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This is to certify that the
thesis entitled

ASSOCIATION OF HOMEMAICER ATTITUDES
TO NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE

presented by

Barbara L . Kreutz

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

 

 

Ph.D. degree in Family Ecology

Zez/e/ZM //

Major professor

Date fig?!) 92:): /Z73/

ABSTRACT

ASSOCIATION OF HOMEMAKER ATTITUDES

TO NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE

BY

Barbara L. Kreutz

Nutritional inadequacy is thought to be related to a discrepancy
between availability of nutrition information and adoption of acceptable
nutrition practices. To better understand those factors which affect
nutrition practices, specific elements associated with nutritional
choice are investigated, as these attitudes and characteristics of
homemakers relate to nutrition knowledge.

Data for this research were gathered as part of an Expanded
Nutrition Evaluation Study designed by the Institute for Family and
Child Study and conducted by the Michigan Cooperative Extension
Service. A purposive sample of 273 homemakers was drawn. These home-
makers were a part of the Expanded Nutrition Program.

The major objective is twofold: totdevelop attitudinal
constructs from interview statements, and to examine the relationships
and associations of those attitudes with specific characteristics of
homemakers and their knowledge of nutrition.

Psychological constructs were develOped from operational

Barbara L. Kreutz
definitions as suggested by the Rokeachean theory of central-peripheral
dimension of a cognitive structure. Factor analysis, oblique multiple
groups analysis, was used to develop four constructs: management,
homemaker role, parent role, and attitude toward education. A fifth
construct consisting of statements used to measure nutrition knowledge
was adopted from the original nutrition interview questionnaire.
Coefficient alphas of .75, .76, 082, .71, and .71 were attained.

Five hypotheses were tested by using simple correlation
coefficient analysis, multivariate-univariate analysis of regression,
and analysis of variance techniques:

1. There are no significant relationships among managerial
control, satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent
role, positive attitude toward education, education, age,
amount of monthly income, number of children, size of house-
hold, number of financial sources received, residence,
and ethnic background of homemakers to nutrition knowledge.

The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a P'(.01. Positively
correlated relationships existed between non-authoritarian parent role,
satisfying homemaker role, positive attitude toward education, manage-
rial control, educational attainment and residence. Negatively
correlated relationships were found between ethnic background and

younger homemakers to higher-level nutrition knowledge.

2. There are no predictable criteria of variation in nutrition
knowledge from.specific measures of homemaker attitudes.

The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a P<L.OOOl. Signi-
ficant associations were found between an increase in nutrition know—
ledge score of .134 for each cumulative degree in managerial control at

a P< .0019; between an increase in nutrition knowledge score of .129 for

Barbara L. Kreutz
each cumulative degree in satisfying homemaker role at a Pe(.0039;
between an increase in nutrition knowledge score of .294 for each
cumulative degree in non-authoritarian parent role at a P<..0001; and
between an increase in nutrition knowledge score of .133 for each
cumulative degree of positive attitude toward education at a Pe<.OOOl.

3. There are no predictable criteria of variation in attitudes
and nutrition knowledge from specific measures of homemaker
characteristics.

The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a P<~.0001. Two
significant associations were found for education and for age. With
each additional year of education, there were predictable associations
between attitudes of managerial control by .175, satisfying homemaker
role by .179, non-authoritarian parent role by .075, positive attitude
toward education by .374, and homemakers' knowledge of nutrition
score by .192 at a P‘(.0001. With each additional year of age, there
were predictable associations between attitudes of managerial control
by -.004, satisfying homemaker role by -.006, non-authoritarian parent
role by -.000, knowledge of nutrition score by -.003, and positive
attitude toward education by .004 at a Ph<.0659. Hypothesized associa-
tions between amount of monthly income, number of children, household
size, and number of financial sources were not rejected at P's (.1226,
s..9960, (.8459, and (.6816, respectively.

4. There are no predictable differences between urban home-
makers and rural homemakers in managerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role,
positive attitude toward education and their knowledge of

nutrition.

The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a Pt(.0269, to the

Barbara L. Kreutz
extent that there were significant differences between cell means in
non-authoritarian parent role at a P< .0012, and in nutrition knowledge
score at a P<:.009l, for rural non-farm homemakers.

5. There are no predictable differences among Caucasian,

Black and Spanish American homemakers in managerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role,
positive attitude toward education and their knowledge of
nutrition.

The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a P<L.0001.
Caucasian homemakers indicate higher cell means on all four attitudes
of managerial control at a P41.0597, satisfying homemaker role at a
Pt(.0001, non-authoritarian parent role at a Pe<.0001, positive
attitude toward education at a P (.0001, and nutrition knowledge
score at a P<:.0001. While indicating lower overall cell means for
both Black and Spanish American homemakers, Black women indicate a
more positive attitude toward education than indicated by Spanish
American women; and, in turn, Spanish American homemakers indicate a
more non-authoritarian parent role than indicated by Black homemakers.

The findings from this study make a plea for precision in
measurement and for recognition of the role that attitudes can play in

both acquisition of knowledge and use of knowledge for bringing about

change.

ASSOCIATION OF HOMEMAKER ATTITUDES

TO NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE

BY

Barbara L. Kreutz

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Family Ecology

1974

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Appreciation is expressed to the members of the advisory
committee: to Dr. Beatrice Paolucci, Chairman, for her unflinching
support during times of both unfavorable and favorable situations,
to Dr. Jeanne Gullahorn, for her assistance in the social psychological
aspects of the study, and to Drs. Jean Schlater and Donald Melcer, for
their many constructive criticisms.

Data for the study were gathered as part of an Expanded
NutrithniEvaluathmmStudy, designed, conducted and analyzed through the
auspices of the Institute for Family and Child Study and the Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service. Gratitude is extended for the interest
and support of those institutions. It is especially expressed to Dr.
Portia Morris, Director of the research study, for special information
and assistance.

Gratitude is extended also to the graduate research assistants
assigned to the project, for their relentless search for the truth;
and to the participating families, I am grateful for their contributions.

