:g A STUDY 0? ma mwm PROBLEMS as l HIGH SCHOOL AGE 4.94 cwa mamas ma:- mmmwms Thurs Em: fie Denim of M. 5. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Ray K... Wraith: 11-960 - .——“‘hn_‘- .* J ‘43. . .- ~ovgvfp‘sgL, I .. . ~ ' .‘d I II I (I!!! I! I! H1 ”(11! II! III I) II! II! If!” (I!!! II I”! II N 3 1293 10172 8248 L I B R A R Y a Michigan State ' University .- A STUDY OF THE PERSONAL PROBLEMS OF HIGH SCHOOL AGE 4-H CLUB MEMBERS AND NON-MEMBERS BY RAY K. WEICK AN ABSTRACT Submitted to the College of Agriculture of Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Institute for! Extension Personnel Development 1960 Approved M d éifl 1' ' / 2 Ray K. Weick ABSTRACT There is the near universal concern among those who work with youth to have programs designed to fit the needs of their clientele. The main purpose of this investigation was to study the problems of the sixty-seven high school age 4—H Club members in Yuma County, Arizona, and to contrast these results with the reported problems of a stratified random sample of non-members drawn from the high schools in that county. It was hoped that the data might suggest a means to greater specificity of program content and direction among the 4-H Clubs of the study county. The findings of this study were based on three criteria: (1) statistical methods, (2.) the observation of simple averages, and (3) a review of comments made by the subjects. The null hypothesis, that there would be no difference between the average number of problems reported for the factors of sex, membership, and age, and the inter- action of these three factors, was tested by analysis of variance of the unweighted averages for each of the eleven general problem areas of the Mooney Problem Check List. Further observations were made of the average number of problems reported among the 4-H Club member- ship for the variables of community residence, tenure of membership, residence and occupation of member's family, the effect of working mothers, and the effect of broken homes on the average number of problems reported by the individuals within the study. Abstract Ray K. Weick Major findings were that boys averaged less problems than girls in all of the eleven areas of the instrument. In seven of these areas, the difference was significant at the critical level of five per cent. Four-H members reported a smaller average number of problems in each of the areas than did non-members. In three areas the difference was statistically significant at the critical level. There was no statis- tically significant difference between the average number of problems reported by the four age groups. However, the trend was for the fourteen and fifteen year olds to be similar in their averages and for the seventeen year age group to report less problems than the three younger age groups. The sixteen year age group failed to identify with the patterns of the problems expressed by the age group on either side of them. The simple observations suggested that community boundaries are also boundaries for problem differentiation. The average number of problems reported by rural-farm members and by urban-non—farm members were very similar. The high-tenure group of members tended to report a higher average number of problems than did the low-tenure members. Girls coming from homes in which the mothers worked reported a higher average number of problems in three of the problem areas than did girls coming from homes in which the mothers did not work. The average number of problems reported was greater in one of the general problem areas for girls coming from broken homes than for girls coming from homes in which they lived with their mother and father. 4 Abstract Ray K. Weick A review of the voluntary written comments of the individuals suggested that these youth find many of their problems centered around relationships within their homes. The implications of this study for program planning are that knowledge of the indicated differences between boys and girls, between members and non-members, and between the four age groups, as well as the indications that these differences are peculiar to the individual communities is important. This information should provide for greater specificity of program content and direction. These differences also suggest that smaller manageable units of the greater or total enrollment can be categorized by the factors of sex, membership, age, and communities. The ultimate worth of this study for the attainment of greater specificity of program content and direction in attempting to plan pro- grams to meet the needs of the individual is subject to verification by application in the study county. The potential of the study of problems as an aid to program planning might well be enhanced by further research of a longitudinal nature to substantiate the trends or patterns of the problems of youth. The Mooney Problem Check List might also be used as a means of pre- and post-testing to discover the effect of programs designed on the basis of the pre-test. A STUDY OF THE PERSONAL PROBLEMS OF HIGH SCHOOL AGE 4-H CLUB MEMBERS AND NON-MEMBERS By RAY K. WEICK A THESIS Submitted to the College of Agriculture of Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Institute for Extension Personnel Development 1960 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to express his appreciation to the following without whose help this thesis could never have been written: To the University of Arizona for the period of sabbatical leave in which to pursue such interests as this study; To the staff of Ivfichigan State University from whose counsel the author has been privileged to benefit, and especially to Dr. George Axinn of that staff who has been a patient and contributing advisor; To the staff members of the Yuma County Extension Office who aided in the collection of the data for this study, and who have managed other matters so well in the absence of the author; To the staffs of the cooperating high schools; To the subjects of the study who accepted the assignment of cooperation in a most genuine manner; And to the author's wife, Eileen, and his two children, Joni and Dana, who made numerous sacrifices of their personal interests so that this study might become a reality. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................... LIST OF TABLES ......................................... Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ................................... Purpose of This Study Assumptions Selection of Instrument Definitions II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ........................ Summary of Review of Literature III. PROCEDURE ..................................... Selection of the County Method of Establishing Samples Instructions to Administrators of the Instruments Maintaining Surety of Responses Administration of the Instruments Tabulation Statistical Methods IV. FINDINGS ........................................ Results of Testing the Hypothesis Observations Comments by the Individuals V. CONCLUSIONS .................................... Summary of Findings Implications for Program Planning Recommendations APPENDIX .............................................. BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................... iii Page ii iv 10 l5 17 31 35 35 36 38 39 4O 41 41 44 45 64 69 73 73 74 80 82 89 Table 10. iv LIST OF TABLES Page Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Health and Physical Development among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 . . . 46 Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Living Conditions, and Employment among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960. . . 48 Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Social and Recreational Activities among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, 1960 ......... 50 Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Courtship, Sex and Marriage among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 ...... 51 Analysis of variance or reported problems in the area of Social-Psychological Relations among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 ...... 53 Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Personal-Psychological Relations among 4-H members and non—members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 ...... 55 Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Morals and Religion among 4-H members and non- members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 ......... 57 Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Home and Family among 4—H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 ................... 58 Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of The Future: Vocational and Educational among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 ......................................... 60 Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Adjustment to School Work among 4-H members and non- members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 .......... 61 Table Page 11. Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Curriculum and Teaching Procedure among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring 1960 . . . . 63 12. Average number of reported problems of 4-H members by three communities of Yuma County, Arizona, for the eleven areas of the Mooney Problem Check List, Spring, 1960 ..... 65 13. Average number of problems reported by 4-H Club members in Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960, for each of the areas of the Mooney Problem Check List according to family residence and occupation .......................... 66 14. Average number of problems reported by 4-H Club members in Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960, for each of the areas of the Mooney Problem Check List according to high and low tenure ......................................... 68 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION At the present time there is wide agreement among youth workers with the principle that youth-needs must be one of the bases for a youth program. A book published in 1942 by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools entitled General Education in the American High School dealt with the urgency of recognizing the needs of youth. One of the major implications of that book was: Any program of education must recognize that needs are always a matter of time and place; that education cannot be provided in a cultural vacuum but instead must take its bearing from the life-needs of man at the present moment as he gives and takes in the culture in question. As the ever-changing social and material environment brings forth ever-changing vocational, recreational, economic, and other needs, so must the program of education make its corresponding adjustments. 1 Acceptance of this principle implies that anyone who is concerned with the education of youth must find systematic and reliable procedures for discovering the problems and interests of youth. It is reasoning such as this which lends direction to the scope and purpose of this study. North Cent ral Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, General Education in the American High School (New York: Scott-Foresman, 1942), p. 35. More specifically this study is concerned with the problems of the membership of the youth program known as 4-H Club Work, and with a comparison of the problems of this group with the problems of a group of non-members which might yield differences and similarities that could, conceivably, be beneficial in program planning for either or both of the groups. The 4-H Clubs are an integral part of the national system of Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Homemaking, in which the United States Department of Agriculture, state land grant colleges, and counties cooperatively participate. These clubs are organized groups of young people ranging in age from ten to twenty-one years. Their activities are under the guidance of Cooperative Extension workers and of local volunteer leaders trained by them. The programs of these groups are highly variable. Basically, they are planned to give training that helps members develop into desirable and mature personalities; competent, self-reliant, intelligent, and useful citizens. It affords them opportunities in real- life situations to know responsibility, work, and sharing. Thus the membership learns to know democracy by living it in the home and the community. The concern of the Cooperative Extension worker with programming to meet the needs of the individual is extensive. This is demonstrated in such studies as the one by Bishop. This study, itself in the area of determining the influence of program content, cites many references to studies in this context. 2 The Copp and Clark study is of worth for its bibliography of studies of this nature as well as for the results of the investigation itself. 3 A special appendix to the study by Kreitlow, Pierce, and Middleton is devoted to reviewing those studies which have dealt with 4-H Club Work during the past twenty years or more. It is emphasized there that few of these studies have attempted to use a control group of non-4-H boys and girls. In view of the studies made, it seems logical to argue that if a person were to ask any 4-H worker if their program takes into consideration the needs and interests of the membership, the answer would be emphatically affirmative. Yet if one were to follow this question with a query about how the member's interests are determined the response would be apt to become somewhat vague. Most of the studies have made some contribution to working with youth but they often lack a degree of specificity that would seem to be worthy. One of the conclusions of the study by Mary Frances Lyle demonstrates this. She states, ”Boys and girls continue to belong to zMarie Bishop, "The Influence of Program Content on the Decision of Girls Age 14, 15, and 16 to Re-enroll in 4-H Club Work” (unpublished Master‘s thesis, Michigan State University, 1956). 3James H. Copp and Robert C. Clark, Factors Associated with Reenrollment in 4-H Clubs, University of Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station Research Bulletin 195, February, 1956. 4Burton W. Kreitlow, Lowell Pierce, and Curtis Middleton, Who Joins 4-H Clubs ? University of Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 215, Madison, October, 1959, p. 19. those 4-H Clubs that provide a variety of activities at the regular meeting of the club and members are aware of these activities. " This information is valuable but it fails to give needed specificity of direction as to the activities and it does not state whether this is more likely to be true with one particular age or category of member than with another. It reasons that if a youth worker were to know more about the individuals for whom these activities were being planned there would in turn be a greater result if the activities were channeled into the areas where the needs or interests were already prevailing. It reasons further that wherever there is a problem there is the need or the interest to alleviate or to circumvent the problem. If there were knowledge of those areas of problems which were most prevalent, then activities could be so planned as would provide opportunities to meet the needs and interests. It also reasons that it would be valuable to have a knowledge of these interests isolated for the smallest manage- able units of the greater group as possible. In other words, there would be value in discovering the units or categories of the membership which tend to hold mutual problems. These might be sex, age, socio-economic status, or any of a great many other possible categorizations. 5Mary Frances Lyle, "Participation of Older Club Members in 4-H Clubs in Selected Counties of South Dakota" (unpublished Ph. D. thesis, Cooperative Extension Administration, University of Wisconsin, 1958) citing Review of Extension Research, U. S. Department of Agri- culture, Federal Extension Service Circular 521, July, 1959. Purpose of This Study The purpose of this study is to gather information about the problems of high school age youth and to analyze it according to several variables. In so doing, certain comparisons will be made between the data obtained from a 4—H member sample and a non-member sample. Knowledge of these problems is sought as a tool for program planning among 4-H Clubs. One portion of the major hypothesis of this study is that high school age 4-H members in Yuma County, Arizona, will indicate responses to a study of personal problems which will be different from those responses of high school age non-members in that county, as measured by the Mooney Problem Check List. The rationale for such a hypothesis comes from the literature which suggests that there are differences between 4-H members and non- members. A study by Conzemious suggested that the social values held by the 4-H members in her study differed from the social values held by the non-member group studied. 6 In a study comparing the family relations of members and non-members by Ard, there were several differences found which indicated that the 4-H members experienced a greater degree of satisfactory inter-personal relationships with their Rosemary Conzemius, ”A Comparison of the Development of Social Responsibility in Rural Boys and Girls” (unpublished Master's thesis, School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, 1956). family groups than did the non-members. 