ago she entered one of the contests and the unbelieveable just happened! Alice.won a $100 cash prize. What should Alice do with the money? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 6. 167 Subject No. Deep down inside of her, Alice has the feeling that maybe that $100 prize she won‘might not be so lucky afterall. She feels that just as soon as someone starts getting some good breaks, it's a sign that something un- 'lucky is sure to happen. It's sort of like someone's got his ”evil~eye" on you and as soon as you start getting lucky, bang, he changes that in a hurry: What should Alice do about this? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. It is Fall. The children need clothes and shoes for school. The car broke down and cannot be fixed anymore. The television set does not work either. Alice needs an operation. There isn't enough money to fix everything right away. What should John and Alice do first? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 168 Subject No. 7. The bosses where Jehn works had a fight. John's boss quit and decided to go into business for himself. He told John he could have a job with him for more pay than he is getting now. John's boss had been in business for himself years ago and had not done too well then, but he feels sure he will do fine this time. What should John do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 8. John Doe lost his job and he has no savings. His family needs to eat. What should John do until he finds another job? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 169 Subject No. 9. John did find an 8AM - 51’?! job. Alice has a chance to have a job, too, working the late afternoon shift from 3 - 11PM. The two younger children are in kindergarten and nursery school every afternoon, but would need to be taken care of until John gets home from work. The older children could do this, but sometimes there are things after school they would rather do. What should Alice do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 10. Last winter Alice made slot of trips to the hospital with sick children. She hates to think of having to do this again this winter. One neighbor told her it's a good idea to give your children vitamins to build them up so they won't get sick. Another neighbor told her that wouldn't help - that if a person is "supposed" to get sick, then he's going to get sick no matter what you do, so just learn to live with it. Alice is still worried. What should she do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 11. 12. 170 Subject No. Alice likes pretty things. She just painted the living room and made new curtains. She says it helps to cheer the place up during the long winter. Now she wants a colored telephone to go with her "new" living room. She's afraid John will "hit the ceiling" and say "no" if she asks him. Alice did call the telephone company to see how much it would cost and they said, only $4.00 and they would charge it on next month's bill. What should Alice do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. John is a strict father who spanks his children whenever he feels they need it. Alice has found that spanking doesn't always work the best with all of their children, especially as they get older. John doesn't want to "change his ways". What should Alice do about this? Why? Give all your reasons for your answer. 13. 14. 171 Subject No. Alice and John are having problems with their teenager (14 years old) who seems to think that whatever his friends say and do is much more important than what his parents say he should or should not do. until new, John and Alice's children had always minded pretty well. What should they do about their son? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. What should the son do about this difference between his friends and his parents? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. Alice and John's 16 year old daughter is dating a Spanish-American boy. John objects violently and orders his daughter not to see this Spanish boy anymore and warns her not to date anymore boys who are not the same as she is. The daughter is upset and says they were really meant for each other. What should the daughter do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. What should Alice do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 172 Subject No. 15. John never finished high school, but both he and Alice want their children to finish so they would have an easier time getting along in this world. Their oldest son, Tim, works week-ends at a nearby gas station and the owner said he could work there full-time next year after he finished high school. Tim just found out that he could get a football scholarship that would pay all of his expenses at college next year. He knew his Dad was counting on him to earn some money working next year to help out with some of their extra debts and expenses at home. What should Tim do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 16. Mike is John and Alice's sixth grade son. His teacher said Mike is an above average student if he wants to be, but he never does any homework. The teacher asked Alice if there was a quiet place at home where Mike could study. When Alice told the teacher they barely had room enough for everybody to sleep, and she hardly knew where she could find another space quiet enough for study, the teacher asked her to look around anyway. When Alice asked John about cleaning out that little "junk room" he had built onto the back of the house, John said, "Nothing doing, Mike'll have to get his work done at school like his older brothers and sister always did. He's got other work to do when he gets home from school." What should Alice do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 17. 18. 