Finally, I am thankful to friends and colleagues for their
cognitive structures and managerial processes resulting in the research

reported here.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
LIST OF TABIJES O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 O O O O O 0 O O 0 v

LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

H

Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hypotheses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0".th

II. RELATED LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

00

Development of Attitude Constructs . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Organization of the Central-Peripheral Dimension . . . . 11
Formulation of Constructs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l4

Attitudes and Nutrition Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

III. METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Selection of Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Selection of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Attitude Items in Interview Schedule . . . . . . . . . . 31
Construct Validation and Reliability . . . . . . . . . . 32
Inter-rater Reliability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Scoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Analysis of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

IV. DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Background of the Overall Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4O
Confidentiality of the Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Description of Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

V. FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Description of Responses to Attitudes and Nutrition

Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Test of Relationships Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Hypothesis 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

iii

Te

sts of Predictive Association Hypotheses . . . . . . . .
Hypothesis 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hypothesis 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hypothesis 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hypothesis 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

VI. CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS . . . . . . . . .

Conclusions of Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Li

Reliability and Validity of Constructs . . . . . . . . .
Association Between Nutrition Knowledge and Attitudes .
Association Between Nutrition Knowledge, Attitudes and
Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Relationship Between Nutrition Knowledge, Attitudes and
Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Responses to Nutrition Knowledge and Attitude Statements
Homemaker Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
mitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

APPENDICES

A. Atti

meow O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 O 0 O O O O O 0
Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Action Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

tude Schedule and Biological Data Schedule . . . . . .

B. Attitude and Nutrition Knowledge Constructs . . . . . . . .
C. Inter-rater Reliability Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
D. Homemaker Responses to Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . .

LITERATURE CITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

iv

59
59
62
67
69

72

72
72
73

75

77
77
78
79
80
80
81
81

82
102
108
110

119

LIST CF TABLES

Table Page
1. Methods used in analysis of data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2. Characteristics of homemakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3. Family characteristics of homemakers . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4. Financial characteristics of homemakers . . . . . . . . . . 48
5. Household size of homemakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

6. Chi-square test of association between homemaker
characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

7. Homemaker responses to statements in attitudes and nutrition
knowledge constructs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

8. Simple correlation coefficients of attitudes and specific
characteristics of homemakers to nutrition knowledge . . . 57

9. Predicted regression coefficients between attitudes of
homemakers and nutrition knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

10. Predicted regression coefficients between attitudes,
characteristics of homemakers and nutrition knowledge . . 63

ll. Predicted differences between residence in attitudes and
nutrition knowledge of homemakers . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

12. Predicted differences among ethnic backgrounds in attitudes
and nutrition knowledge of homemakers . . . . . . . . . . 7O

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. An organizational representation of the cognitive
structure 0 O C O O O C C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 1 3

vi

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

One of the identified problems in the decade of the 19703 is the
notion of nutritional inadequacy in a land of abundance as well as
nutritional inadequacy in the modern world at the edge of famine.

Man threatens to deprive himself of a future by

refusing to recognize his predicament. Insanely we

try to talk ourselves out of reality. We refuse to

acknowledge the rising human tidal wave. We profess

to believe that our civilization will be the first in

history to attain immortality. We are convinced we

know the secret of perpetuating our way of life with

the aid of science and technology. Yet our fate is

to be read as in an open book. We are dazzled into

inactivity like the rodent facing the gaze of the

snake. we do not seem to want to face facts or to

make a courageous effort to regain control of our

destiny by overcoming our demographic illiteracy.

What we must do is start the great rescue Operation
of mankind.

Borgstrom, 1965, vii

An aspect of this impending dilemma concerns the nature of
nutrition information which is widely disseminated through mass media,
educational systems, and informal communication. The degree of accuracy
of information according to scientific nutritional standards is not
clearly known. One of the concerns of education has been that of a
discrepancy between availability of nutrition information and adoption
of acceptable nutrition practices. There is need to better understand
those factors which affect these practices. Specially, what elements
determine choice? That is, what specific attitudes, knowledge level

1

and characteristics are thought to be related to the management of
everyday living, including the management of the family's food?

There is a philosophical background underlying choice. In
recognition of this fact, Lewin (1943, 1947, 1958) conducted studies
of attitudes and food practices to investigate some aspects of
reasons people eat what they eat, and to study possible methods of
changing these food habits. It appeared that in order to influence
food habits, psychological factors influencing decisions about food
must be understood in relation to peoples cognitive structure, in terms
in which people think and speak about food; and to their motivations
or the system of values and beliefs which determine the decisions of
housewives as to what they consider to be good or bad, and partly on
the way they perceive the particular situation.

Gross and Crandall (1963, p. 3) also recognized that choice as
it affects management necessarily concerns people in their most intimate
living situations and is interwoven with family and group relations.
Management is the major means of achieving family goals and challenges
the use of not only time, energy, money and material goods but also
knowledge, interests, abilities, skills, attitudes of family members,
and community facilities.

General concern, then, for nutritional inadequacy and the need
of improving the conditions contributing to physiological health and
development and to resource use, makes important a better understanding
of those factors which affect the choice and practices in everyday
living. This study seeks to investigate the association of selected

attitudes and specific characteristics of homemakers to the acquisition

of nutrition knowledge.

Objectives

 

The major objective of this study is twofold: 1) to develop

specific attitudinal constructs of high internal consistency, and

2) to examine the relationships and associations of those constructs

and selected characteristics of homemakers to nutrition knowledge.

The specific objectives are as follows:

1.

To develop attitudinal constructs related to management,
homemaker role, parent role, education, and

nutrition knowledge construct of high internal consistency.
To examine the relationships among those attitudes and
specific characteristics of homemakers to nutrition
knowledge.

To determine the predictable associations between attitudes
of homemakers and nutrition knowledge.

To determine the predictable associations between Specific
characteristics of homemakers and attitudes and nutrition
knowledge.

To determine the differences between specific characteristics
of residence and ethnic background and attitudes and

nutrition knowledge of homemakers.

The first objective is pursued through methodological develop-

ment of attitudinal and nutrition knowledge constructs. The next four

objectives are met by tests of hypotheses.

Assumptions

 

Child-feeding practices are perceived by homemakers as
relevant areas of concern.

Responses to forced choice statements are reliable means

for measuring homemaker attitudes and nutrition knowledge.
Responses to statements are inferences made by the homemaker

about underlying states of expectancy.

Hypotheses

 

There are no significant relationships among managerial

control, satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian

parent role, positive attitude toward education, education,

age, amount of monthly income, number of children, size of

household,number of financial sources received, residence,

and ethnic background of homemakers to nutrition knowledge.