7 Kreitlow, Pierce, and Middleton report that there is a ”real difference” between 4-H members and non-members in mental ability, school achievement, willingness to work, and in their home and family background. The 4—H members rated higher on these items when they were in the sixth grade and these same youngsters rated higher when they were in the first grade. Other portions of the hypothesis of this study are that the responses to a study of personal problems will vary according to the factors of age and sex. It was felt that these two variables would be important bases for comparison in such a program as 4-H Club Work where the age range of the membership is quite wide and where the program is coeducational. Nearly all of the studies which are considered in the review of literature have disclosed differences in the responses which vary with the age and the sex of the individual. The manual for the instrument used in this study suggested that the data be handled separately since the evidence is that boys and girls show different concentrations of problems. In addition to the major emphasis of this study, an attempt was made to explore the possibilities that problems of 4-H members 7Ben Ard, "Some Comparisons of 4-H Members and Non- members in Their Family Situations, " Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. 41, No. 2 (November, 1958), pp. 351-61. 8Kreitlow, Pierce, and Middleton, p. 1. 9Ross L. Mooney and Leonard V. Gordon, The Mooney Problem Check List, Manual (1950 rev. , New York: The Psychological Corporation), p. 10. ' differ according to other variables. In these instances, no effort was made to test the significance of any of these differences. The information obtained from the consideration of these variables was in the main that of exploration. To explore one of these other variables the 4-H Club member- ship was dichotomized into high and low tenure groups. This was done to note differences in the mean number of problems related in each of the areas of the instrument. The geography of the county, the incidence of a new high school, and other factors made it interesting to view the problems of the membership by the different communities in the county from which the members come. It has been the experience of the investigator to note little or no discernible difference between rural and urban boys and girls as such or between the farm residence members and the members coming from families which do not obtain their income from farming. This observation has been supported in the literature. Bernert, for example, states, ”In the United States today most children develop in the social milieux somewhere between these two extremes. Actually there appears to be no clear cut distinction between rural and urban. “10 Wirth suggests, ”Modern technology has reduced the importance of where we live, and 11 . . enhanced the importance of how we live. “ Thus it was of interest to 1C)Eleanor H. Bernert, America's Children (New York: John Wiley 8: Son Inc. , 1958), p. 3. note the problems of the 4-H membership on the basis of their residence and the source of their family income. A brief analysis of the high school age membership of the county disclosed that nearly fifteen per cent of the membership live with someone other than their mother and father. This high percentage seems to be a peculiarity of the area. Therefore it was of interest to determine if this condition would be reflected in the average number of problems expressed. Also determined by investigation, was the fact that over half of the girl members have mothers who work either full or part time. This condition has created certain problems in program planning and initiation within the county so it was another factor which was observed for problem differences. Assumptions First it was assumed that a study of problems of high school age youth would be valuable to the students taking part in the study, as well as to those who work with the youth involved. The conclusion reached by Paquin was that both the student body and the teaching staff benefited from the use of the Mooney Problem Check List within a school system. There was rapport created between student body and staff as well as between members of the staff. Also there were indications that 11 Louis Wirth, Urban and Rural Living, Planning Post-War Ways of Life for American Youth (Washingtoii, D. C.: National 'Council for the Social Studies and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Education Association, 1944), pp, 9-10. 9 the students gained a helpful insight into their personal problems simply from marking the instrument. 12 Another assumption was that an instrument could be found which would meet the following criteria: 1. It would yield data which would be both reliable and valid. 2. It could be easily administered by adults who were instructed but not specially trained. 3. It would include a wide range of problems. 4. Individuals would recognize the problems that were presented to them as being representative of their problems. It was further assumed that the instrument would yield counts only on such problems as the subjects could or would reveal. It would not reveal those problems which were not known to the students nor would it reveal problems which they regarded as too personal to confide. This assumption is suggested by the review of the Mooney Problem Check List by Harold E. Jones in The Fourth Mental Measure- ments Yearbook, He states, that such an inventory as the check list "can only be representative of self-perceived and self-reported foci of difficulty, " and that ”the manifest report is often likely to provide a distorted as well as an incomplete representation of underlying sources Laurence G. Paquin, ”A Plan for the Improvement of a Secondary School Program Based on an Analysis of Certain Problems of Pupils as Revealed by the Mooney Problem Check List” (unpublished Ed. D. thesis, New York University, 1956). 10 . 13 . . . . _. of conflict. " This is somewhat in conflict With the school of thought which says that a problem simply does not exist for an individual unless recognized by that person. Since this study is not a depth inquiry into the area of problems and in view of the established reliability of the instrument, the factor will be recognized but not evaluated. Selection of Instrument As an early step in the investigation, an instrument designed to locate the areas of personal problems of high school youth was sought. After a review of the literature, with the aforementioned criteria in mind, the choice was narrowed to two. A study by Fick influenced the direction of a further analysis of two instruments: the SRA Youth Inventory and the Mooney Problem Check List. In his comprehensive study of twenty-three instruments which gave a structured approach, two seemed best-~the two previously mentioned. In his selection of suitable instruments, the following criteria of values for such a test were established: 1. Primary source data would be revealed. 2. If the instruments were properly constructed and used, the results should be both reliable and valid. 3. If they were extensive enough and suitably presented, a full free range of responses was possible. 3Harold E. Jones, The Fourth Mental Measurements Year— book, ed. Oscar Krisen Buros (Highland Park, New Jersey: The Gryphon Press, 1953), pp. 132-33. 11 4. Readily comprehensible results might be forthcoming. 5. Economy, in terms of both money and time, was possible.14 A personal examination of the two instruments disclosed several factors such as the arrangement of the items, the initial cost, the manner in which they might be marked by the subjects, and the manner in which they might be scored as more favorable, for the purpose of this study, in the Mooney Problem Check List. The Mooney Problem Check List was developed in the early 1940's. It does not measure the scope or the intensity of an individual‘s problems in such a manner as to yield a test score. Rather, the number of items checked is regarded as a ”count” of each individual‘s problems, and as the authors suggest, ”limited by his awareness of his problems and his willingness to reveal them. ” The Mooney Problem Check List comes in three forms. The High School Form, 1950 Revision, was used in this study. It. is composed of eleven areas, each containing thirty items. The areas of the test are as follows: 1. Health and Physical Development (HPD) 2. Finances, Living Conditions, and Employment (FLE) 3. Social and Recreational Activities (SRA) 4. Courtship, Sex, and Marriage (CSM) 4Reuel L. Fick, ”The Problem Check List: A Valuable Approach in Counseling, " Occupations, XXX (1952), pp. 410-12. 15Mooney and Gorden, Manual, p. 3. 12 5. Social-Psychological Relations (SPR) 6. Personal-Psychological Relations (PPR) 7. Morals and Religion (MR) 8. Home and Family (HF) 9. The Future: Vocational and Educational (FVE) 10. Adjustments to School Work (ASW) 11. Curriculum and Teaching Procedure (CTP) The check list is so arranged that few students discover the organization of items by area. 16 In filling out the check list, the students read through the list and mark a line under the numbers on the score sheet which correspond to the numbers of the problems which are of concern to them. In addition, they are invited to turn to the back of the answer sheet and comment on their reaction to the instrument and to make any further comments regarding problems which they feel have not been expressed in the body of the Check List. The authors of the Mooney Problem Check List state that when the check lists were devised it was assumed that "the great majority of students would be responsive to the items, they would accept the task with a constructive attitude, and they would find that the check list covered reasonably well the range of personal problems with 17 which they are concerned. " There is evidence that the students do l6 Mooney and Gordon, "A Note on the Organization of the Problem Check List, ” Educational Research Bulletin, XXVII (1949), pp. 212-14. 17Mooney and Gordon, Manual, p. 7. 13 find that the check list is comprehensive in its coverage of their problems. This was disclosed by Gordon who stated that ninety—three per cent of the students responded ”yes" when asked the question, "Do you feel that the problems you have marked give a well-rounded picture 1 of your problems ’2" 8 The 1950 revision used in this study was based on the original data of the 1941 check list plus material from several additional studies. This gave the authors a total of 12, 522 responses from which to make their revisions. The reliability of the check list is described in the Manual. Some of the salient points regarding this reliability are as follows: If, however, the data are to be used for survey purposes, there must be some assurance that they reflect concerns of the groups which remain reasonably stable over a period of time. Evidence on this point comes from two sources. The first is an unpublished study by Gordon in which the College Form of the pre-1950 revision of the Problem Check List was administered twice to 116 college students. The frequency with which each of the items was marked on the first adminis— tration was correlated with the frequency with which each of the same items was marked on the second administration. A correlation coefficient of . 93 was found. The second source is a study of four educational groups in which the Problem Check List was repeated from one to ten weeks after a first administration. The rank order of the eleven problem areas, arranged by size of the mean number of problems checked in the area, remained virtually the same from one administration to the other for each of the groups. The rank order correlation coefficients varied from . 90 to . 98. 18Ibid., p. 8. 191bid., p. 12. 14 It can therefore be concluded that, while the Problem Check Lists must be, and are, so designed as to reflect changing situations and experiences in the individual case, they nevertheless exhibit sufficient stability to warrant 20 general program planning on the basis of survey results. The reliability of the instrument was also checked by Paquin in his study at a period of time some ten months later, and he discovered a high reliability also. The validity of the instrument is also discussed in the Manual. The authors conclude that the studies which have been made with the instrument have fulfilled the assumptions that were made about what it would and would not do. The range of responses in the counts of the students is regarded as validation that the instrument does reach the areas of problems which are present for the age group toward which it is aimed. Certain items which were not frequently checked on the pre- 1950 revision were either rewritten or replaced. They admit, however, that the power of an item to elicit responses will vary with communities. In face of the continued and extensive use in circumstances not unlike those of this study, this investigator had no reason to question either the reliability or the validity of the instrument. A questionnaire was designed as a part of this study to gain information about the respective members of the sample so that an analysis of the data could be made in accordance with the purposes of 20 21 Ibid., p. 9. Paquin. 2Mooney and Gordon, Manual, pp. 7—8. 15 the study. This questionnaire was pre-tested on a group of high school age youth, both members and non-members of both sexes, in Ingham County, Michigan, at a county-wide 4-H Club event. Following the pre-testing, the only change was to delete those portions of the questionnaire which indicated that there would be difficulty in understanding the intent of the question. The style of this instrument was similar to a forced choice instrument. Each of the questions was provided with a multiple number of answers to which the student was asked to circle that answer which would best describe him or his circumstances. A sample of the final form used appears in the appendix of this study. Definitions For clarity of understanding, and for the purposes of this study, the following definitions are offered: Member: All individuals referred to in this study as members are individuals who, at the time of this study, were carried on the 4-H Club enrollment records at the county extension office of the county studied. These individuals had indicated on their enrollment cards that they were at the present time enrolled as a student in one of the high schools in the county. Non-Member: All individuals referred to in this study as non-members were enrolled at the time of this study in one of the high schools in the county and were not at that time listed on the 4-H Club enrollment records in the county extension office in that county. 16 High Tenure: This term applies to and distinguishes those members who indicated on the questionnaire used in this study that their total years of membership in 4-H Club Work was four or more years. Low Tenure: This term applies to and distinguishes those members who indicated on the questionnaire used in this study that their total years of membership in 4-H Club Work was three or less years. Rural: This term is used to distinguish those individuals who indicated on the questionnaire used in this study that the place of residence for their family was in the open country. Urban: This term is used to distinguish those individuals who indicated on the questionnaire used in this study that the place of residence for their family was other than the open country. Non-Farm: This term is used to distinguish those individuals who indicated on the questionnaire used in this study that their family received none of its income from farming. Farm: This term is used to distinguish those individuals who indicated on the questionnaire used in this study that the family from which they came received all or most of its income from farming. 17 CHAPTER 11 REVIEW OF LITERATURE In Chapter I, a certain amount of literature was cited in support of the general area of the study as well as to build the rationale for the hypothesis and the selection and validation of the instrument used. In this chapter, the literature cited will fall in three categories. First there are the books which have been responsible, at least in part, for the direction of this study and for the areas of thought which they have conveyed to this writer about the general subject of adolescents, their problems, and the role of the adult in working with youth to guide them and to aid them in meeting the problems of their world. Theses which dealt with the same instrument as this study and which were in a similar vein of thought have been another fruitful area of literature. The third area of literature contributing to this study was those studies dealing with the Mooney Problem Check List as reported in journal articles. Adolescent Personality by Blos is the report of case studies against a wide background of supporting data. He suggests that "geographical as well as social factors operate as environment influences distinguishing one community from another and even one neighborhood 1 from another. “ This is not contrary to what is to be expected according 1Peter Blos, Adolescent Personality (New York: Appleton- Century-Crofts, Inc., 1941), p. 8. 18 to some of the literature cited earlier--i. e. we might expect differences between communities. Paul Landis has this to say about the determinants of influence upon the individual: "The family group is the most. important to personality formation, having much to do with one‘s goals and ambitions and one's method of seeking them. ”2 He continues: ”Next to the family the childhood play group is probably the most important deterministic of personality formation. ”3 And "beyond the play group are the neighborhood and community ever projecting their values onto the child, offering him experiences or curbing his expressions. ” One of the more recent books which deals with the problems of youth is the American Teenager. This publication abounds with material which would excite almost any youth worker into becoming concerned with the need to learn more about the problems of youth. The authors of this book, Remmers and Radler, have built their conclusions on an enduring and extensive search into the problems of youth. Pertinent to this study is the discussion of the regional differences in the direction and incidence of personal problems of youth. The following is illustrative of this point: 2Paul H. Landis, Adolescence and Youth (New York: McGraw- Hill Book Company, 1946), p. 3. 