173 Subject No. Alice just had another conference with Mike's teacher. His teacher said she had been giving candy bars and free movie tickets to those children who did good work in school. She said Mike had won two prizes and was really working hard at school. He still was not doing his homework though, so the teacher suggested that Alice try giving'Mike a prize for doing homework. Alice did not know what her husband, John, would say about giving prizes because he usually gave the children spankings when they did not do what they were supposed to do! What should Alice do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. John has a sister, Joan, who lives with their "old maid" aunt. Joan's husband left her when the children were small. This aunt was kind enough to "take the family in", but her ideas about raising children were different from Joan's. Joan worked days and her aunt worked evenings. Joan's daughter was in school all day, but her two boys, aged 2 and 4, were not. They played outdoors all day so they wouldn't wreck the house. The older son, Jim, looked after his little brother all day. Joan told them to stay in their yard, but they usually had the "run of the neighborhood". What should Joan do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 19. 20. 174 Subject No. After a couple years Joan decided they just could not stay at her aunt's house any longer - there were just too many problems. Joan was lucky to find some public housing for her and her children. She only had a few pieces of furniture though and would have to get more. She would rather have new furniture, but didn't know whether it was best to buy some on time (credit) or to make do with some used furniture she could pay for sooner. What should Joan do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. Joan had a waitress job that paid enough money to pay the rent and most of their bills, but she depended on her ex-husband's support money to buy food and clothes for the family. Lately he had not been paying her regularly and so Joan did not know whether to try skimping on food or not to pay the rent, or what? What should Joan do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 175 Subject No. 21. Nothing seemed to go right for Joan after she moved. They didn't have a 22. Thanksgiving this year because there just was not enough money for a turkey, and no one gave a basket like they had so often done other years. It did not look like there would be enough money for much of a Christmas this year for the children either. What should Joan do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. Joan's boys still played together, but they did not seem to have any other friends. Joan decided this was because they had a speech problem and it ‘waa hard for other people to understand them when they talked. They got along OK at home because both she and her daughter could tell what they wanted. The older boy never talked at school and the younger boy would be starting school in the Fall and probably wouldn't talk either. Joan's boys seemed to be happy playing with each other, but Joan wanted them to have other friends, too. What should Joan do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 23. 24. 176 Subject No. The summer after Joan's daughter finished high school, she (the daughter) ‘went to the big city to work. But that next spring she came home with the news that she was pregnant and the baby's father had left town when he heard about it. The case worker wanted to know if the daughter was going to keep the baby or put it up for adoption. What should the daughter do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. What should Joan do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. Joan's older son was now a 16 year old 8th grader. His teachers never under- stood him and gave him bad grades and got mad at him even when he tried to do the right things - at least that's what Jim says. Now he is all through trying to please those teachers and has quit school. He says he is a "push out", not a "drop out"! What should Jim do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. What should Joan do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 177 Subject No. 25. Joan's other son is almost 14 and in the 6th grade when he goes to school. He has been skipping school alot, especially this past year, so that now the teachers and the truant officers have it in for him, too. What should Joan do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. What should this son do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 26. Joan heard about the Neighborhood Youth Corp and told Jim that he might find work there. Jim was afraid to go talk to those people down there because he was sure they>would treat him just like his teachers always did. He was sure they would give him a test, too, and he was too "dumb" to pass a test. Joan said he sounded like his "no good father". What should Jim do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. What should Joan do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. 27. 178 Subject No. Joan suddenly became ill. The doctor said it was from worrying too much about her children and that she should stay right in bed for two weeks and let everything else go. A man friend of Joan's from work came out everyday to see how she was getting along and to fix her something to eat. Once the public housing inspector came while he was there. The house was cluttered and dirty. They began inspecting the house weekly after that and Joan was afraid they would make her move out. What should Joan do? Why? Give all the reasons for your answer. APPENDIX B Family Style Index 180 "shown woven e.uouocoomom houses muosuo coauvlll no eufismufisvlll "Immmflmmlueu>aa muosuo .uuo .oanaaAavlll moouao~+~auvnll. .on usqooemau.vlll. ocooaovnll. ”eschew; Hmuooemnll. goonoo nomao uo owm1~oogom mausoaANVIll zone hHueoaAHVIII "nmwomoN numeranvlll. III. newouo~ noncoaavall "owdlll “use: magnum vesoows_.ooouo>«o rowan—33v] .vououoesmauvll wouuoanoozvlll moss—£81.! 