There are no predictable criteria of variation in nutrition

knowledge and specific measures of homemaker attitudes.

a. There is no association between nutrition knowledge and
managerial control.

b. There is no association between nutrition knowledge and
satisfying homemaker role.

c. There is no association between nutrition knowledge and
non-authoritarian parent role.

d. There is no association between nutrition knowledge and

positive attitude toward education.

There are no predictable criteria of variation in attitudes

and nutrition knowledge and specific measures of homemaker

characteristics.

a.

There are no associations between managerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent

role, positive attitude toward education, nutrition
knowledge and education of homemakers.

There are no associations between managerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent

role, positive attitude toward education, nutrition
knowledge and age of homemakers.

There are no associations between managerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, nonqauthoritarian parent role,
positive attitude toward education, nutrition knowledge
and amount of monthly income of homemakers.

There are no associations between managerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent

role, positive attitude toward education, nutrition
knowledge and number of children of homemakers.

There are no associations between managerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role,
positive attitude toward education, nutrition knowledge
and size of household of homemakers.

There are no associations between managerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role,

positive attitude toward education, nutrition knowledge

and number of financial sources received by homemakers.
4. There are no predictable differences between urban homemakers
and rural homemakers in managerial control, satisfying
homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role, positive
attitude toward education and their knowledge of nutrition.
5. There are no predictable differences among Caucasian, Black,
and Spanish American homemakers humanagerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role,
positive attitude toward education and their knowledge of

nutrition.

Definitions

 

1. Attitude. The concept as defined by Rokeach (1972, p. 112)
is that attitudes are a relatively enduring organization of beliefs
around an object or situation predisposing one to respond in some
preferential manner. By nature an attitude is enmeshed in a complex
system of beliefs and values. Beliefs are considered a subsystem of an
attitude, with underlying values rendering positive or negative valence.

2. Management attitude. This attitude is composed of beliefs
which relate to the nature of the physical and social world as it
involves one's existence, and the ability to influence or control the
structure and operation of the physical or social environment.

3. Homemaker role attitude. An attitude which relates to the

 

nature of the "self," as that self was learned by direct encounter with
the homemaker role and as that role is reinforced by social consensus

among one's reference groups.

4. Parent role attitude. This attitude toward the "generalized
other" is learned by direct encounter with the parent role and with
experiences associated with children.

5. Education attitude. Positive or negative attitudes toward

 

educational sources of information and learning do not have the same
taken-for-granted character as the previous three sets of attitudes.
This attitude depends on learning experiences within the context of
the person's social structure.

6. Nutrition knowledge. Appropriate information related to

 

common essential foods included in the basic four food groups, to
carbohydrates and fats, and to the affect of their intake upon one's

health.

CHAPTER I I

RELATED LITERATURE

The literature is a selected compilation related to the following
divisions: development of attitude constructs, and attitudes and

nutrition knowledge.

Development of Attitude Constructs

In discussing the nature of the choice-making process, Hoyt
(1969, p. 6) acknowledges that freedom of choice is a matter of two
inter-related freedoms. First,:hsman's freedom to choose his motiva-
tions, his beliefs, his objectivesiJiliving. Second,,is his freedom
to know and to select among alternatives that can or might bring about
these objectives. The first is a matter of values: for what does he
live? The second involves values also, but tests and measurements of
various kinds as well. For both he needs knowledge.

Factors associated with choice are better understood when
examined within a framework which accommodates a study of beliefs,
attitudes, and values. Lewin's field theory (Hall and Lindsey, 1957)
is characterized by behavior as a function of the field. Field, is
defined as the mutual relations among interdependent facts which
comprise the cognitive structure. A person, surrounded by a psycholo-

gical environment as the stimulus situation, is assumed to have such

qualities as needs, beliefs and values, perceptual and motive system,
which in interaction amongst themselves and with the objective environ-
ment produce a Life Space.

Theoretically, the region that is buried deeply in the central
portion of the psychological Life Space is less accessible to the
objective environment. The interconnection of the core or central
portion and the outer or peripheral portion is dependent upon the
nearness-remoteness, firmness-weakness, and fluidity-rigidity of their
boundaries, with accessibility the counterpart of influence. Under
these circumstances the objective environmental facts may have
difficulty reaching the remote central region, and likewise a fact '
embedded in the central region could have little or no communication
with the environment.

Individual psychological processes are derived from the relation
of the concrete individual to the concrete situation, and, so far as
internal forces are concerned, from the mutual relations of the various
functional system that make up the individual. It is the relationships
among components of a conceptual field rather than the fixed characteris-
tics of the individual components which determine perception. Two
regions are said to be connected where a fact in one region is in commu-
nication with a fact in another region. A fact, sensed or inferred, must
exist in the psychological environment before it can influence or be
influenced by the person.

Facts that exist in the region outside and adjacent to the
boundary of the Life Space, a region which Lewin calls the Foreign

Hull of the Life Space can materially influence the psychological

10

environment. That is, non-psychological facts, though not affecting
the individual at a given time, can and do alter psychological ones at
a later time. Deutsch (1954, p. 193) characterizes the various
components of the non-psychological milieu in terms of the perceptions
and manipulations they will support or permit, the perceptions and
manipulations they will coerce, and the chain of events in the non-
psychological milieu released by psychological interaction with any
of its components.

wright (1950), a psychological ecologist, uses the term "behavior
setting" to refer to any part of the non-psychological environment
perceived by the people of a community as appropriate for particular
kinds of behavior. Whether positions in a social structure or region
visualized in terms of geographical locations, these perceptions are
shared frames of reference or collective intentions as ‘Uo what is
appropriate behavior in a given behavior setting or with a given
behavior-object.

Lewin has suggested that the study of the facts in the Foreign
Hull be called psychological ecology. The first step recommended in
making a psychological investigation is to establish the nature of the
facts which exist at the boundary of the Life Space since these facts
help to determine what is and what is not possible, and what might or
might not happen in the Life Space. There is a two-way communication
between the two realms. Not only can environmental facts influence the

person, personal facts can influence the environment.