3Ibid., p. 5. 4Ibid., p. 6. 19 Thirty-four per cent of the Eastern and Midwestern boys and girls worry about "little things. " Thirty-five per cent of our Mountain-Pacific children do. But in the South this problem concerns far more young adults--forty-seven per cent. Nervousness is a minor concern to the Mountain-- Pacific youngsters, nineteen per cent recording some manifestations. In the East the figure is twenty-eight per cent, and in the South thirty-two per cent. Only seven per cent of the Mountain-Pacific youngsters ”feel bad if they can't get their own way. " In the East and the Midwest the figure is ten per cent and the South sees this kind of individualism rise to sixteen per cent. Mooney has reported that differences are to be expected. He states: ”The problems of high school students are in significant measure the product of the communities in which the students live. ” A recent addition to the literature relating to youth was made in connection with the Golden Anniversary White House Conference on Children and Youth. These three volumes entitled The Nation's Children, edited by Ginsberg, contain a quantity of very recent material by a number of different authors. They denote the trends and changes in our society and their resulting effects on youth. Of special interest to this writer were the comments on the problems which increased 7 leisure has brought to the youth of our country. 5H. H. Remmers and D. H. Radler, The American Teen- ager (New York: Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc., 1957), p. 60. 6)Ross L. Mooney, ”Community Differences in the Problems of High School Students. A Survey of 5 Communities by Means of a Problem Check List, " Educational and Psychological Measurement, XXXI (1943), p. 127. 7Eli Ginsberg (ed. ), The Nation‘s Children (Three volumes, New York: Columbia University Press, 1960).. 20 Crow and Crow see the problems of youth as a rather inevitable consequence of growing up. They state: Regardless of whether a young person is helped to accept and to adjust satisfactorily to his changing physical and physiological status, he is likely to encounter problem situations that are rooted in his increasing awareness of himself as a person in his own right rather than merely as a child of his parents . . . . He begins to want to make his own decisions and to experience freedom of action . . . he demands independence, but often discovers that he is not yet ready to manage his own affairs. He needs adult. help in solving his many emotional, social, and other adjustment. problems; yet he may resent adult assistance when it is offered him. Several authors have been interested in typing the kinds of problems that are most prevalent among the teenager. Crow has grouped adolescent problems into eight interest and activity areas: emotional maturity, establishment of heterosexual interests, general social maturity, emancipation from home control, intellectual maturity, the beginning of economic independence, adult uses of leisure, and the establishment of an interest in general principles of conduct. These seemingly include the factors of the eleven areas of the Mooney Problem Check List used in this study. The writings of Gesell, 11g, and Ames suggested that both the number and the type of problems encountered by youth vary with age. They report that twelve year olds mention more problems than any Lester D. Crow and Alice Crow, Adolescent Development Ed Adjustment (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co. Inc. , 1956), p. 6. 9Lester D. Crow, Psychology of Adolescence (4th ed. , New York: Rinehart 8.: Co. Inc., 1956), p. 6. 21 other age group from ten to sixteen years. At this age, twelve, their families become a source of worry as do their personal appearances. At thirteen years there is a reluctance to mention their problems. With this group school is the number one concern. The authors suggest that the fourteen year old finds problems in his quest for popularity as well as showing early signs of problems in connection with his reach for independence. More total problems are mentioned again by the time the individual reaches fifteen. Among these, school work has become the outstanding area of concern. At sixteen there is more apt to be one major area of problems. This area might include the personal self, summer jobs, or boy-girl relations. It was found that the manner in. which the adult approached the job of working with youth and aiding them with their problems was also significantly present in the literature. According to Landis, adults in different roles see the pertinent problems of youth from differing viewpoints and with differing interpretations. He contends that the teacher, for example, considers the problems of youth in terms of traditional mores and school norms, and is much more concerned with those problems which are manifested in the form of discipline. The mental hygienist, meanwhile, considers problems in terms of likely consequences to the future development of per sonality. 10Arnold Gesell, Frances 11g, and Louise Bates Ames, Youth, the Years from 10 to 16 (New York: Harper 8: Bros. , 1956), pp. 369-72. 11 Landis, p. 210. 22 Hartshorne and May also discuss the role of the adult in dealing with youth. They state: . we find that the attitude of the teacher toward her pupils is a factor of considerable significance. Whenever this attitude is frankly co-operative and sympathetic, the children are likely to be more honest, more co-operative and to show higher degrees of self-control than in cases where the attitude of the teacher is unsympathetic, arbitrary and dictatorial. 12 "Important requirements for a leader who is called upon to act as a counselor, ” states Morris, ”are the ability to recognize the basic physical, emotional, and social needs of young people, the ability 1 to appreciate their desire for self-realization. ” Wittenberg contends that part of the job of leaders and parents of youth is to prevent problems rather than to cure them, and to do so they need as part of their equipment some common sense rules . . . . . . 14 . . which Will tell quickly if a problem is developing. Eight ”Simple . . . . 15 Suggestions” to aid in the attempt to recognize problems are offered. Some writers mentioned the 4-H Club program in their general discussion of youth. Havighurst and Taba had this to say about the part played by youth programs in their concluding remarks about 12Hugh Hartshorne and Mark A. May, "A Summary of the Work of the Character Education Inquiry, " The Adolescent, ed. Jerome M. Seidman (New York: Dryden Press, 1953), p. 229. l3C. Eugene Morris, Counseling with Young People (New York: Association Press, 1954), p. 12. 4Rudolph M. Wittenberg, On Call for Youth (New York: Association Press, 1955), p. 154. 15Ibid., pp. 158-59. 23 the midwestern city which they studied: "Youth serving organizations-- . . . the 4-H Clubs . . . —-should select and train leaders of youth knowing that children and young people will form strong emotional attachments to these leaders and will tend to take on their moral values. "1 According to Blos, ”The rural projects of the 4-H Clubs are often a replica of adult occupations in the community and thus assist young people in making a smooth entry into adulthood. "1' In a relatively recent book, The Vanishing Adolescent, Friedenberg implies that were youth provided with suitable opportunities, they would likely resolve many of their problems by themselves. The author concludes his book with the following: What is needed is no program of technical training- cum—indoctrination, but the potential development of the kind of character and mind that conceives itself too clearly to consent to its own betrayal. It takes a kind of shabby arrogance to survive in our time, and a fairly romantic nature to want to. These are scarce resources, but more abundant among adoles- cents than anywhere else, at least to begin with. In the national interest they should be preserved. The greatest safeguard to any democracy is a continuing community of self-respecting young people who understand and accept their relationship to society. The basic unit of such a community is a stable self to respect. 18 16Robert J. Havighurst and Hilda Taba, Adolescent Character and Personality (New York: John Wiley 8: Son Inc. , 1949), p. 191. 17 . . Blos, p. 258. This view is not a universal one. Some would say that the projects are not now necessarily those which prepare the young people to assume adult roles since there is a decreasing number of youth who will be going into types of occupations that the pro- jects involve. This seems to be another concern which is outside of the scope of this study. However, it might be argued in turn that the subject matter of the projects is not as important as are the other opportunities which the relationship with the projects involves. 18Edgar Z. Friedenberg, The Vanishing Adolescent (Boston: Beacon Press, 1959), p. 144. 24 As stated previously, these books have contributed to the direction and scope of the study. They have also contributed to a deeper appreciation of the urgency to understand the problems of youth and of the systematic approach to aid youth in understanding themselves. Another area of literature which was useful to this study was theses. Those theses which dealt with the Mooney Problem Check List were most valuable to this study. A review of those which were available follows. A dual purpose study by Paquin was designed to yield information about the problems of youth in an Eastern high school system as well as to observe the effects of the study upon the staff, the school curriculum, and the students. This study grouped the students according to their class in high school. The area of Adjustment to School Work (ASW), was found to rank first for all of the three grades studied. The area of Personal-Psychological Relations (PPR), was consistently ranked second by all three grades. Finances, Living Conditions, and Employment (FLE), was ranked tenth in this study and the area of Home and Family (HF), was rated at the bottom, eleventh place. The Mooney Problem Check List was used in a study of 4-H members by Townsend in 1950 and reported in her Master's thesis entitled "A Study of Problems of Four H Youth Enrolled in Grades 10-11- l 9Paquin. 25 12 in Five Counties of Oklahoma. " The main purpose of this study was to discover what problems trouble 4-H boys and girls in the approximate age range of fifteen to eighteen years as expressed by them through their checking of the Mooney Problem Check List. Other purposes were: 1. To find what per cent of the problems in the areas, as they are set up in the Mooney Problem Check List, are of general concern and which ones are of major concern to 4-H members. 2. To determine the specific problems that are of concern to ten, twenty, thirty, forty, and fifty per cent of the 4-H members. 3. To determine the rank order of these areas as they are set up in the Mooney Problem Check List. 4. To determine if there is a marked difference in the problems of boys and girls. 5. To determine if there is a marked difference in the problems of Negro and white 4—H club members. 20 The findings in the study were that the mean number of problems checked by White boys was 27. 2; for White girls, 32. 0; for Negro boys, 27. 2; and for Negro girls, 44. 7. Negro girls also recorded the highest number of problems underlined. This was an indication that these problems were more acute to the individual than the other problems just circled in the process of recording their reactions to the check list. Conclusions of the study were that the number of problems increased as the students advanced in formal education. It was further concluded that 20Leta Townsend Moore, "A Study of Problems of Four H Youth Enrolled in Grades 10-11—12 in Five Counties of Oklahoma” (unpublished Master of Science thesis, Oklahoma A 8: M, 1950), p. 3. 26 the area of The Future: Vocational and Educational (FVE), was very important and that this area might well be an area which could be covered with more vocational guidance in the 4-H programs. The author claimed no marked difference between boys and girls. 21 Rutledge, in a recent study at Michigan State University, used the Junior High School Form of the Mooney Problem Check List with seventh, eighth, and ninth grade boys and girls. The significant differences in problems as related to the specific factor of social class were checked. Conclusions of that study were that girls indicated more total problems than boys, and boys recorded a greater variety of problems. It was noted that the impact of social status was greater for girls than boys. Also, middle class boys and girls had less problems than lower class boys and girls by a two-to—one ratio. High status individuals had the least problems, and, inversely, low status individuals had the most problems. A further conclusion by Rutledge was that the general problem areas of the Mooney Problem Check List. were more adequate for measuring the association of social status to the problems of early adolescents than were specific items. In the review of journal articles the concern again was primarily with those references which dealt with the Mooney Problem 1 2 Ibid., pp. 61-79. 22Charles Walter Rutledge, ”Social Status and the Perception of Personal-Social Problems of a Selected Group of Early Adolescents" (unpublished Ph. D. thesis, Education Department, Michigan State University, 1960). 27 Check List and especially with those articles which reported responses of students to the check list. Several articles in this category were cited earlier in this study where they were considered pertinent to illustrate or support a point. Unless they appeared to reveal distinguishing information in addition to that already discussed, they are not discussed further in this review. The author of the instrument used in this study, Ross L. Mooney, reported the following analysis in a study among high school youth: Freshmen are markedly more concerned with health problems than any other class. Sophomores show no marked differences in any one area, but lead other classes to a slight degree in the areas of Social and Recreational Activities. Juniors lead other classes to a marked degree in the proportion of their membership emphasizing problems in Adjustment to School Work, and in the area of Curriculum and Teaching Procedures. Juniors are also critical of themselves and of school work in general. Seniors bunch their problems to a notable degree in the area of The Future: Vocational and Educational, and in the area of Personal- Psychological Relations. This, according to the author, suggested health emphasis for freshmen, analysis of school and academic life 28 for juniors, and a discussion of the future with seniors. 23 Similar results are reported by McIntyre. He states that seniors were found to have more problems in the area of The Future: Vocational and Educational than did sophomores. 24 Garrison and Cunningham administered the Mooney Problem Check List to 132 boys and 162 girls enrolled in the ninth grade in ten small towns in Georgia. They report a mean of the total sample of 33. 4 problems and a mean of 30. 6 problems for boys. The girls in the sample recorded a mean number of problems of 36. 6 to indicate that girls, in this study, had more problems than did boys. Another observation of this study was that pupils from schools with counselors reported less problems than did pupils from those schools without the services of a counselor. Differences in the problems of boys and girls disclosed by Mooney indicated that the factor of sex was relevant to the different areas of the instrument. Girls at all levels led boys in the psychological areas. They were also more sensitive to Home and Family area problems. Boys at all levels led girls in areas of The Future: Vocational and Educational, Adjustment to School Work, in Courtship, Sex and Z3Mooney, "Surveying High School Student's Problems by Means of a Problem Check List, " Educational Research Bulletin, XXI (1942); pp. 57‘69. 24Charles J. McIntyre, ”The Validity of the Mooney Problem Check List, " Journal of Applied Psychology, XXXVII (1953), pp. 270-72. 25Karl C. Garrison and Ben W. Cunningham, Jr. , "Personal Problems of Ninth-Grade Pupils, ” School Review, LX (1952), pp. 30-33. Z9 . . ,_ , 26 Marriage, and in Morals and Religion. A later study by McIntyre found a differentiation between girls and boys which corresponds closely with the above study. He found that boys had higher counts in the areas of The Future: Vocational . . . 27 and Educational and in Adjustment to School Work. The personal problems of 764 high school students were determined by Buchanan and Bryan using the Mooney Problem Check List in a "typical" Iowa community. The purpose of their study was to determine whether there were any significant relationships between personal problems and the factors of grade level, high school enroll- ment, age, sex, residence, and occupation of the father. The authors reported that the sex factor was very significant in the areas of Health and Physical Development, Social and Recreational Activities, and Home and Family. Girls in each of these areas recorded counts significantly larger than did the boys. However, in the area of Adjustment to School Work, the boys reported significantly more _ . 2 problems than did girls. Bates and Cottle, using analysis of variance in studying the factor of intelligence, found that there was a significant difference revealed in the area of problems related to ”school. ” However, for ZéMooney, Educational Research Bulletin, XXI (1942). 27Mc1ntyre, Journal of Applied Psychology, XXXVII (1953). 