333m amuuumxll 382 2829.... SE: "ouoom xuooH omoaoauosoauuonea uxuven sowuomuouon Hoauom "ouoom xenon "xenon coauoououom nuauomen nmwdoxuosoaaoavcfizw II? _ nausea woauao: “shoom xenon "xenon cowuoesooo mango ussoauuosoa uxuooH ousuosuum haaawm "was“... SEE . "usage. fies BE SHE; .3 303.5 BEBE 181 unneceawvlll $82...er 886.35“ 33.35” oaoH< sonAev mucousmcHamv «ammo oum>uumA~vnll ..I 328 .... ékobewfiv I... seam assay sma~-~axmv mama-amxmv .11. .... eofifieau-aauu “amwm. unscammomoueAsv vegawxmamvlll Hess flame» csoAuvlll om oAmv os-a~5~v mcwxuos uooAmvnll. 080; um exuosauYIII .ilu nomamvnnnn cocoa uo>oAmv ooos-nma~v .... ..I We HomewmmumouaAQV vuauwxmamv sauna damam caoauylll soaaaxm-aaomaav I. . I... we... 288v! +35! ..Sa..£3-:5!l mano>o~esucvoV takeaeaoan ouhoaeauanNv .oz uuonssm 0.3002: Cvll "ououm xenon m.uoomcoemom Annoumv mwounfim ucoahoamsfi 088 58:3le ousmauzall ocagv 083 3253.... 82.38ng +33 use: uvwnuoo exuosnfivlll. 83H coon“ noscsxav 3:38:31 Aisha 8-2.3...“ Enough—8.58 "oaoooH maflamm Hausa "uaoocH mo moousom uxuoz 50ncm “uaoooH uxuos mo «aha "3003\musom "nausea ucushoaesfllll 3% "xuoz hemcm ”oaoooH "non we mean!!! a (o "3003\uusomlll "mauwum newshodmamlll "doom uxMQZH ZOHB¢DDOUO 182 Subject No INFORMAL INTERACTION INDEX: ghildren's Friends: Live Where: _(l)in ngh. _._(2)from school ___(3)outside ngh. ___Play Where: _(l)p1ayground, (2)their house ____(3)your house etc. _Play Where: ____(1)outside _(2)inside: How Often: _(l)rarely ____(2)daily (3)varies Children's Favorite do with friends: Activities:__ ___(0)do alone _(l)in ngh. ____(2)out ngh. _(3)family Husband's Friends: _Live Where: ______(l)in ngh. _(2)from work ____(3)outside ngh. ___Go Where: ___(l)public _(2)their house _(3)your house place _How Often: _(l)daily ___(2)rarely _(3)varies Husband's Activities: _(0)alone _____(l)ngh. _(2)other friends _(3)relative ____( )family Wife's Friends: ____Live Where: _(l)in ngh. _(2)knew before _(3)outside ngh. ___Go Where: -___(l)public I___(2)their house ‘___(3)your house ' place _How Often: _(l)dai1y _(2)rarely ___(3)varies ____In person: _(l)usually ____(2)not usually ___On Phone _(l)usually ___(2)not usually _Borrow: _(l)regularly _(2)less often _(3)rarely __Trade Services: _(l)regular1y ____(2)less often ___(3)rarely Wife's Activities: ____(O)alone____(1)n'gh.___(2)other friends___(3)re1ative _(4)family mily'; Friends: ' _Live Where: _(l)in ngh. ____(2)outside ngh. _(3)from? __Go Where: _(l)public _(2)their house _(3)your house ' place _How Often: _(l)rarely ___(2)regularly _(3)varies _"Kids", Too?: (l)rarely (2)usually Family Activities: ____(O)none _(lfilative _(2)ngh. _____(3)other friends Respondent's Index Score: 183 Subject No. FORMAL INTERACTION INDEX: ____Organization Membership:___(O)none___(l)member___(2)attend-tmtgs. ___(3)officer Head: Wife: ,__ Children: ... Family: Volunteer time/services: (0)none ___(l)occasionally (2)regularly Visit with members: .___(0)no ___(l)sometimes I___(2)regularly Receive help from Agency: (l)fairly - __;(2)not often regularly ___(3)never have Legal: __1 Medical: Financial: Other: __ Respondent's Index Score: HOUSING INDEX: Housing Condition: l___Compared to Ngh: .___(l)worse ‘___(2)similar ‘___(3)better ___Exterior: ___(l)needs l___(2)in repair .___(3)repaired or OK ' repair ___ " Appearance: ___(l)dirty ‘___(2)cluttered ___(3)nsat .___Interior: ‘___(l)needs ___(2)in repair .___(3)repaired or OK repair ___. " Appearance: .___(l)dirty ‘___(2)cluttered ____(3)neat .___90wnership“: .___(1)renting___(2)own or buying ___(0)"free" .___"Crowdedness":size rooms; ___(1)2+per-‘___(2)under 2/ room ___Feople[___Rooms sons/room ' ____"Housing History" _(l)move 2 ___(2)stay 1+ years _____(3)to better house (Probe) +times/year Respondent's Index Score: Observations to be made by Interviewer: . Name: ‘ Address_ Phone Type of activity that was interrupted by this interview: Distractions during the interview: children, TV, phone, other adults, etc Language spoken in the home: Degree of rapport with respondent: Respondent's interest in interview: Condition of house (see Housing Index): Additional information not reported elsewhere that would help in understanding the respondent, her family, or situation: 184 cocoa uo>oAmVI egos naAuVH coon» u0oa93VI .3805 stung—0m uo0m0um AmVnozeVH oooouaeouAmVI 33w oumzueAuVI 0uou~033VH Ayn—0033 .. 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She received a B.S. Degree from Iowa State University in 1952, majoring in Sociology and minoring in Psych- ology and Physical Education. As a Professional Girl Scout she worked with both white and Negro troops in middle and lower class sections of Kanawha County, West Virginia. In 1954 she was married and returned to ISU for graduate work in Sociology, receiving a research assistantship with Dr. George Beal in community development. Class work was interrupted for twelve years when she became the mother of four children now ranging in age from six to twelve. During that time she volunteered in various youth programs, such as coordinating a recreation program in the County Juvenile Home, leader of 4-H and Girl Scout Troops for all age levels. In East Lansing she served as Troop 0r- ganizer, Consultant, Trainer, Day Camp Director and founder of the MSU Girl Scout Group, a service and social organization for former Girl Scouts. Last year when the youngest of her children enrolled in school, she decided not to be the only "drop out," so resumed her studies for a master's degree in Family Study at'MSU with a minor in Sociology. She received a re- search assistantship with Dr. Jean Schlater involving an interregional pov- erty project. She began working with Headstart mothers, first as a student and later as a volunteer, using these women as the basis for her thesis re- search. She is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Kappa Delta and Omicron Nu honor societies. 186 "will fill "ll'l'llflfllll W T