 

lllf [lll'l

11

Organization of the Central-Peripheral Dimension

Lewin did not develop fully in his theory the means by which
the dynamics of the cognitive structure evolved. He did acknowledge
the term ”need” as a motivational concept, the nuclear concept around
which other concepts cluster. Each need is considered a concrete
fact, thereby linking the needs in the inner-personal region with
properties of the environment which then motivate the kind of behavior
which will occur. The term "valence" is a steering concept, the
positive or negative value of that region, which is coordinated with a
need and imparts values to the psychological and non—psychological
environment.

Thus, a new region is differentiated out of the Life Space
whenever a new fact comes into existence: a region disappears whenever
a fact disappears or merges with another fact. A psychological fact is
coordinated with a psychological region, giving emergence to a core-
peripheral dimension. Lewin felt that eventually the term "need"
would be dropped from psychology in favor of a more suitable concept,
one that is more observable and measurable. Bavelas (1948) contributed
considerable knowledge to the organization and dynamics of the central-
peripheral dimension with a mathematical model of areas in the cognitive
structure most and least susceptible to change in the organization of
mental materials. It was not until considerably later, however, that
a new set of constructs having definable and measurable attributes and
organizational preperties came into being. Rokeach (1960) proceeded
to develop a single set of concepts, a single language, that is equally

appropriate to the analysis of personality, ideology, and cognitive

12

behavior.

Attitudes are assumed to be by definition relatively enduring
organization of beliefs around an object or situation predisposing one
to respond in some preferential manner (Rokeach, 1972, p. 112). This
predisposition is thought to be altered through the organization or
structure of beliefs or a change in the content of one or more of the
beliefs entering into the attitude organization. It is to the describ-
able and measurable structural prOperties of attitudes, only, that the
remaining literature is related.

Beliefs are defined by Rokeach (1972, p. 2) as inferences made
by an observer about underlying states of expectancy. Three assumptions
underly the theory: 1) not all beliefs are equally important to the
individual: 2) beliefs vary along a central-peripheral dimension: and
3) the more central a belief, the more it will resist change. The
focus is the development of a conceptual approach to the relative
importance or centrality of generic types of beliefs along a central-
peripheral dimension, Figure l. The importance of the organization of
beliefs is in terms of their functional connectedness of centrality,
more central the belief the more implications it has for other beliefs
ordered along the dimension.

Thus, the organization of the central-peripheral dimension
might be thought of as the following three layers: 1) In the central
region and at the core are found beliefs which formulate attitudes
about the nature of the world. Whether the world is basically a
friendly or unfriendly place to live in; whether parental or

authority figures are loving or punishing: whether people in general

Central-Peripheral Dimension

Central

13

Peripheral

 

Specific content
of Central
Region

Nature of the physical
world, the nature of
the "self" and of the
generalized "other."

Formal content
of Intermediate
Region

Beliefs about autho-
rity and the people
who line up with
authority, on whom
one depends in seek—
ing information to

Structural inter-
connections of
Peripheral Region

Beliefs derived from
authority, with such
attitudes or informa-
tion filling in the
details of one's
knowledge.

gain knowledge.

An organizational representation of the cognitive structure.
(Reconstructed from the theory)

Figure l.

are characteristically to be trusted or feared; and whether the future
is to be regarded with security or apprehension. There are beliefs
about the "self," about self-identity, and about the way one orients
the self in physical space: and there are beliefs about autonomy or
dependence in relation to "others." 2) The formal content of the
beliefs in the intermediate region concerns the nature of positive

or negative authority, as any source to whom one looks for information
about the world or to verify information already possessed.

People differ in the kind of authority they depend on for information,
as they have different ideas about the nature of authority, and
different theories about the way to employ authority as a cognitive
interrelationship between the person and the environment. 3) Beliefs
of the peripheral region emanate from positive and negative authorities.

It is assumed that all information impinging upon the person from

the outside is either accepted or rejected for compatability with

14

beliefs of the central region. This process may require accepting,
altering or rationalizing the new information; then, to file the
information in some form of internal organization for later
application.

It is the structural interconnectedness among central, inter-
mediate and peripheral beliefs that give the total belief system its

integrated, holistic and systematic character.

Formulation of Constructs

 

Schaefer and Bell (1958) developed a parental attitude research
instrument for measurement of concepts concerning parental attitudes
toward child rearing. They proceeded to develop attitude scales of
considerable comprehensiveness, on the assumption that in an early
state of development, less reliable measures of a number of relevant
variables containing specific variance might be preferable to inves-
tigating a limited number of very reliably measured variables.

Their procedure for scale development is of interest to this
study.

Statistically significant items from studies conducted by
Mark (1953) and Shoben (1949) were sorted by clinical psychologists
into groups of items which seemed psychologically compatible categories.
Then, with a conceptual scheme derived from either theory formulated
through concepts or developed by writers who offered additional
information relevant to parent-child relationships, all items from
the two studies were classified into one of 32 operationally defined

categories. Items formulating the categories ranged from five to ten

15

in number, which suggests that some categories would have higher
discriminating power than others.

Twenty-five mothers served as subjects for pre-testing
these scales. After several successive trial forms, making use of
new information acquired from previous trials, a pool of items was
developed and standardized on samples of 100 women. Through this
procedure of eliminating poorly correlated items and rewriting new
statements, the Schaefer and Bell scale developed into an eight-item
form, with a reliability of .82. The researchers emphasized that
improvements in scale reliability were frequently rather dramatic
following detection of the psychological basis of the success of
discriminating items.

The Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 (1937) was used to estimate
test-retest reliabilities of the eight-item scale after it was
administered to nursing students of comparable age, education and
socioeconomic background, with satisfactory correlations ranging
in the sixties and seventies. To develop a more efficient test, the
five most reliable items for each attitude scale were selected,
resulting in 23 variables with five items per scale. The consistency
reliability coefficients on the 23 scales were reported again as
satisfactory.

Findings disclosed that many variables were related to education,
with mothers of higher education usually having more approved attitudes
toward child-rearing: and that logically, psychologically, and empi-
rically homogeneous scales of attitude toward child-rearing will be

useful in investigating theories of the influence of maternal

l6

attitudes upon development of the child (p. 353).