2'8Lola Buchanan and Ray Bryan, ”Which Pupils Have Problems ?" Clearig House, XXIV (1949-50), pp. 169-72. 30 other areas there was no significant difference. A study of 365 boys and 264 girls in a southwestern high school in Minneapolis in grades nine through twelve by Cary listed the four ranking problem areas for the school as (l) Adjustment to School Work, (2) Curriculum and Teaching Procedures, (3) Personal Psychological Relations, and (4) The Future: Vocational and Educational. These results seem not to deviate from the general findings and tend to show the trend for the area of "school" to dominate the problems of youth. Brown studies high school students‘ problems in relation to whether the individuals were rated as "honor" or "probation” students. His findings were that honor students had a mean number of problems of 49. 2 for all areas of the Mooney Problem Check List while 31 the probation students had a mean of 58. 2 problems. The study by McIntyre also found that the less intelligent students had a greater number of problems in the area of Adjustment 32 to School Work than did the more intelligent. 29Lawrence R. Bates and Wm. C. Cottle, "A Study or Relationship between Measured Intelligence and Problems of Ninth Grade Pupils, ” University of Kansas Bulletin of Education, VIII (1953), pp. 5-6. 30Miles E. Cary, ”Looking at Teenage Problems, ” Journal of Home Economics, L (December, 1958), p. 75. 31W. H. Brown, ”Problems of Probation and Honor Students," Educational Research Bulletin, XXXII (January, 1953), pp. 14-16. 32'Mclntyre, Journal of Applied Psychology, XXXVII (1953). 31 McIntyre disclosed a relationship between two other factors and the personal problems of high school students. He found that students from broken homes had more problems in the area of Home and Family than did those who came from homes which were united. He also found that Negro students had higher counts of problems than did White students in the area of Finances, Living Conditions, and Employment. The Mooney Problem Check List was used by Wardlow and Greene in an attempt to correlate areas of problems with peer status. Their results were negative and indicated that there was no relationship 34 between personal problems and peer group status. Summary of Review of Literature The review of literature was addressed to several tasks. Literature was sought which would provide (1) direction for the general scope of the study, (2) a summary of research already done in the area of 4-H Club Work, (3) support for the rationale and hypothesis of the study, (4) validity and reliability of a suitable instrument, (5) background information on the subject of adolescents, and (6) an overview of studies dealing with the Mooney Problem Check List. 33Ibid. 34Mary E. Wardlow and James E. Greene, ”An Exploratory Sociometric Study of Peer Status among Adolescent Girls, " Sociometry, XV (August-November, 1952), pp. 311-18. 32 The review of literature revealed a general interest in approaching program planning through a study of the needs of adolescents. It suggests that the interests and problems of youth are reflective of the social and material environment of the individual's culture. Research on the nature of the 4-H Club member and his characteristics has been extensive. Nearly all of this research has been focused on either present or former members and the attempts to make comparisons between members and non-members have been sparse. There is evidence however which tends to show that there are differences between the youth who belong to 4-H Clubs and those who do not. This has been noted in the areas of family relationships, social values, general mental ability, and the willingness to work. There tends to be a lack of specificity among the 4-H Club studies. Few of them provide concrete suggestions which could result in meaning- ful and satisfactory experiences for the individuals. The Mooney Problem Check List has provided satisfactory reliability and validity in a wide variety of studies. It has been found to be a readily accepted instrument by both the students and the administrators. The review of books dealing with youth contributed to this study through the information they contained regarding the problems of youth, the influence of the changing scene, and the position of adults in working with youth. These references suggest that the problems of 33 youth are characteristic of their environment; that the family, the peer group, and finally the community itself are all influential in molding the individual. Some sources suggest that the 4-H Clubs and the leaders of these clubs have a major responsibility to the youth in a community. The role of the adult in working with youth is an important one which finds considerable space in the literature. Most sources recognize that the role of the adult is nearly as difficult as the role of the adolescent during these years and certainly an important one. Since the teen years are an era of profuse vacillation between dependence and independence, adults must be earnestly aware of the manner in which they approach this group with their assistance. The Mooney Problem Check List has been a relatively popular instrument as the means for collecting data for theses and other studies. There are several forms of the instrument; those studies using the High School Form were the main concern of this study. The studies which were available indicated that a study of problems is a useful basis for program planning. Differences in individual problems and in areas of problems have been noted among such variables as scholastic ability, geographic areas, racial groups, socio-economic status, age, sex, and family unity. Students from the western states often reveal less problems than those from other parts of the country. Problems change with age, 34 and boys have usually indicated less total problems than girls. Negroes have indicated more problems than White students, and students from higher socio-economic status have shown less problems than those from lower socio-economic status. Students who rated higher on scholastic ability were credited with fewer problems than students who were not rated as high. Students who were considered to be in adjust— ment with the school program indicated less problems than those who were not so well adjusted. Youth who came from broken homes related more problems in the area of Home and Family than those who came from unbroken homes. The Mooney Problem Check List results failed to correlate problems with peer status in one sociometry study reviewed. The literature reviewed for this study has provided confidence in the value of studying the problems of youth. The remainder of this paper will be devoted to the results and conclusions of a study of problems among high school age 4-H members and non-members in Yuma County, Arizona, using the Mooney Problem Check List. 35 CHAPTER III PROCEDURE The procedure of this study was divided into the following main areas. First there was the preliminary work done by the investigator. Secondly there was the actual presentation of the instrument by the staff of the county extension office located in the county used for this study. And finally, there was the tabulation, coding, and analysis of the data by the investigator. Selection of the County The selection of the county for this study was based on several points. First, this county was one in which the investigator held an interest by virtue of having worked with the 4-H Club program there for six years. Secondly, the county contained an interested staff which was willing and capable of administering the instrument. This staff was in an excellent position to make the necessary arrange- ments with the local schools for their cooperation in the study. The membership of high school age 4-H members was large enough to make the study meaningful, and it contained enough variety of membership among the age groups and other factors which were of prime interest to the study. Some of the geographic areas of the county were isolated from the others so that if it were desirable to consider community differences there would be distinct, clear-cut lines of demarcation 36 between certain of these communities. The county did not lend itself well to segregation of the rural-urban membership but an attempt was made to delineate between those who lived in the towns of the county and those who lived in the open country. Method of Establishing Samples The size of the five schools involved in this study ranged from approximately 60 to 1000. This was a rather large population from which to draw the non—member sample. Thus, in order that the non-member sample might be more meaningful, it was stratified by age and by sex for each of the schools, using every n-th name on the school enrollment. The starting point for counting off to the n-th name was randomly established by drawing a number from a scrambled set of numbers equal to the enrollment of each school. The non-member sample was drawn so as to contain the same number of individuals from each school as there were 4—H members attending that school. The sample was further stratified to include a matching of non-members by age and by sex. For example: For each fourteen year old boy 4-H Club member in each school there was randomly selected, by using every n-th name on the school enrollment, a fourteen year old boy who was not a 4-H Club member. This procedure was repeated for all ages and for both sexes in all high schools in the county. 37 The 4-H member sample consisted of the entire population of the high school age 4--H members in the county, according to the enrollment records at the county extension office in the county where these records are normally kept. Thus, when this study deals with 4-H members it is dealing with the total high school age enrollment insofar as these individuals were available at the time of the administration of the instrument. When the study discusses non-members it is dealing with a stratified randomly selected sample of that group of high school students in the five schools of the county who were not listed on the records of the county extension office as members of 4—H Club Work. For the benefit of those who were engaged in establishing the sampling lists, and for greater rapport with the cooperating schools, the sampling method employed was conceivably better than another system, such as using a random table of numbers, which would not lend itself to the circumstances. Since the method of establishing the starting point for counting to an n-th number was randomly established, any qualified student in a school was as likely to have been included as another in a stratified random sample such as this. The stratification of the non-member sample was based on the pretense that the number of problems reported in each of the eleven areas of the instrument would vary with the age and sex of the students. Therefore, a comparison between members and non-members would be more meaningful at the time of analysis if the differences in reported 38 problems were analyzed according to the sex and the age of the two groups. The age and sex distribution of the member sample is not considered to be like the age and sex distribution of high school students in general; thus the stratification will allow comparisons to be made only on the parallels of age to age and sex to sex. Instructions to the Administrators of the Instruments Written instructions were provided for the administrators of the instruments in order to standardize as many conditions as possible. A detailed explanation of the function was provided for each of the materials used in the survey. A second instruction sheet outlined the manner in which the materials were to be presented to the students. It was impossible to assume that each group would receive the materials under the exact same conditions. Not all schools operated under the same schedule and not all had the same facilities for the students to use during the period of completing the instruments. For this reason special care was taken to outline the presentation of the material in some detail to avoid conditions under which the students might have felt rushed for time or forced to go through the check list. Samples of the written instructions for the administration of the instruments are contained in the appendix to this study. 39 Maintaining Surety of Responses The information sheets and answer sheets were handled in sets. A set of these two sheets was stapled together with each sheet bearing a duplicate number of the other. The numbers on the two sheets were arranged in such a manner that a final check could be made at the time of transposing the scores from the answer sheets to the information sheets. Transferring the total counts from the answer sheets to the information sheets placed all of the information for one individual onto one sheet so that only this one piece of material needed to be handled in the coding, tabulations, sorting, and handling. The numbers were assigned in a series to each of the schools. This allowed for the ready analysis of the information by communities whenever desired. For the purposes of this study, an effort was made to allow the students complete anonymity in regard to their responses. A study by Fisher using the Mooney Problem Check List. indicated that the “use of signatures on the personal questionnaires (particularly in the case of highly personal items or serious problems) appears to have a relatively inhibitory effect on the honesty and frankness of the people responding to them. ”1 According to the Mooney Problem Check List Manual, similar results were obtained in a study by Gordon. 1Robert P. Fisher, ”Signed vs. Unsigned Personal Questionnaires, " Journal of Applied Psychology, XXX (1946), pp, 220—25. ZGordon, Manual, p. 5. 40 Since it was desirable to obtain the most comprehensive count of problems possible and since there was no reason for attaching names to the responses for this study, precautions were taken to assure the students that any information placed on the information sheet and on the answer sheet would be treated with complete anonymity. Administration of the Instruments The actual administration of the materials was done by the staff of the Yuma County Extension Service office. These individuals were college trained, capable, and experienced in working with youth. They were supplied with all of the materials pertaining to the study as well as the written instructions previously mentioned. They were advised to make themselves familiar with the purposes of the study and the materials used in connection with it. Administrators were instructed to give the same interpretation any time a comparable question arose regarding the instruments in order to provide uniformity. The first obligation of the administrators was to contact the schools to arrange for time and space to present the materials to the students. They were also responsible for making up the list of students who were involved in the samples. The schools, through their facilities,were able to advise the students of the time and place of the survey. 41 Tabulation Several steps were necessary in preparing the data for the punch card operation. First, the school code number was placed on each of the information sheets. This prevented an inadvertent mix- up of materials from one school with those from another. The second operation was to total the check marks for each of the areas of the instrument and to record these area totals on the answer sheet. The answer sheet and the information sheet were then separated and the total counts for each area were transferred onto the information sheet. The responses to the item were then coded onto the left hand margin of the information sheet in red pencil for quick recognition by the punch card machine operators. The average time for preparing a single response for the punch card operations was slightly less than two minutes. Those answer sheets which had a larger number of check marks indicating more problems necessarily took somewhat. longer to prepare. Statistical Methods Analysis of variance was chosen to test the significance of relationship between the reported problems of boys and girls and the factors of age and membership or non-membership in 4-H Club Work. A null hypothesis was set up and applied to each of the eleven areas of the Mooney Problem Check List that there would be no 42 significant difference between the average number of reported problems between the averages for the factors of (1) sex, (2) age, (3) membership, and (4) interaction between the following combinations of these factors: (a) sex by membership, (b) sex by age, (c) membership by age, and ((1) sex by membership by age. The first factor was a comparison between the average number of problems of boys and of girls; the second was a comparison between the four age groups of the boys and girls. The seventeen year old group included two students who indicated they were eighteen years of age but for the purposes of this study they were incorporated into the next youngest group and are reported as such. The factor of membership was a comparison between 4—H members and non-members. The fourth factor reported above was the interactions of the first three factors in their various combinations. A level of significance of five per cent was chosen for this study with a secondary level of one per cent for noting those scores which were highly significant. Hoel states; A test of a statistical hypothesis is a rule for accepting or rejecting the hypothesis, this rule consisting in the selection of a critical region for the statistic being used and agreeing to reject the hypothesis if and only if the sample gives a value of this statistic that falls in the critical region. The F ratio for analysis of variance was determined from a formula for the ”unweighted averages method” supplied by Baten. 