Cross and Kawash (1968) revised and shortened the PARI or
Parental Attitude Research Instrument in an attempt to assess authori-
tarianism toward child-rearing. To achieve more depth and precision,
the three following attitude scales were combined: 1) Encouraging
verbalization and equalitarianism as a democratic acceptance and
rejection factor; 2) Irritability and rejecting of the homemaking role
as an irritability and warmth factor. The homemaking role was later
excluded so as to apply to both mothers and fathers; and 3) Excluding
outside influence and deification as an authoritarian and democratic
factor.

This new, shortened form.was tested with 180 mothers and 166
fathers. As requested by the researcher, four factors were extracted
by principal components analysis, only two of which reflected psycho-
logically meaningful combinations of subtests. Scales within the
authoritarian and warmth factors were reflected to eliminate negative
correlations in the original matrix and so that a high score would
indicate more of a given variable. The final shortened form consists
of nine scales of five items each.

From the findings it was concluded that pe0p1e who have liberal,
democratic attitudes toward child-rearing tend to be less authoritarian
in their ideological beliefs, as these attitudes might probably be
best construed as a cluster of ideological beliefs; and that this
shortened form of the PARI is potentially valuable for assessing non-
authoritarian attitudes toward child-rearing (p. 97). Yater and

associates (1968) also pose the notion that the PARI may be measuring

l7

cultural attitudes, values, toward child-rearing rather than attitudes
of specific groupings 0f mothers, for there appears to be a commonality
of child-rearing attitudes across quite different socioeconomic and
educational groupings.

More recently, an adaptation of the PARI was developed by Sims
(1971) to learn how mothers felt about family life and their role as
parents, in that those attitudes might have bearing on the child's
physical development and nutritional status.

Sims used the shortened form of the instrument (Cross and
Kawash, 1968), with the addition of the scale for Rejection of the Home-
making Role, which had originally been omitted. In that the original
Cross and Kawash scale was not consistent with expectations, new
scales were formed using the same 53 items. A multiple groups cluster
analysis generated the following eleven clusters: "parents are 'all-
wise'," ”children should be treated as equals," "children should only
listen to and trust parents," ”unquestioned loyalty," "deception,"
"homemaking is being trapped in a dull job," "homemakers would like
to get out!," "raising children is nerve-wracking," "occasional
dissatisfaction with being a homemaker," ”frequent dissatisfaction,"
and ”residuals.” Findings indicate a positive correlation between
"parents are 'all-wise'," "children should only listen to and trust
parents," and "unquestioned loyalty:' and a positive correlation between
"homemakers would like to get out!" and "homemaking is being trapped
in a dull job,” "raising children is nerve-wracking," "occasional
dissatisfaction with being a homemaker," ”frequent dissatisfaction."

These psychosocial attributes also were correlated with selected

18

demographic and resource characteristics of the family. Some of the
following findings were reported as significant at the .01 level:
1) number of persons in the home was positively correlated with
”parents are 'all-wise'," "unquestioned loyalty," "deception,"
"trapped in a dull job" and powerlessness. Number of children under
five years of age in the home was positively correlated with "parents
are 'all-wise'," "unquestioned loyalty," and "trapped in a dull job."
Parental occupation and education scale is positively correlated with
treating child as an equal, nutrition is important, and importance of
education. Socioeconomic status correlated positively with treating
child as an equal, nutrition is important, and family centrism. Black
ethnic background correlated positively with "only listen to parent,"
"trapped in a dull job," and powerlessness: while Caucasian was inversely
related to "frequent dissatisfaction with children." Score on nutrition
knowledge test was positively correlated with nutrition is important
and inversely related to ”trapped in a dull job,” "parents are 'all-
wise'," ”listen only to parent," ”unquestioned loyalty,” ”deception,"
and powerlessness.

In conclusion, Sims presented a patterning of associations.
There emerged, among other types, a typology of maternal characteristics
related to non-authoritarian attitudes toward child-rearing. She
observed a basic disagreement with ”parents are 'all-wise'," "listen
only to parents," ”unquestioned loyalty,“ "trapped in a dull job,"

and ”deception:" while agreement with "treating child as an equal."

19
Attitudes and Nutrition Knowledge

Psychosystem functioning is assumed to be externally, not
simply internally, controlled by feedback transactions with the environ-
ment; a condition which of necessity motivates and actively engages man
in interpreting and defining the situation, choosing of action, and
subsequently deciding in a complex adaptive system (Buckley, 1968). It
is to this basic and general premise that the literature pertaining to
attitudes and nutrition knowledge is related.

One of the earliest studies of motivation underlying food
practices was conducted by Kurt Lewin (1943) during the first world
war at a time of concerted interest in better utilization of scarce
though available food. The objectives of the study were to investigate
some aspects of why people eat what they eat and to study methods of
changing food habits. In a mid-western community, 107 housewives were
interviewed as to why they eat what they eat and as to how food comes
to the table and why. Approximately 20 women in each of the following
groups comprised the study: Whites of high income, middle income and
low income; Czechoslovakians of middle income; and Black of low income
but of middle-class social status.

The basic operation in any Lewinian scheme of scientific
analysis is to explore the problem of where and how the psychological
and the non-psychological aspects intersect in relation to a "channel
theory." The non-psychological aspects of the study require knowledge
of: l) movement of food by series of steps through various channels
with respect to the number of food channels existing for a particular

family: 2) new channels which Open or the old channels through which

Ill. l {[t (. 'KK,

20

traffic is increased should certain channels be blocked: and

3) attitudes and behavior sets of the cultural setting. These psycho-
logical forces influence an objective movement of food or lend a
certain amount of resistance to the movement of food or tend to
prevent, entirely, the entrance of food into particular channels. The
number and percentages of families buying at varying intervals, using
different channels, and eating food canned at home indicated that to
some extent financial circumstances and objective cultural values do
influence the extent to which various food channels are used, and the
functions they serve.

Psychology of the "gatekeeper,” on the other hand, concerns the
cognitive structure of housewives as they think and speak about food;
and the motivation of the system of values and beliefs behind their
choice of food, which are psychological factors influencing the person
who controls the channels. The cognitive structure relates to 1) food
outside and within cultural availability and to consideration of what
is recognized as "food for us:" 2) food for husband and children in
that, although the housewives control the channels, they are influenced
by the preferences and health of family members: 3) meal patterns as
these culturally-defined patterns differentiate homogeneity indices
for three meals. This is recognized as an important feature in regard
to changes in food habits: and, 4) to the meaning of the eating
situation as the "eating group" influences greatly the eating conduct
and the eating ideology of the individual.

Motivation was examined by Lewin as values or motives and

ideologies behind food selection, food needs and obstacles to be

21

overcome. The concept of value is not defined as much as the concept
is implied in a frame of reference in evaluating foods, for values are
part of a non-verbal system of reference. It was of importance,
therefore, to learn of the relative strengths of the following frames
of reference: expense, health, taste and status of various groups of
people for various foods.

The methodological procedures used for examining motivation are
simple, with inherent objective limitations of these methods recognized
by Lewin, himself. One means for uncovering the value scales was the
indirect method of noting, off hand, comments to one of four state-
ments reflecting the following frames of reference (1943, p. 44):

a) Money, e.g., "Our family loves oranges, but we have stopped buying
them. They are too expensive;" b) Health, e.g., "My children have to
have a quart of milk a day for their teeth:" c) Taste, e.g., "I don't
serve desserts at lunch time. We're not very fond of desserts:" and

d) Status, e.g., "We have meats sent from Chicago." Relative weight

of different frames of reference indicated relationships between

values and income groups; while value frames associated with certain
foods were detected by responses to the following five questions

(1943, p. 46): What dishes would you be sure to serve if you were

very short on money? What dishes would you be sure to serve if your
only consideration were health? ‘What dishes would you be sure to serve
if your only consideration were to put on a "fuss" and have a company
dinner? What foods would you be sure to serve if your only consideration
were to "fill up" some people? Lewin concluded that the degree to which
a food is considered essential might be of particular importance in

planning changes of food habits.

22

As for food needs, the relative weight of the various frames
of reference changes in time with changing needs. This is a result of
satiation or variation in the situation or because of cultural forces
toward diet variation. Continued consumption of the same type of
food leads to a decrease in attractiveness and to a powerful force
toward daily and seasonal cycles in food choices. Situational condi-
tions are always present. A shortage of one frame of reference or
value will increase the weight given in consideration for other frames
of reference.

Obstacles to be overcome were recognized as problematic to
planning changes of food habits, with the solution thought to be
found in a decision made by the housewife concerning her own action
with the group setting as an incentive for the decision and as
facilitation and reinforcement. A system of values is the basis of
some of the forces which determine decisions about food and which bring
about conflicts of varying intensities.

Several years later Lewin (1947) further elaborated his interest
in group processes. He visualized a circular character of organized
life forming the function of self-regulation emerging from a vague
idea corresponding to the Life Space of the individual. Deutsch
(1968, pp. 390-91) also recognized that there might be a basic pattern
which minds, societies and self-modifying communication networks
have in common. A pattern known as "feedback," defined as a communica-
tion network which produces action in response to an input of informa-
tion and includes the results of its own action in the new information

by which it modifies its subsequent behavior. Deutsch observes that

23

the human mind functions with relative plasticity, it can change many
of its operating rules with the aid of experience and thereby change
its own structure of preference, rejection and association. The
effect of experience is verified in Osgood's (1957, p. 200) discussion
of perception as given meaning by dual control over the perceptual
process. What a subject reports on his experience depends both upon
the stimulus information given to his senses and upon the storage
information derived from his past experience.

Any network whose operating rules; that is, structure, can be
modified by feedback process is subject to internal conflict between
its established working preference and the impact of new information:
since the net acquires its preference through a process of history,
its values need not be all consistent with each other (Deutsch, 1968, p.393).
This principle of general plasticity of the individual mind in its growth
during the life of the individual applies to the plasticity of the
channels composing cultures and social institutions.

One might surmise that this line of theoretical development
preceded the subsequent study. Lewin (1958) carried his interest of
social change to group decisions as they concerned the relation of
motivation to action and the effect of a group setting on the
individual's readiness to change or to keep certain standards, and the
function which reality perception should have. Group decisions are
thought to depend partly upon how the group views the situation and
therefore can be influenced by a change in this perception.

An experiment in changing food habits through lectures compared

with group decision was conducted with six Red Cross groups, ranging in

24

size from 13 to 17 volunteers organized for home nursing. The objective
of the sessions was to increase the use of variety meats in the diets of
family members. The predominance of women influenced to serve a type
of food never served before, after a lecture method and after a
group decision, led Lewin to draw the following conclusions: As a
result of active participation members of a discussion group have a
chance to express motivations corresponding to different alternatives
and, thus, the group may be more ready to make a decision. A decision,
that is, about individual goals in a group setting. The merits of the
face-to-face group is that groups carry change and that an individual is
reluctant to depart from group standards. A degree of involvement in
any discussion method must allow for freedom of discussion, as the
objective rather than a subjective setting minimizes resistance to
considering the problems and possibilities in an objective and
unprejudiced manner. Motivation and decision are related by considera-
tion of the particular conditions or by the state of indecisiveness
changed into a state where the individual has "made up his mind." In
a decision, the potency of one alternative is decidedly diminished,
allowing the alternative and corresponding forces to dominate the
situation. The act of decision has an effect of freezing the motiva-
tional constellation for action.

In a similar experiment reported in the same paper (1958),
six groups of housewives, composed of 6 to 9 members per group, were
compared for effects of lecture to effects of group decision, as those
effects concerned increasing home consumption of milk in the form of

fresh, evaporated, or both fresh and evaporated milk. An evaluation

25

was made after two weeks and after four weeks of each group subjected
to lecture and to group discussion. Again, group decisions showed
considerably greater effectiveness after two and four weeks for the
consumption of both fresh and evaporated milk.

The theoretical objective of change as it affects the individual
is of considerable importance. When discussing standards to be
changed, attention is given not to the nature of the "thing" but to the
"process." The group decision procedures, which avoid high pressure
methods are sensitive to resistance to change and are most effective
in removing counterforces within the individual, as the level of conduct
is affected less by adding forces in the desired direction than by
diminishing opposing forces. The overall effect of group decision seems
to be attributed to individual involvement in the group decision, with
the decision in the group setting, itself, a decisive factor. As a
group level acquires value, it becomes a positive valence corres-
ponding to a central force field with the force keeping the individual
in line with the standards of the group. Many food habits are
anchored in the relation between the individual and certain group
standards, the resistance to change should diminish if one diminishes
the strength of the value of the group standard or changes the level
perceived by the individual as having social value. The relative
emphasis on cognitive and on motivation processes in decision-making,
as observed by Cartwright and Zander (1968, p. 407), vary from one
group to another and within the same group at different times. One
might expect, they conclude, that greater emphasis would be placed

on cognitive aspects the more members are task-oriented or

26

group-oriented rather than self-oriented, and the more they see their
relationships as promotively interdependent.