3Paul G. Hoel, Introduction to Mathematical Statistics (New York: John Wiley 8: Sons, 1947), p. 202. 4William D. Baten, Statistician, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, from an interview. 43 At the five per cent level of significance and with one degree of free- dom, an F value of 3. 92 or larger is considered as sufficient to reject the hypothesis of no difference. For three degrees of freedom, at the five per cent level, an F ratio of 2. 68 or larger is considered to be critical. For noting those differences which were highly signifi- cant or significant at the one per cent level, an F ratio of 6. 81 is needed for one degree of freedom. For three degrees of freedom the critical F ratio must be 3. 94 or larger. For a discussion of the statistical method used in this study the reader is referred to Snedecor's discussion of disproportionate sub-class numbers. The IBM tabulations were used to provide the breakdown of the sample into the various categories and to provide the sum of the individual scores and the sum of the squared individual scores. All other computations were made with the use of a machine calculator. In the portion of this study which was of an exploratory nature the simple averages were calculated. No attempt was made to apply any test of significance to that data. 5George W. Snedecor, Statistical Methods (5th ed. , Ames, Iowa: The Iowa State College Press, 1956), pp. 385-86. 44 CHAPTER IV FINDINGS The main purpose of this study was carried out by testing the null hypothesis that among high school age youth of the study county there are no significant differences between the average number of personal problems reported in each of the eleven areas of the Mooney Problem Check List when subjects were classified according to the factors of sex, age, membership, and the interaction between these factors. The unweighted averages method of statistical analysis of variance was used to test this hypothesis. Another portion of this study was devoted to exploring the effects of such factors as community differences, tenure of membership, family residence and occupation, and family unity upon the average number of reported problems. Although these average figures are reported, tests of statistical significance here are beyond the scope of this study. The students, at their option, were invited to make state- ments on the reverse side of the answer sheet about their reactions to the instrument, to summarize their "chief" problems, and to indicate whether or not they were in favor of general discussions of teen age problems. The responses provided some rather interesting insights into the thinking of these youth regarding the general field of their 45 problems. Certain of these comments provide the basis for a portion of the reported findings of this study. Results of Testing the Hypothesis Since the hypothesis of this study was applied to each of the eleven different areas of the instrument, the results of testing are reported separetly for each area with a general summary following this chapter. In the area of Health and Physical Development (HPD), a significant difference was found for that portion of the hypothesis dealing with the factors of sex and membership. The factor of age and the interrelationship of the three factors was not significant at the critical level. The significant differences for the average number of reported problems between boys and girls and between members and non-members is cause to reject those portions of the null hypothesis. In Table 1, girls with an average of 4. 5 problems per person are shown to be significantly more concerned with problems in the area of Health and Physical Development (HPD) than are boys with an average of only 2. 8. For the factor of membership, the non-member sample indicated an average of 4. 5 problems per person to differ significantly from the member sample average of 2. 7. The range of the average number of problems reported by the four age groups was not large. There was not statistically significant evidence to reject the null hypothesis for the factor of age. No interaction of significance at the critical level was obtained for this area. 46 TABLE 1. --Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Health and Physical Development among 4—H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 Source of variation df ss qu Fa (between averages) Total 134 .......... -___ S 1 11.39 11.39 7. 59** M l 13.87 13.87 9.24** A 3 1. 43 . 48 ns SxM l 1. 38 1. 38 ns SxA 3 1. 22 . 41 ns MxA 3 3 97 1. 32 ns SxMxA 3 . 46 .15 ns Error 119 ----- 1, 50 --__ Average number of reported problems by factors Sex Membership Age Boys 2. 80 Members 2. 71 14 3. 59 16 3. 85 Girls 4. 48 Non-members 4. 57 15 3. 97 17 3. 20 3:: Significant at the . 05 level. >101! Significant at the . 01 level. aTables 1 through 11 use the following symbols: S, M, and A refer to Sex, Membership, and Age df 2 degrees of freedom 55 sum of square ns not significant at critical level qu = mean of square F 2 ratio 47 Table 2 reveals that the factor of sex is significantly different at the critical level of five per cent. Therefore that portion of the null hypothesis is rejected for the area of Finances, Living Conditions, and Employment (FLE). This is cause to accept the portion of the original hypothesis that boys and girls differ in the number of perceived problems in this area. There was no statistical evidence to reject those portions of the null hypothesis which dealt with the factors of age and membership or for the interaction of the three factors. Boys (3. 25) indicate a significantly smaller average number of problems than girls (4. 63). Members seem to indicate a lesser average number of problems than non—members but the difference is not significant at the critical level. The average number of problems for the four ages has a tendency to gradually rise to a peak of 4. 97 during the sixteenth year and then to drop off again sharply to 3. 27 when the individuals are seventeen years of age. Only for that portion of the hypothesis dealing with the factor of sex was there a statistically significant difference indicated in the average number of reported problems for the area of Social and Recreational Activities (SRA). This portion of the null hypothesis can be rejected in favor of the original hypothesis that there are differences between the average number of reported problems of boys and girls. For the other two factors, and for the interaction of the three there were no statistically significant differences indicated. 48 TABLE 2. --Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Finance, Living Conditions, and Employment among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 Source of variation df ss qu Fa (between averages) Total 134 -——— -.._- ..--_ S l 7.70 7.70 6. 52* M l 4. 30 4. 30 ns A 3 6. 51 2.17 ns SxM l 1. 76 1.76 ns SxA 3 3 20 1.06 ns MxA 3 1 65 . 55 ns SxMxA 3 .50 .16 ns Error 119 --—— 1,18 _..-.. Average number of reported problems by factors Sex Membership Age Boys 3. 25 Members 3. 42 14 3. 60 16 4. 97 Girls 4. 63 Non-members 4. 46 15 3. 92 17 3. 27 :1: Significant at the . 05 level. 31"? Significant at the . 01 level. a Refer to footnote, Table 1. ns not significant at critical level. 49 The direction of the difference between the sexes, as shown by Table 3, is that the girls have a significantly greater average number of problems. The average number of problems per girl was 5. 51 for this area of the instrument; the average for boys was 2. 60. There is the tendency for the number of problems in this area to diminish slightly, but not significantly, as the individuals become older. The fourteen year old group recorded an average of 4. 95 problems to lead all other ages in this area. The trend was for the 4-H members to record a smaller average number of problems than non—members. In this area of the instrument the 4-H members recorded an average of 3. 82 problems per member as contrasted with an average of 4. 33 per non-member. This was not significantly different at the five per cent level. The original hypothesis regarding significant differences between boys and girls was supported in the area of Courtship, Sex, and Marriage (CSM). The critical level was reached for the portion of the null hypothesis that there is no difference for the factor of sex. There was a statistically significant difference between boys, with an average of 2. 52 problems per individual, and girls, with an average of 4. 13 reported problems. This portion of the null hypothesis was rejected. The level of significance was not reached for the factors of age and membership or for the interaction of the three factors. 50 TABLE 3. ~~Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Social and Recreational Activities among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 f::.::.:::::1::::; .. .. M F: Total 134 .......... ---_ S l 34. 81 34. 81 9. 38** M l l. 10 l. 10 ns A 3 6 75 2 25 ns SxM l 56 56 ns SxA 3 4. 61 l. 53 ns MxA 3 . 31 . 10 ns SxMxA 3 6. 06 2 02 ns Error 119 ----- 3,71 --__ Average number of reported problems by factors Sex Membership Age Boys 2. 60 Members 3. 82 14 4. 95 16 3. 45 Girls 5. 55 Non-members 4. 33 15 4. 70 17 3. 45 * Significant at the . 05 level. 33* Significant at the . 01 level. a . . . . . Refer to footnote, Table 1. ns not Significant at critical level. 51 TABLE 4. --Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Courtship, Sex, and Marriage among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 Source of variation df ss qu Fa (between averages) Total 134 .......... ---_ S l 10.40 10. 40 4. 62* M l 4. 73 4. 73 ns A 3 3. 25 l. 08 ns SxM l . 20 . 20 ns SxA 3 4 87 1. 62 ns MxA 3 l. 81 . 60 ns SxMxA 3 5. 66 1. 88 ns Error 119 ————— 2, 25 __-_ Average number of reported problems by factors Sex Membership Age Boys 2. 52 Members 2. 78 14 3.10 16 3. 52 Girls 4.13 Non—members 3. 87 15 3. 95 17 2. 75 :1: Significant at the . 05 level. ** Significant at the . 01 level. a- . . . . . Refer to footnote, Table 1. ns not Significant at critical level. 52 Table 4 shows the trend for the members to show less problems than non-members. It also shows the trend for the average number of problems for the four age groups to be lower (3.10) for the fourteen year old members, then rise for the two middle ages, (3. 95 and 3. 52), and finally drop to the lowest average (2. 75) for the seventeen year age group. Boys, with an average of 2. 17 reported problems, were significantly lower than girls, with an average problem count of 5. 80, in the area of Social-Psychological Relations (SPR). This difference was significant at the critical level (as well as at the higher level of one per cent) and was sufficient reason to reject this portion of the null hypothesis. This F ratio of 24. 33 was the largest of any for this entire study. Table 5 reveals the trend for the average number of problems to decrease with the increasing age of the individuals. The fourteen year age group shows an average of 4. 85 problems per person while the seventeen year age group reported only 2. 47 problems on the average. While this difference appears quite notable, the three degrees of freedom involved with the four age groups resulted in an F ratio which was not significant at the critical level. This portion of the null hypothesis could not be rejected. Neither could those portions of the null hypothesis dealing with the factors of membership or the interactions of the three factors be rejected. However, the member sample reported less problems (3.60) on the average than did the non-member sample (4.37). 53 TABLE 5. —-Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Social-Psychological Relations among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 :::.::.:‘.:::::::; .. .. qu F: Total 134 ............... S l 52. 56 52. 56 24. 33** M l 2. 20 2. 20 ns A 3 13. 04 4. 34 ns SxM l 2. 31 2. 31 ns SxA 3 2. 23 . 74 ns MxA 3 . 36 . 12 ns SxMxA 3 6.15 2. 05 ns Error 119 ----- 2,16 ..--_ Average number of reported problems by factors Sex Membership Age Boys 2. 17 Members 3. 60 14 4. 85 16 4. 22 Girls 5. 80 Non-members 4. 37 15 4. 40 17 2. 47 :1: Significant at the . 05 level. ** Significant at the . 01 level. a . . . Refer to footnote, Table 1. ns not significant at critical level. 54 Two portions of the null hypothesis could be rejected in the general problem area of Personal-Psychological Relations (PSR). The critical level was reached for the factors of sex and membership in this area. (The significant difference for the factor of sex also was present at the one per cent level.) The averages of 2. 73 for boys and 5. 55 for the girls, and the averages of 3. 21 for members and 5.10 for non-members were the sources of the differences. As a result, these portions of the original hypothesis for this area of the check list are accepted. It will be noted in Table 6 that the average number of reported problems for the four age groups did not yield a significant difference. Neither did the interaction of the three factors reach the critical level for any of the combinations. The variations within the factors of sex and age were not , sufficient to reject the null hypothesis in the problem area of Morals and Religion (MR). The critical level was reached in measuring the differences between the sources of variation for the factor of member- ship. This portion of the null hypothesis was rejected in favor of the original hypothesis. It was demonstrated by testing the null hypothesis that members with an average of 3. 17 problems per individual had significantly less problems than the non-members with their average of 4. 90. 55 TABLE 6. --Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Personal-Psychological Relations among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 Source of variation df ss qu Fa (between averages) Total 134 ............... S 1 31.08 31.08 11.02** M 1 14.25 14.25 5.05* A 3 5. 07 1. 69 ns SxM 1 .14 .14 ns SxA 3 11.12 3. 70 ns MxA 3 3. 27 1. 09 ns SxMxA 3 3. 39 1.13 ns Error 119 ----- 2, 82 _____ Average number of reported problems by factors Sex Membership Age Boys 2. 73 Members 3. 21 14 4. 60 16 4. 60 Girls 5. 55 Non-members 5. 10 15 4. 30 17 3. 20 :1: Significant at the . 05 level. 311* Significant at the . 01 level. a . . . . . Refer to footnote, Table 1. ns not Significant at critical level. 56 It can be noted in Table 7 that the boys reported less problems on the average than did the girls. The fourteen and fifteen year old individuals appeared to be nearly equal in their reported problems in this area and the seventeen year age group reported less problems on the average than did the other three age groups. Table 7 also indicates no difference between the inter- action of the three factors which was large enough to reach the critical level. Therefore, evidence is not sufficient to reject this portion of the null hypothesis. A statistically significant difference was discovered between the average number of reported problems for boys and girls in the area of Home and Family (HF). An F ratio of 4. 4 was valid at the critical level and supplied reason to reject that portion of the null hypothesis pertaining to the factor of sex. Boys in this instance recorded an average of 2. 51 problems and girls an average of 4. 27. The differences between the averages reported for members and non-members and between the four age groups was not great enough to reach the critical level. Neither was there evidence of statistically significant interaction between the factors. The averages reported in Table 8 demonstrate that the member sample reported less problems than the non-member sample. While the difference is notable it did not reach the critical level. 57 TABLE 7. --Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Morals and Religion among 4—H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 Source of variation df ss qu Fa (between averages) Total 134 ----- ’0 ..... ___.. S 1 6. 76 6. 76 ns M 1 11.90 11.90 5.63* A 3 6. 45 2. 15 ns SxM 1 . 09 . 09 ns SxA 3 2. 43 . 81 ns MxA 3 3 87 l. 29 ns SxMxA 3 . 66 . 22 ns Error 119 ————— 2,11 _-..- Average number of reported problems by factors Sex Membership Age Boys 3. 38 Members 3. 17 14 4. 52 16 3. 97 Girls 4. 68 Non-members 4. 90 15 4. 62 17 3. 02 :1: Significant at the . 05 level. *3}? Significant at the . 01 level. a Refer to footnote, Table 1. ns not significant at critical level. 58 TABLE 8. —-Ana1ysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Home and Family among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 f::.::.:f.:::::::; .. .. M F: Total 134 ---------- ---- S l 11.06 11.06 4.44* M l 5. 79 5. 79 ns A 3 1. 28 . 42 ns SxM l 1. 47 1. 47 ns SxA 3 3. 92 1. 30 ns MxA 3 9 28 3. 09 ns SxMxA 3 . 03 . 01 ns Error 119 ----- 2.49 ---- Average number of reported problems by factors Sex Membership Age Boys 2. 51 Members 2. 72 14 3. 85 16 3. 67 Girls 4. 27 Non-members 4. 06 15 3. 25 17 2. 80 )1: Significant at the . 05 level. ** Significant at the . 01 level. a . . . . . Refer to footnote, Table 1. ns not Significant at critical level. 59 For the factor of age, the seventeen year age group reported the smallest average with 2. 80 problems per person. The fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen year olds reported similar averages. There was no evidence significant at the critical level which would give cause to reject the null hypothesis for any of its factors in the area of The Future: Vocational and Educational (FVE). The trend for the factors of sex and membership did not change from the direction they had taken in the other areas of the instrument. Boys reported an average of 3. 77 problems in this area and girls an average of 4. 02. The 4-H member averaged 3. 61 problems while the non-member reported an average of 4. 