Recognition of cognitive and motivational processes in decision-
making as related to food and nutrition continue to be of concern.
Literature related to foods and nutrition indicates that an understand-
ing of conditions and circumstances which surrounds the feeding of
children may also provide insight into new approaches for teaching
nutrition to mothers.

Eppright and associates (1970) recently investigated the matter
of nutrition knowledge and attitudes of mothers in a North Central
Regional Study of Diets of Preschool Children. Two thousand mothers
of preschool children were interviewed to learn of the eating behavior
of their children and certain family characteristics. Trained
interviewers administered schedules designed to indicate, among other
variables, knowledge of nutrition, attitudes toward nutrition, and
permissiveness in feeding children.

Items for the nutrition knowledge schedule were selected by
nutritionists. These true and false statements related to miscon-
ceptions about food, food composition, knowledge of nutrition, and the
application of principles of nutrition. A panel of eight qualified
nutritionists concurred on the deletion of ambiguous items and on
correct measures for scoring. The remaining items were given to 150
lay people, with 35 of the most highly intercorrelated statements used
in the nutrition knowledge test. Provision was made for indicating
one of five degrees of certainty for the response.

Similar procedures were followed in the development of attitude

27

scales. These statements were formulated from interviews and open-end
questionnaires, with the responses of homemakers analyzed for items

to construct the scales for degrees of certainty: "agree," "disagree,"
I"'favorable," and "unfavorable."

Data were analyzed by simple correlation coefficients to measure
relationships between nutrition knowledge, attitudes of mothers, and
selected family variables, with the discussion related only to correla—
tions of -.058 or .058, significant at the .01 level. Coefficient
alphas of internal consistency for each attitudinal scale were not
indicated.

Findings for nutrition knowledge reported higher scores for
mothers in cities of 50,000 and over to be lower than for mothers of
small cities and rural areas. Residence was not associated with
variables on the attitude scales. Knowledge of nutrition was positively
correlated to attitude toward nutrition, .586, and negatively correlated
to permissiveness, —.364. The following example was given as typical
of those items included in the scale on permissiveness: "Children should
be allowed to eat whatever they want" (1970, p. 329).

Selected demographic variables, correlated with specific
dependent variables, disclosed the following relationships: 1) income
was significantly correlated to nutrition knowledge of mothers, .27,
but not to permissiveness in child feeding: 2) larger household was
negatively correlated with nutrition knowledge, -.l30; and 3) education
was positively correlated with nutrition knowledge, .465, and negatively
correlated with permissiveness toward child feeding. Education

generally was observed to be relatively, highly correlated with

28

nutrition knowledge and certain favorable attitudes as well as to
dietary components. The conclusion was drawn that nutrition knowledge
must focus not only on nutrition facts but also on their application
under various conditions.

Nutrition knowledge related to specific demographic characteris-
tics was examined by Kerr (1973) from data collected for an evaluation
of a specific Expanded Nutrition Study in Michigan. The same data
that are analyzed for this study.

From a purposive sample of 176 homemakers, independent
variables of income and education were correlated with nutrition
knowledge, which was estimated by the following procedure: On the
basis of a score of four as the most appropriate answer and in
descending numbers to one for the least appropriate answer, homemaker's
responses were thus evaluated (1973, p. 35). Simple correlation
analysis among six variables indicated correlations between nutrition
knowledge and income of .105 and between nutrition knowledge and
education of .304. Neither correlation coefficient was significant at
the .01 level for tables designed for six variables, although there
was recorded significance at the .01 level using two-variable
correlations.

In the discussion of the limitations of the study, Kerr
indicated that the responses to the nutrition statements were more
representative of attitudes than representative of correct or incorrect
nutrition information. This disclosure would seem to recommend caution
in the interpretation of findings and to necessitate further analysis

as to the reliability and validity of nutrition knowledge scores.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Methodological procedures are discussed under four major
divisions: selection of sample, design, selection of data, and analysis

of data.

Selection of Sample

 

Six counties in lower peninsula Michigan having Expanded Nutri-
tion Programs were selected by random sample to meet certain criteria:
These counties each had a home economist employed to administer the
program, and had consented to c00perate in the study. The sample con-
sisted of families referred to the nutrition program by social agencies
or by cooperative extension staff. From the beginning of data collection,
consecutively enrolled families were accepted until the quotas were met,
or six families per full-time nutrition aide employed to implement
the programs. Of the 305 families enrolled in this manner during the
first of a two-phase study, 273 homemakers had completed the Interview
Schedule and recorded demographic information on the Biological Data
Schedules. Data from these 273 families comprise the sample for this

study.

29

30

Design

The research design is a multi-dimensional matrix constructed
of five dependent variables: managerial control, satisfying homemaker
role, non-authoritarian parent role, positive attitude toward education
and nutrition knowledge. Eight independent variables include age,
education, size of household, number of children, number of financial
sources, amount of monthly income, residence and ethnic background of

homemakers.

Selection of Data

 

Data for this study were supplied by the Cooperative Extension
Service from schedules developed for an Expanded Nutrition Evaluation
Study. Basic data were collected by graduate research assistants
assigned to the project and by paraprofessional program aides whose
primary responsibility is to teach program families. Methods used to
obtain the information were develOped in such a manner that the data
could be collected by the research staff and provide a reasonable
indicator of results (Appendix A). A schedule written in Spanish also
was available to homemakers who did not speak English.

Information on families was obtained in two interview sessions.
During the first visit to homes of families, biological data and
demographic characteristics were obtained. The second visit sought
homemakers responses to statements about "self," child-rearing practices,
general social and educational experiences, and nutrition information.

Specific attitude statements and certain characteristics of homemakers

tIllnl

 

llll‘lll..llll ‘II [II
I llll‘ll‘clll‘llllllll‘l‘l‘ll‘“ill(

31

form the data for statistical analyses. For this study 73 items were

eventually selected through the following procedures.