18 problems in this area. As shown in Table 9, the seventeen year age group indicated a higher average number of problems for this area than did any of the other three groups. This was the only instance where this age group averaged more problems than the others. Adjustment to School Work (ASW) was another of the general areas of the Mooney Problem Check List where it was not possible to reject the null hypothesis regarding any of its three factors or the interaction of these factors. It appears from the averages contained in Table 10 that no matter how the youth of this study are categorized, they have an ample number of problems pertaining to school. 60 TABLE 9. --Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of The Future: Vocational and Educational among 4-H members and non- members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 :::::.:f.:::l::;:: .. .. M F: Total 134 ---- ---- -- S 1 . 25 . 25 ns M l l. 32 1. 32 ns A 3 4. 12 1. 37 ns SxM 1 . 02 . 02 ns SxA 3 8. 74 2. 91 ns MxA 3 9 35 3.15 ns SxMxA 3 1. 50 . 45 ns Error 119 --.-- 2. 34 -- Average number of reported problems by factors Sex Membership Age Boys 3. 77 Members 3. 61 14 3. 85 16 3. 75 Girls 4. 02 Non-members 4.18 15 3. 75 17 4. 35 :1: Significant at the . 05 level. ** Significant at the . 01 level. a . . . . . Refer to footnote, Table 1. ns not Significant at critical level. 61 TABLE 10. --Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Adjustment to School Work among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 f::.::.:::::::;:; .. .. M F: Total 134 ---- ---- -- S 1 2. 10 2. 10 ns M 1 8. 99 8. 99 ns A 3 4. 51 1. 50 ns SxM 1 . 73 . 73 ns SxA 3 21. 15 7. 05 ns MxA 3 4. 57 1. 52 ns SxMxA 3 3. 12 l. 04 ns Error 119 ---- 3.82 -- Average number of reported problems by factors Sex Membership Age Boys 5. 68 Members 5. 27 14 6. 05 16 6. 75 Girls 6. 38 Non-members 6. 77 15 6. 05 17 5. 25 :1: Significant at the . 05 level. ** Significant at the . 01 level. a . . . . . Refer to footnote, Table 1. ns not Significant at critical level. 62 With only a few exceptions, the average number of reported problems is larger for this area of the instrument than for any of the other areas. The trend for boys to indicate less problems than girls and for members to indicate less problems than non-members was found to be present for this area also.. In viewing the average number of problems reported by the four age groups it is noted that the average of 6. 75 for the sixteen year age group is the highest. This is another example where this age group has not fallen into place between the groups on either side of it. The eleventh area of the Mooney Problem Check List is Curriculum and Teaching Procedure (CTP). In this area, none of the differences were sufficient to reach the critical level of significance. Therefore the null hypothesis could not be rejected for any of its factors. Although differences are not statistically significant, the boys, as shown in Table 11, related a lesser average number of problems than the girls, thereby maintaining the pattern which has held throughout the other ten areas of the instrument. The same is true of the differences between the 4-H members and the non-members. The members averaged 3. 53 problems in this area as compared to the figure of 4. 23 for the average number of problems reported by the non-member group. Though not always statistically significant, members continuously 1 reported less problems than non-members in this as well as in all other 63 TABLE 11. --Analysis of variance of reported problems in the area of Curriculum and Teaching Procedure among 4-H members and non-members, Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 Source of variation df ss qu Fa (between averages) Total 134 ---— __-- -_ S 1 l. 96 l. 96 ns M - l 5. 29 5. 29 ns A ' 1 5. 58 1. 86 ns SxM l . 06 . 06 ns SxA 3 7. 59 2. 53 ns MxA 3 9 13 3. 01 ns SxMxA 3 3. 97 l. 32 ns Error 119 ---- 2, 45 -- Average number of reported problems by factors Sex Membership Age Boys 3. 31 Members 3. 53 14 3. 27 16 4. 65 Girls 4. 46 Non-members 4. 23 15 4. 27 17 3. 35 :1: Significant at the . 05 level. ** Significant at the . 01 level. a . . . . . Refer to footnote, Table 1. ns not Significant at critical level. 64 areas of the check list. The sixteen year old group reported an average of 4. 65 problems per individual to lead the other age groups in the general problem area of Curriculum and Teaching Procedure. An unusual pattern is noted in a comparison of the average number of problems of the four age groups. In this area, the fifteen and the Sixteen year age groups were closer together in their average number of reported problems than the two extremes, the fourteen and seventeen year old age groups, who were more nearly alike in the average number of problems reported. Obs e rvations A number of simple observations of the data were made as a part of this study. These observations were restricted to the 4—H Club membership and are reported here as averages. No statistical testing was applied to the averages reported in this part of the study. The geography of the study county divides it into several communities. Some of these communities are distinctly set aside from the others by distance; others are not so well distinguished from each other. One of the more reliable, and readily available, criteria for determining community boundaries in that county is the school district. The responses were segregated by schools; therefore; schools are used to represent communities within the county. 65 A 4-H member sample large enough to be meaningful was available in each of the three schools. The average number of problems related by the 4—H membership in each of these three schools is shown by areas of the Problem Check List in Table 12. Table 12 indicates the trend for the average number of problems to increase as the table is read progressively from School #1 to School #3, suggesting that communities do hold problems peculiar to their area. There is also depicted the trend for the girls to show a higher average number of problems than do the boys. TABLE 12. --Average number of reported problems of 4—H members by three communities of Yuma County, Arizona, for the eleven areas of the Mooney Problem Check List, Spring, 1960 School #1 School #2 School #3 Pmblem area Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls HPD l. 20 2. 72 2. 22 4. 38 1. 80 5. 33 FLE 2.80 1.90 1.77 5. 33 3.60 7.44 SRA 2. 80 3. 72 2. 22 4. 90 3. 20 6. 66 CSM 1.00 2.90 2.22 3.61 3.60 6.88 SPR l. 60 3. 27 1. 88 6. 42 2. 20 8. 44 PPR 1.80 2.63 1.44 5.95 2.80 8. 00 MR 2. 60 2. 00 3. 00 4. 40 2. 60 6. 44 HF 1.00 2.45 1.44 1.23 3.80 7.11 FVE 4. 20 2. 36 2. 55 3. 80 3. 20 6. 00 ASW 6. 20 3. 45 2. 88 6. 76 6. 40 9.11 CTP 1. 80 2. 72 2. 00 4.19 6. 00 5. 77 66 Another comparison was made by contrasting the eligible portion of the membership according to rural-farm and urban non-farm. This was done as was defined earlier in the study by categorizing the membership whose families resided in the open country and who received all or most of their income from farming into one—half of the dichotomy and that portion of the membership whose families resided in other than the open country and who received none of their income from farming in the other half. This dichotomy naturally excluded some of the membership from the observation. Table 13 Shows the average figures for these two groups, separated by boys and by girls and for each of the general areas of the instrument. TABLE 13. --Average number of problems reported by 4-H Club members in Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960, for each of the areas of the Mooney Problem Check List according to family residence and occupation Rural-farm Urban-non-farm Problem area Boys Girls Boys Girls HPD 1. 50 2. 90 2. 09 4. 39 FLE 2. 37 5.90 2. 63 5.26 SRA 3.12 3. 80 2. 09 6. 26 CSM 1. 25 3. 40 3. 00 4. 20 SPR 1. 37 5. 80 2. 09 5. 82 PPR l. 75 5. 70 2. 00 5. 26 MR 2.25 4.00 3.18 4.65 HF 2.62 2.40 1.45 5.13 FVE 3. 00 4. 30 3. 27 3. 78 ASW 4. 50 6. 80 4. 81 6. 60 CTP 3. 25 3. 00 2. 81 4. 30 67 The difference between girls and boys is notable. Boys recorded a lower average number of problems in most of the areas than did the girls. Girls coming from the rural-farm families recorded a smaller average number of problems in the areas of HPD, SRA, and HF than did the girl members who came from urban non-farm families. This table tends to agree with the investigator's observation that not too, many differences are notable between these two groups of the 4-H membership in the county studied. Tenure of membership was another area observed for trends in the average number of problems reported by the boys and girls. This time a dichotomy was created between those members who had three and less years of experience and those who had four and more years of membership in the 4-H Club program. Table 14 shows these results. In general, it can be said that the high tenure members indicated a higher average number of problems than those of the low tenure group. In this analysis of tenure there is a higher proportion of older individuals in the high tenure group, yet. it is difficult to determine the rationale for the difference on the basis of age. There is again the trend for boys to show less problems than girls. Other data were observed to ascertain the effect of (1) working mothers and (2) broken homes upon the number of problems reported. (The number of observations for boys was too small to be useful, therefore, the following discussion is in regard to girl members only.) 68 TABLE 14. --Average number of problems reported by 4-H Club members in Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960, for each of the areas of the Mooney Problem Check List according to high and low tenure Low tenure High tenure Problem area ” Boys Girls Boys Girls HPD 1. 54 3. 53 2. 25 4. 68 FLE 2. 81 4. 43 2.12 5. 62 SRA 2.36 4.12 2.76 6.93 CSM 2. 45 4. 00 2. 00 3. 31 SPR 1.72 5.06 1.87 7.12 PPR 2.18 4. 84 l. 50 6.18 MR 3.45 3.21 1.87 6.62 HF 2. 36 3. 21 l. 37 4. 68 FVE 3. 54 3. 53 2. 62 3. 87 ASW 4. 72 5. 31 4. 62 7. 43 CTP 2. 45 3. 28 3. 75 4. 50 The average number of problems was less in all but three areas of the Mooney Problem Check List for those girls who came from homes where the mother worked full or part-time outside the home than for those girls who came from homes where the mother did not work outside the home. The girls coming from homes with working mothers recorded a higher average number of problems in the areas of CSM, HF, and CTP. The differences were not great for either group in these or other areas. Evidence that working mothers were being reflected in the number of problems of the girl 4—H Club members was not very noticeable among this group. The results were very similar when the average number of problems was viewed in relation to the factor of family unity. 69 Those girl members who came from homes in which they lived with someone other than a mother and father recorded, for the most part, less problems than those who lived with their mothers and fathers. However, in the area of CSM, the girls from broken homes recorded an average of 5. 70 problems per person as compared to the average of 3. 65 for the girls who lived with both their mother and father. In the area of HF the girls from broken homes recorded an average of 5. 28 problems per individual while the girls who came from homes in which they had both a mother and father averaged 3. 94 problems. '8 Comments by the Individuals As stated earlier the students were invited, at their option, to make comments and to react to certain questions on the reverse side of the answer sheet. The resulting comments were responses of the students own volition. In one of the questions the students were given the opportunity to comment on their reaction to the Mooney Problem Check List. Most of the individuals indicated that they felt the Check List was an adequate means of reporting the problems of their age group. A few indicated that they did not feel that the items marked were a well-rounded picture of their problems. A second opportunity for the individuals to make comments was centered around the invitation to summarize their "chief" problems in their own words. Through these comments many voiced their quest for independence. A fourteen year old third year 4-H member stated, 70 "I'm in too much of a hurry about getting out of school. Not interested. I want to lead my life the way I want to lead it, be given a chance to get out on my own and learn for myself, 'grow-up'. " This girl reported a total of sixty-four problems, fourteen each in the areas of PPR and ASW. Some related what might be termed self-centered concerns. The following statement by a fifteen year old non-member girl, "I am tall and people don't realize it but I worry about what they think and my feelings are hurt very easily, " is an example of those who seem to feel the pressure of being conspicuous. Some of the students appeared to be frankly willing to face their problems. One fourteen year old boy, a 4—H member, commented, ”My chief problems couldn't be any greater than my responsibility to cure them. " One-third of this individual's problems were in the area of FVE. Another boy, a member of a 4-H Club, stated, "I hate to chop myself down but I would have to say that I am immature, at times even childish. " Twenty-five per cent of this boy's reported problems were in the area of SPR. The type of comments which were most prevalent and which were often in sharp terms were those in which the individuals expressed a displeasure with the conditions within their family life. One sixteen year old girl indicated that she had ”a feeling of not being wanted. ” She continued, "I cannot discuss my problems with my parents, as soon as I am old enough I want to start college and get out of the household. ” This non-member girl reported a total of eleven 71 problems in the area of FLE and fourteen problems in the area of HF. Another boy stated that his “chief” problem was ”My parents want a divorce but won't get one for the fie of the children. " Over one-half of this boy's problems were recorded in the areas of HF and FLE. Others indicated that they were grateful for all their parents were trying to do for them, but--. One girl said that her parents were not selfish with money and always gave her all that she asked for but would not allow her to have a regular allowance of her own. This individual was seemingly desirous of a little more independence--in this case to be able to master her own money--and, as a result of not having this, listed it as a major problem in her perception. The feeling for the need to alleviate the problems was indicated by the comment of a second year 4-H Club member. This fourteen year old boy said, ”My problems are little ones, but I wish 1 cold solve them. " Another individual related the desire to be able to discuss her problems with someone. Her comment was simply, ”I think I need to have someone to talk to. ” There is an indication of a close correlation between the reported problems and the voluntary comments of the students. This correlation provides a degree of confidence in the reliability of the reported problems. These comments also furnish evidence that a study of problems is a realistic point from which to begin a search into the needs of youth. They indicate a willingness to discuss their problems and a concern for alleviating themselves of them. 72 The students who responded to the query of whether they would be interested in taking part in a discussion of their problems at school were split about equally between those favoring and those not favoring such discussions. Of those who indicated that they would avail themselves of the opportunity to discuss their problems with someone, no one named an individual by name. Most of the replies were of the nature that they might like to talk over their problems with someone such as their parents, a minister, or some ”qualified" person. This response suggests that the person who takes a genuine interest in the problems of these individuals would probably not have a great deal of difficulty gaining their confidence. In general the responses to the four questions on the reverse of the answer sheet tended to substantiate the problems checked by the individuals and to suggest that these individuals are concerned with their problems and wish to do something about them. 73 CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS The purpose of this study was to seek information which would be useful in planning programs among 4-H Clubs. In this pursuit, a study of the problems of sixty-seven high school age 4-H members and sixty-eight non-members in Yuma County, Arizona, was conducted using the Mooney Problem Check List as an instrument. The results of the statistical treatment, the observation of the simple averages of the data, a review of the comments made by the individuals, and a review of the literature provide the basis for the following summary of findings, implications, and recommendations. Summary of Findings Testing the Null Hypothesis The null hypothesis of this study was tested for each of the eleven general problem areas of the Mooney Problem Check List. For the factor of sex, that portion of the null hypothesis was rejected for seven of the eleven areas where it was demonstrated that boys reported significantly less problems than girls. In the areas of HPD, SRA, SPR, and PPR, the difference was significant at the one per cent level. In the areas of MR, ,FVE,..ASW and CTP, the difference was not great enough to reach the critical level... However, boys indicated a smaller average number of problems in these areas as well. 74 The areas of ASW and FVE drew the greatest number of reported problems from boys. For girls the areas of ASW and SPR drew the greatest number of reported problems. SPR drew the least response from the boys and the area of FVE showed the smallest average number of reported problems for the girls. Girls indicated that the area of CSM was the next to the lowest area of reported problems, for boys this was the area of HF. For that portion of the hypothesis dealing with the factor of membership the critical level of five per cent as well as the more highly significant level of one per cent was reached in three of the general areas of the check list. In the areas of HPD, PPR, and MR, it was shown that 4-H Club members reported significantly fewer problems than non-members. While the critical level of significance was not reached for the other areas, the average number of reported problems was less in each case for the 4-H membership. The two areas in which the 4-H members reported the most problems were ASW and SRA. The least problems were reported by the 4-H membership in the areas of HPD and HF. The non-member sample indicated that their most problems were in the area of ASW, and their second highest average number of problems was reported in the area of PPR. It was not possible to reject the null hypothesis of no difference for the factor of age for any of the eleven general areas of 75 the check list. While there were noticeable differences between the average number of problems reported by the four age groups, the critical level was not reached in any instance. As a general rule the seventeen year old group reported a lower average number of problems than the other three age groups. The exception to this was demonstrated in the area of FVE. In this area, the largest average number of reported problems was attributed to the seventeen year age group. The area of ASW was universally the area to draw the greatest number of responses. (This was also true of the comparisons of membership and sex.) The order of the areas where the greatest number of problems are reported is almost identical for the fourteen and the fifteen year age groups. The sixteen year age group seemed to fit neither the pattern of the groups younger than they nor the group older. The sixteen year olds reported the greater number of problems in the two areas dealing with school. No statistical significance was found for the portion of the null hypothesis testing the interaction of the three factors in any of their combinations . Obs ervations No test for statistical significance was applied to the simple observations of differences in the average number of reported problems according to the factors of community, family income and residence, tenure of membership, and the effect of working mothers and family unity. 76 All observations were made within the 4-H member sample only. There are notable differences between the three communities reported on in this study. The trend is for an increasingly greater number of problems to be reported in each of the communities which were outlined and segregated by the three larger school districts of the county. That community which is the most removed from the other two schools and the population center of the county indicated a greater number of problems on the average. The trend for boys to consistently have less problems than girls, as was demonstrated by testing the null hypothesis of the study, was violated when the problems of boys and girls were viewed according to their community residence. There are four areas in which the boys of School #1 indicated a greater average number of problems than did the girls. The trend toward a greater number of problems reported in School #3 might, to some extent, be attributed to racial differences since a large proportion of that population is Indian. In making the observation between the two groups, rural- farm and urban non-farm, there were not a great many differences indicated. Both boys and girls from rural—farm homes reported less problems in the areas of HPD and HF than did the members coming from urban non-farm homes. Otherwise this observation corresponds to the trend for the families in the study county to be closely oriented to the urban communities and in turn for the urban residents to be conscious of the ramifications of rural life. 77 The interesting trend for low tenure members to show less problems than high tenure members was noted. This trend tended to be equally true for boys and for girls. Two other interesting observations were made. Except for the three areas of CSM, HF, and CTP, the girls who came from homes where the mother works full or part-time reported less problems than did girls coming from homes where the mother does not work outside the home. The differences, however, were not great in either direction. An analysis of the personal data of the membership revealed that nearly fifty per cent of the girl members had mothers who worked full or part-time. The observation made of the average scores of girl members who came from broken homes was similar to that reported for girls with working mothers. With the exception of the areas of CSM, and HF, those girls coming from broken homes reported less problems than those girls who came from homes in which they lived with their mother s and fathers . Comments by the Individuals The voluntary comments by the individuals surveyed in this study provided a useful insight into the feelings of these youth and tended to support the assumption that the individuals would be receptive to a study of problems. The comments suggest that the reported problems are a reasonably accurate description of the individuals' 78 personal problems as they perceive them. It is also conceivable from these comments that the youth are most interested in those areas where they have indicated the most problems and they are willing, in some cases anxious, to find some means by which to seek a solution to those problems. The opinion is reached from reading these comments that these young people would be receptive to the program which had the resolution of their problems incorporated into the approach. The quest for independence is often self evident in these comments and is even more often reflected in the comments which name problems centering around the circumstances in the homes. One of the most often and most strongly expressed comments was that relating to conflict between the individual and his or her parents. The struggle of these young people for their independence is reflected many times over in the other areas of the check list. They seem to find problems within their home situations and yet, when they begin to move into the society outside of their homes, they find problems there related to their uncertainty as to what is expected of them. It was noted in reviewing the comments of those who discussed problems centering around the family and the home, that there was not only a correspondingly larger number of reported problems in this area of the instrument but the number of reported problems was also larger in the areas of MR and SPR. 79 Implications for Program Planning The youth in this study have differentiated interests as evidenced by the patterns of their reported problems. This information suggests several implications for planning programs for that group, and, of especial interest to this study, for the 4-H Club membership. 1. The Mooney Problem Check List is a readily applicable instrument for the study of problems and requires no special training for its administration. A study of problems provides a useful method for differentiating the greater group of high school age youth into smaller manage- able units for program planning. The differences noted between boys and girls, members and non-members, the four age groups, and communities suggest that these are discriminative divisions of the greater group. These are also units which are easily segregated from available records. The information yielded by this study regarding these smaller units is potentially useful for greater specificity of program content and direction. Differences noted in this study suggest that much of the general information about the problems of youth would not necessarily be directly applicable to members of 4-H Clubs without con- sideration of these differences. 80 5. This study has not revealed the intensity, duration, or complexity of the problems reported by the individuals, nor has it suggested that the presence of problems in one amount or another is preferable. Recommendations for Further Study Follow-Up to This Study The ultimate worth of this study is subject to verification by application within the study county. Some of the questions which should be put to a program planned from the results of this study are as follows: 1. Are there areas of information and approaches to program planning for 4-H Club members in which the schools, other youth organi- zations, and the county 4-H Club office could collaborate for a more effective program for all concerned? 2. Do programs related to the problem areas of greatest indicated concern actually attract individuals who have indicated that these areas are of greatest concern to them? 3. Are programs in the context of a general problem area more readily accepted, and do they seem to have a greater impact for individuals who have indicated this area as a source of a major portion of their problems ? 4. Are the so-called smaller manageable units actually an advantageous 81 categorization for program planning? And, if so, are certain units more manageable than others ? Suggestions for Further Study ofthe Problems of 4-H Club Members Aside from the above questions, all of which seem pertinent to better program planning in 4—H Club Work, there are other studies which suggest that they would be fruitful and adaptable to a study of the problems of 4-H Club members. They are as follows: 1. A study of the continuity or of the changing patterns of the problems of the membership—-a longitudinal study. An inquiry into the use of a problem study as a pre- and post-test to measure the effectiveness of a program designed on the basis of the indicated problems of the membership. The determination of other smaller manageable units, possibly as small as neighborhood clubs. Experimentation with various statistical treatments of the data from the Mooney Problem Check List. A study utilizing the individual problems within the Mooney Problem Check List as a useable source of information. {KPPEHQDIX Instructions to Adrninistrators Instrunients Tables 82 83 INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADMINISTRATORS OF INSTRUMENT Sheet #1 Purpose of this study: The information which is sought in the course of this survey will be used in an attempt to determine if a study of problems is a reasonable basis for program planning among 4-H Clubs. The reason for the comparisons between the 4-H and the non-4-H groups is to ascertain if there are certain things which might be considered when working with one group which would not necessarily apply when working with the other. The information will be analyzed in the course of preparing a thesis at MSU. School contacts: It will be necessary to work closely with the schools in your county; some of the basic needs are as follows: 1. Access to school enrollments to establish non 4-H sample. 2. Time and space for administration of the instrument. If the schools request the results of the study they may be assured of receiving this information in due course of time. Sampling Techniques: We will want to be as careful as possible about following the outline below. If there are any questions, please contact the investigator. 1. Establish 4-H sample from county enrollment records. (a) Break down by schools, age, and sex. High school only. 2. Establish an n-th number for each school by dividing enroll— ment of each school by the number of 4-H members enrolled in each. 3. Make a set of numbers equal to the enrollment of the largest schooL 4. Randomly establish a beginning point for counting off to the n-th person on the enrollment by drawing a number from the scrambled set of numbers. 5. When an n-th name has been reached, determine if that person will fit any of the categories of non-4-H, age, and sex needed for that school. 6. Continue the n-th number technique until the non—4-H number for that school has been reached for all categories. (a) If the N has not been reached for all categories in one revolution through the school enrollments, randomly establish a new starting point by drawing another number from the set of numbers made for that purpose. 84 Questions: If there are matters which have not been dealt with here and in the other information which has been exchanged, please contact the investigator as soon as possible. Additional Information: There will be another sheet, Sheet #2, which will give the exact method of presenting the materials. Refer to the sample materials which have been provided and make yourselves familiar with them. 85 INSTRUCTIONS FOR PRESENTING MATERIALS Sheet #2 The conditions under which the materials will be presented to the students will undoubtedly vary with the schools. However, the following form should be followed as closely as possible each time. 1. 2. State the purpose of the survey as noted on Sheet #1. Remind the students that this is not a test. Nothing they do as a result of responding‘to the materials will bring a reflection upon them in any way. Remind the students that there is no desire for names to be attached to the information and that no attempt is being made to connect names to responses. Therefore, their fullest cooperation is desirable. Each student should receive the above information and the following materials at the time they assemble for the survey. (a) One MPCL, 1950 revision, Form Hm. (b) One information'sheet and one answer sheet stapled together, each bearing the same number. (c) A pencil. Present the above set of materials to the students with the information sheet side up and on top. (a) The statement at the top of the information sheet should be read before beginning to mark responses on that sheet. (DO NOT TEAR THESE TWO SHEETS APART. ) (b) Read the directions in the front of the MPCL. (c) Open the check list and begin to record responses on the answer sheet. Return all materials to the administrator of the test. Administrators should return materials to the investigator as soon as possible after each school survey has been completed. Should questions or circumstances arise which have not been discussed and settled prior, use good judgment and attempt to give standardized treatment to all like conditions. INFORMATION SHEET 86 The information given on this page and on the checklist. attached will be used in a research problem about high school youth. We do not want your name, however, all other information is important to the study. Your careful cooperation will be apprech ted. Answer each of the questions below by drawing a CIRCLE around the answer which best describes you or your family. Please answer every question. ‘I. ABOUT YOURSELF: l. AGE (circle closest year) 12 13 14 15 16 1'7 18 19 20 . SEX (circle one) boy girl HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A MEMBER OF A 4-11 CLUB? yes no ARE YOU NOW A MEMBER OF A 4-11 CLUB? yes no TOTALYEARS IN4-HWORK? (circle one) 0 12 34 5678910 HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A JR. IEADER IN 4-H WORK? yes no II. ABOUT YOUR FAMILY: 7. 10. 11. WHERE DOES YOUR FAMILY LIVE? (circle one most descriptive) open small suburbs large country town of a city city DOES YOUR FAMIIX EARN ANY OF ITS INCOME FROM FARMNG?(circ1e) all most part none I LIVE WITH-~(circle one) mother and mother father other father DOES THE MOTHER IN YOUR FAMILY WORK AWAY FROM HCNE?(circle one) full time part. time not all WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING GROUPS BEST DECRIBES YOUR FAMILY?(circle) Indian Mexican Negro Oriental White FLE SPR PPR ASW TOT. l. I11! 1950 REVISION MOONEY PROBLEM CHECK LIST Ross L. MOONEY Bureau of Educational Research Ohio State University DIRECTIONS This is not a test. It is a list of problems which are often troubling students of your age—problems of health, money, social life, home relations, religion, vocation, school work, and the like. Some of these problems are likely to be troubling you and some are not. As you read the list, pick out the problems which are troubling you. There are three steps in what you do. ‘First Step: Read through the list slowly, and when you come to a problem which suggests something which is troubling you, find the number of the item on the answer sheet and blacken the answer space BELOW the number. For example, if you are troubled by the fact that you are underweight (problem number 1 in the list), you would find number 1 on the answer sheet and blacken the answer space BELOW the number. Thus, Go through the whole list in this way, marking the answer spaces below the numbers of the problems which are troubling you. Second Step: When you have completed the first step, read again the items you have marked and pick out the ones which you feel are troubling you most. Show these problems by blackening the answer space ABOVE the number. For example, if, as you look back over all the problems for which there are black marks below the numbers on the answer sheet, you decide that “Being underweight” is one of those which troubles you most, then blacken the answer space ABOVE the number, like this, This example shows how the sheet would be marked by a student for whom both items 1 and 4 represent problems, with 1 being among his most im- portant problems. Third Step: When you have completed the second step, answer the summarizing questions on the back of the answer sheet. Do not make any marks in this booklet. Put all your marks on the answer sheet. Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 1950. All rights reserved. The Psychological Corporation 522 Fifth Avenue, New York 36, Na Y. 87 51-135TB First Step: Read the list slowly, and as you come to a problem which troubles you, blacken the answer space BELOW the number on the answer sheet. Page 2 51. 52. 53. . Made to take subjects I don’t like 55. . Being underweight Being overweight . Not getting enough exercise Getting sick too often Tiring very easily Needing to learn how to save money Not knowing how to spend my money wisely . Having less money than my friends have . Having to ask parents for money . Having no regular allowance (or income) . Slow in getting acquainted with people . Awkward in meeting people . Being ill at ease at social affairs . Trouble in keeping a conversation going . Unsure of my social etiquette . Having dates . Awkward in making a date ' . Not mixing well with the opposite sex . Not being attractive'tothe opposite sex . Not being allowed to have dates . Getting into arguments . Hurting people’s feelings . Being talked about . Being made fun of . Being “different” . Losing my temper . Taking some things too seriously . Being nervous . Getting excited too easily . Worrying . Not going to church often enough . Not living up to my ideal . Puzzled about .the meaning of God . Doubting some of the religious things I’m told . Confused on some of my religious beliefs . Worried about a member of the family . Sickness in the family . Parents sacrificing too much for me . Parents not understanding me . Being treated like a child at home . Unable to enter desired vocation . Doubting the wisdom of my vocational choice . Needing to know my vocational abilities . Doubting I can get a job in my chosen vocation . Wanting advice on what to do after high school . Missing too many days of school . Being a grade behind in school . Adjusting to a new school . Taking the wrong subjects . Not spending enough time in study Having no suitable place to study at home Family not understanding what I have to do in school Wanting subjects not offered by the school Subjects not related to everyday life 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. Frequent headaches Weak eyes Often not hungry for my meals Not eating the right food Gradually losing weight Too few nice clothes ' Too little money for recreation Family worried about money ’Having to watch every penny I spend Having to quit school to work Not enough time for recreation . Not enjoying many things others enjoy . Too little chance to read what I like . Too little chance to get out and enjoy nature . Wanting more time to myself . N 0 suitable places to go on dates . Not knowing how to entertain on a date . Too few dates . Afraid of close contact with the opposite sex Embarrassed by talk about sex . Wanting a more pleasing personality . Not getting along well with other people . Worrying how I impress people . Too easily led by other people Lacking leadership ability . Daydreaming . Being careless Forgetting things . Being lazy Not taking some things seriously enough . Parents making me go to church . Disliking church services . Doubting the value of worship and prayer . Wanting to feel close to God . Affected by racial or religious prejudice . Not living with my parents . Parents separated or divorced . Father or mother not living . Not having any fun with mother or dad . Feeling I don’t really have a home . Needing to decide on an occupation . Needing to know more about occupations . Restless to get out of school and into a job . Can’t see that school work is doing me any good . Want to be on my own Not really interested in books Unable to express myself well in words Vocabulary too limited Trouble with oral reports Afraid to speak up in class discussions Textbooks too hard to understand Teachers too hard to understand So often feel restless in classes Too little freedom in classes Not enough discussion in classes Page 3' 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 126. 127. 128. 129. 130. 131. 132. . Feelings too easily hurt 134. 135. 136. 137. 138. 139. 140. 141. 142. 143. 144. 145. 146. 147. 148. 149. 150. 151. . Choosing best subjects to prepare for college . Choosing best subjects to prepare for a job . Getting needed training for a given occupation . Wanting to learn a trade Not as strong and healthy as I should be Not getting enough outdoor air and sunshine Not getting enough sleep Frequent colds Frequent sore throat Wanting to earn some of my own money Wanting to buy more of my own things Needing money for education after high school Needing to find a part-time job now Needing a job during vacations Nothing interesting to do in my spare time Too little chance to go to shows Too little chance to enjoy radio or television Too little chance to pursue a hobby Nothing interesting to do in vacation Disappointed in a love affair Girl friend Boy friend Deciding whether to go steady Wondering if I'll find a suitable mate Slow in making friends Being timid or shy Getting embarrassed too easily Feeling inferior Moodiness, “having the blues” Trouble making up my mind about things Afraid of making mistakes Too easily discouraged Sometimes wishing I'd never been born Wondering how to tell right from wrong Confused on some moral questions Parents old-fashioned in their ideas Wanting to understand more about the Bible Wondering what becomes of people when they die Being criticized by my parents Parents favoring a brother or sister ' Mother Father Death in the family Choosing best subjects to take next term . Not getting studies done on time . Not liking school . Not interested in some subjects . Can’t keep my mind on my studies . Don't know how to study effectively . Not enough good books in the library . Too much work required in some subjects . Not allowed to take some subjects I want . Not getting along with a teacher - . School is too strict 166. 167. 168. 169. 170. 171. 172. 173. 174. 175. 176. 177. 178. 179. 180. 181. 182. . Deciding whether I’m in love 184. 185. 186. 187. 188. 189. 190. 191. 192. 193. 194. 195. 196. 197. 198. 199. 200. 201. 202. 203. 204. 205. 206. 207. 208. 209. 210. 211. 212. 213. 214. 215. 216. 217. 218. 219. 220. Poor complexion or skin trouble Poor posture Too short Too tall Not very attractive physically Living too far from school Relatives living with us Not having a room of my own Having no place to entertain friends Having no car in the family Not being allowed to use the family car Not allowed to go around with the people I like So often not allowed to go out at night In too few student activities Too little social life Being in love Loving someone who doesn’t love me Deciding whether to become engaged Needing advice about marriage Being criticized by others Being called “high-hat” or “stuck-up” Being watched by other people Being left out of things Having feelings of extreme loneliness Afraid to be left alone Too easily moved to tears Failing in so many things I try to do Can’t see the value of most things I do Unhappy too much of the time Can’t forget some mistakes I’ve made Bothered by ideas of heaven and hell Afraid God is going to punish me Troubled by the bad things other kids do Being tempted to cheat in classes Being an only child Not getting along with a brother or sister Parents making too many decisions for me Parents not trusting me Wanting more freedom at home Deciding whether or not to go to college Needing to know more about colleges Needing to decide on a particular college Afraid I won’t be admitted to a college Afraid I’ll never be able to go to college Trouble with mathematics Weak in writing Weak in spelling or grammar Trouble in outlining or note taking Trouble in organizing papers and reports . Classes too dull Teachers lacking personality Teachers lacking interest in students Teachers not friendly to students Not getting personal help from the teachers Page 4 221. 222. 223. . Glandular disorders (thyroid, lymph, etc.) 225. 226. . Not having certain conveniences at home . Not liking the people in my neighborhood . Wanting to live in a different neighborhood 230. 246. 247. 248. 249. 250. 251. 252. 254. 255. 256. 257. 258. 259. 260. 261. 262. 263. 264. 265. 266. 267. 268. 269. 270. 271. 272. 273. 274. 275. Second Step: Read again the items you have marked and blacken the spaces on the answer sheet ABOVE the numbers of the pvt-Moms which are troubling you most. Trouble with my hearing Speech handicap (stuttering, etc.) Allergies (hay fever, asthma, hives, etc.) Menstrual or female disorders Parents working too hard Ashamed of the home we live in . Wanting to learn how to dance . Wanting to learn how to entertain . Wanting to improve myself culturally . Wanting to improve my appearance . Too careless with my clothes and belongings . Going with someone my family won't accept . Afraid of losing the one I love . Breaking up a love affair . Wondering how far to go with the opposite sex . Wondering if I’ll ever get married . Wanting to be more popular . Disliking someone . Being disliked by someone . Avoiding someone I don’t like 245. Sometimes acting childish or immature Being stubborn or obstinate Tending to exaggerate too much Having bad luck Not having any fun Lacking self-confidence Sometimes lying without meaning to Swearing, dirty stories Having a certain bad habit Being unable to break a bad habit Lacking self-control Clash of opinions between me and my parents Talking back to my parents Parents expecting too much of me Wanting love and affection Wishing I had a different family background Lacking training for a job Lacking work experience Afraid of unemployment after graduation Doubting ability to handle a good job Don’t know how to look for a job Don’t like to study Poor memory Slow in reading Worrying about grades Worrying about examinations Teachers not considerate of students' feelings Teachers not practicing what they preach Too many poor teachers Grades unfair as measures of ability Unfair tests 276. 277. 278. 279. 280. 281. 282. 283. 284. 285. 286. 287. 288. 289. 290. 29 1. 292. - .. 293. 294. 295. 296. 297. 298. 299. 300. 301. 302. 303. 304. 305. 306. 307. 308. 309. 3 10. 311. 312. 313. 314. 315. 316. 317. 318. :319. 320. 321. 322. 323. 324. 325. 326. 327. 328. 329. 3:30. Poor teeth Nose or sinus trouble Smoking Trouble with my feet Bothered by a physical handicap Borrowing money Working too much outside of school hours Working for most of my own expenses Getting low pay for my work Disliking my present job Too little chance to do what I want to do Too little chance to get into sports No good place for sports around home Lacking skill in sports and games Not using my leisure time well Thinking too much about sex matters Concerned over proper sex behavior Finding it hard to control sex urges Worried about sex diseases Needing information about sex matters Being too envious or jealous Speaking or acting without thinking Feeling that nobody understands me Finding it hard to talk about my troubles No one to tell my troubles to Too many personal problems Having memories of an unhappy childhood Bothered by bad dreams Sometimes bothered by thoughts of insanity Thoughts of suicide Sometimes not being as honest as I should be Getting into trouble Giving in to temptations Having a troubled or guilty conscience Being punished for something I didn’t do Friends not welcomed at home Family quarrels Unable to discuss certain problems at home Wanting to leave home Not telling parents everything Not knowing what I really want Needing to plan ahead for the future Family opposing some of my plans Afraid of the future Concerned about military service Getting low grades Just can’t get some subjects Not smart enough Afraid of failing'in school work Wanting to quit school School activities poorly organized Students not given enough responsibility Not enough school spirit Lunch hour too short Poor assemblies 4— Third Step: Answer the quasi“? on the hack of the answer at.» 88 TABLE I.--Rank order of the eleven areas of the Mooney Problem Check List according to the average number of problems by the factors of sex, membership, and age as reported by 135 high school age youth in Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 Problem Sex Membership Age areas Boys Girls 4-H Non-4-H 14 15 16 17 HPD 6 7 11 4 9 7 7 6t FLE 5 6 6 5 8 9 2 5 SRA 8 3t 2 7 2 2 11 3 CSM 9 10 9 11 11 8 10 1o SPR 11 2 4 6 3 4 5 11 PPR 7 3t 7 2 4 5 4 6t MR 3 5 8 3 5 3 6 8 HF 10 9 10 10 6t 11 9 9 FVE 2 11 3 9 6t 10 8 2 ASW 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 CTP 4 5 8 10 6 3 4 TABLE 11. --Average number of problems for each of the eleven areas ofthe Mooney Problem Check List according to the factors of sex, membership, and age as reported by 135 high school age youth in Yuma County, Arizona, Spring, 1960 Problem Sex Membership Age areas Boys Girls 4-H Non-4-H 14 15 16 17 HPD 2. 8o 4. 48 2. 71 4. 57 3. 59 3. 97 3. 85 3. 20 FLE 3. 25 4. 63 3. 42 4. 46 3. 6o 3. 92 4. 97 3. 27 SRA 2.60 5. 55 3. 82 4. 33 4. 95 4.70 3. 45 3. 45 CSM 2. 52 4. 13 2. 78 3. 87 3.10 3. 95 3. 52 2. 75 SPR 2.17 5.80 3. 6o 4. 37 4. 85 4.40 4. 22 2. 47 PPR 2. 73 5. 55 3. 21 5.10 4.60 4.30 4.60 3. 20 MR 3. 38 4. 68 3.17 4.90 4. 52 4. 62 3. 97 3. 02 HF 2. 51 4. 27 2. 72 4.06 3. 85 3. 25 3. 67 2. 8o FVE 3. 77 4.02 3. 61 4.18 3. 85 3. 75 3. 75 4. 35 ASW 5. 68 6. 38 5. 27 6. 77 6.05 6. 05 6. 75 5. 25 CTP 3. 31 4.46 3. 53 4.23 3.27 4.27 - 4.65 3. 35 89 BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Bernert, Eleanor H. America's Children. New York: John Wiley 8: Son Inc. , 1958. Blos, Peter. Adolescent Personality. New York: Appleton-Century- Crofts, Inc., 1941. Crow, Lester D. Psychology of Adolescence. 4th ed. rev. New York: Rinehart & Co. Inc., 1956. Crow, Lester D. and Crow, Alice. Adolescent Development and Adjustment. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1956. Friedenberg, Edgar Z. The Vanishing Adolescent. Boston: Beacon Press, 1959. Gesell, Arnold, Ilg, Frances and Ames, Louise Bates. Youth, The Years from 10 to 16. New York: Harper & Bros. , 1956. Ginzberg, Eli (ed. ). The Nation's Children. Three volumes. New York: Columbia University Press, 1960. Hartshorne, Hugh, and May, Mark A. ”A Summary of the Work of the Character Education Inquiry, " The Adolescent. Edited by Jerome M. Seidman. New York: Dryden Press, 1953. Havighurst, Robert J. and Taba, Hilda. Adolescent Character and Personality. New York: John Wiley 8.: Son Inc. , 1949. Hoel, Paul G. 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C. : National Council for the Social Studies and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Education Association, 1944. Wittenberg, Rudolph M. On Call for Youth. New York: Association Press, 1955. Periodicals Ard, Ben. “Some Comparisons of 4-H Members and Non-members in Their Family Situations, ” Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. 41, No. 2 (November, 1958). Bates, Lawrence R. and Cottle, Wm. C. ”A Study of Relationship between Measured Intelligence and Problems of Ninth Grade Pupils, " University of Kansas Bulletin of Education, VIII (1953). Brown, W. H. “Problems of Probation and Honor Students, " Educational Research Bulletin, XXXII (January, 1953). Buchanan, Lola and Bryan, Ray. "Which Pupils Have Problems ?" Clearing House, XXIV (1949—50). Cary, Miles E. "Looking at Teenage Problems, ” Journal of Home Economics, L (December, 1958). Fisher, Robert P. "Signed vs. Unsigned Personal Questionnaires, " Journal of Applied Psychology, XXX (1946). 91 Fick, Reuel L. ”The Problem Check List: A Valuable Approach in. Counseling, ” Occupations, XXX (1952). Garrison, Karl C. and Cunningham, Ben W. Jr. ”Personal Problems of Ninth-Grade Pupils, " School Review, LX (1952). McIntyre, Charles J. ”The Validity of the Mooney Problem Check List, " Journal of Applied Psychology, XXXVII (1953). Mooney, Ross L. ”Community Differences in the Problems of High School Students. A Survey of Five Communities by Means of a Problem Check List.” Educational and Psychological Measurement, XXXI (1943). Mooney, Ross L. "Surveying High School Student‘s Problems by Means of a Problem Check List, ” Educational Research Bulletin, XXI (1942). Mooney, Ross L. and Gordon, Leonard V. ”A Note of the Organizations of the Problems Check List, ” Educational Research Bulletin, XXVII (1949). Wardlow, Mary E. and Greene, James E. "An Exploratory Sociometric Study of Peer Group Status among Adolescent Girls, ” Sociometry, XV (August—November, 1952). Bulletin 3 and Circular 5 Copp, James H. , Clark, Robert C. Factors Associated with Re- enrollment in 4-H Clubs. University of Wisconsin, Agricultural Experiment Station Research Bulletin 195, 1956. Kreitlow, Burton W. , Pierce, Lowell, and Middleton, Curtis. Who Joins 4-H Clubs ? University of Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station Research Bulletin 215, 1959. Lyle, Mary Frances. "Participation of Older Club Members in 4—H Clubs in Selected Counties of South Dakota, " Unpublished Ph. D. thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1958. (As cited in Review of Extension Research, U. S. D. A. , Federal Extension Service Circular 521, 1959.) 92 Unpublished Material Bishop, Marie. ”The Influence of Program Content on the Decision of Girls Age 14, 15, and 16 to Re-enroll in 4-H Club Work‘. ” Unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State University, 1956. Conzemius, Rosemary. ”A Comparison of the Development of Social Responsibility in Rural Boys and Girls. ” Unpublished Master's thesis, School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, 1956. Moore, Leta Townsend. ”A Study of Problems of Four H Youth Enrolled in Grades 10-11-12 in Five Counties of Oklahoma. ” Unpublished Master‘sthesis, Oklahoma A 8: M, 1950. Paquin, Laurence G. "A Plan for the Improvement of a Secondary School Based on an Analysis of Certain Problems of Pupils as Revealed by the Mooney Problem Check List. " Unpublished Ed. D. thesis, New York University, 1956. Rutledge, Charles Walter. "Social Status and the Perception of Personal-Social Problems of a Selected Group of Early Adolescents." Unpublished Ph. D. thesis, Michigan State University, 1960. Other Sources Baten, William D. Statistician, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, Michigan State University. Personal interview. 0&4?” b E. «3;? 081*1'3'?‘ 55"” ->' 14. ‘ . ~ ~a" .. :5 h“— «.z'wrv W "€38 W” 1 I k. M.) 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