Attitude Items in Interview Schedule

 

FORTAP: A Fortan Test Analysis Package was used to compute
the degree of internal consistency among 99 items on the Homemaker
Interview Schedule (Appendix A). This program designed for Likert
model of scale construction uses a technique known as "Hoyt Reliability,"
which is an analysis of variance technique for internal precision. A
full—scale test of reliability measured the internal consistency at
.9294. A test of full-scale internal consistency was chosen as a
test for reliability of items on the Homemaker Interview Schedule over
the test-retest method of temporal consistency given the ambiguousness
of information provided by the latter method, since means for
determining appropriate interval between test administrations under
similar conditions is always tenuous.

The computer generated clusters of items by factor analysis,
reordered and grouped items according to their largest factor loading,
linking each of the largest factor scores with the consecutive variable
with which it most highly correlated. Eleven multiple group factors
were thus created. The first factor contained 36 of the 99 items, with
a coefficient alpha of .92 and accounted for .10 or approximately one—
third proportion of reported variance. Collectively these items did
not share one common focus of interest or concern, indicating the like-
lihood of a large underlying factor of communality. Two successionally

generated groups of 12 and 14 items, with coefficient alphas of .80

32

and .75, respectively, accounted for but .04 and .03 prOportions of
reported variance. The remaining eight groups of decreasing size
registered coefficient alphas of .61 and considerably smaller, and
collectively accounted for the remaining .16 proportion of variance.
Together, the eleven generated multiple groups could account for but
one-third proportion of total variance. Therefore this method for

selection of items was discarded.

Construct Validation and Reliability

 

Because clusters of items generated by factor analysis proved to
be unsatisfactory an alternative approach to the procedure for develop-
ment of attitudinal constructs was necessitated. The Rokeachean theory
of cognitive structure (1972, pp. 6-10) organized along a central-
peripheral dimension suggested operational definitions for grouping
interview statements into generic attitude types, Figure l. The original
99 items were then distributed at face value along the dimension into
the following theoretical constructs:

l. Statements which relate to the nature of the physical and
social world as it involves one's existence. Within this
classification were placed items pertaining to one's ability
or inability to influence or control the structure and
operation of the physical or social environment. This
aspect of the dimension is labelled ”management," with
polarities ranging from external fate to internal control
as measured by mean score established by the respondents

identifying self on a continuum of strongly agree (1),

33

mildly agree (2), mildly disagree (3), and strongly

disagree (4) to items defined by this construct.

Statements which related to the nature of the "self" as
learned by direct encounter with the object of the attitude
tend to be reinforced by social consensus among one's refer-
ence groups. This aspect of the dimension is labelled
”Homemaker Role," with polarities ranging from unsatisfying to
satisfying as measured by mean score established by the res-
pondents identifying self on a continuum of strongly agree C1»
mildly agree (2), mildly disagree (3), and strongly disagree
(4) to items defined by this construct.

Statements which relate to the generalized "other"

learned by direct encounter with the object of the attitude
and associated experiences. This aspect of the dimension is
labelled "Parent Role," with polarities ranging from authorita-
rian to non-authoritarian as measured by mean score established
by the respondents identifying self on a continuum of strongly
agree (1), mildly agree (2), mildly disagree (3), and strongly
disagree (4) to items defined by this construct.

Statements which concern positive and negative authoritative
sources of information, which do not have the same taken-for
granted character as the previous three sets of attitudes.
This aspect of the dimension is labelled "Education," with
polarities ranging from negative to positive as measured by
mean score established by the respondents identifying self

on a continuum of strongly agree (1), mildly agree (2),

34

mildly disagree (3), and strongly disagree (4) to items
defined by this construct.

5. Statements about ”Nutrition Knowledge" which comprise the

last section of the Homemaker Interview Schedule is assessed
from the 25 items of nutrition information by the Kerr (1973)
measure for scoring. Nutrition statements were evaluated
by Kerr and her major professor by designating the most
appropriate response to each item, which is assigned a

value of four. The remaining responses are assigned

values of three, two, and one in descending order of
appropriateness as measured by the respondents identifying
self on a continuum of strongly agree (1), mildly agree (2),
mildly disagree (3), and strongly disagree (4) to items
defined by this construct.

Two professors from the Department of Family Ecology reviewed
the appropriateness of the 74 items distributed among the four
attitude types and concurred on the validation of the constructs.

To develop attitudinal constructs of high internal consistency,
an oblique multiple groups analysis arranged the 74 items designated as
attitude variables in the order specified by the researcher in compliance
with operational definitions for theoretical constructs. Starting
with items of highest item-total correlations, an additive process
continued for each construct to build inter-item correlations of
reliability. This additive process continued from the pool of items
designated for a particular construct until the coefficient alpha

ceased to increase in size (Appendix B). Coefficient alpha, the

35

average inter-item correlation of all items constituting a scale,
represents the best estimate of internal consistency. Through the
process described maximum coefficient alphas for the following attitu-
dinal constructs were calculated: Management = .75, Homemaker Role = .76,
Parent lble = .82, Education = .71. Nutrition Knowledge, based on the last 25
items of the Homemaker Interview Schedule and irrespective of item-total
correlation process, registered a coefficient alpha of .71 (Appendix B).
That the coefficient alphas may appear insufficiently low, less than
.80, is given a probable reason by Crano and Brewer (1973, p. 231): One
possible explanation for unreliability problems of this type is simply
that the scale does not contain enough items. In a short test, the
item-specific error that each question introduces can be so great that
the overall inter-item correlation is very seriously attenuated. A
full-scale measure on the 73 items recorded an internal consistency
of .9212.

In discussing methods of construct validation, Kerlinger (1964,
p. 453) lends further support to the merits of itemrtotal calculations
in the statement that any tester is familiar with the technique of
correlating items with total scores. In using this technique, the
total test score of any individual is assumed to be valid. To the
extent that any item measures the same thing the total score does, to
that extent the item is valid. Likert model of scale construction is
known to develop scales of high reliability in both internal consistency
and temporal stability. Further validation focuses upon the deduced
relationships of the scale with some other indicators of the construct

under investigation, as in convergent validation whereby a number

36

of other constructs to which a particular conceptualization is related

defines a system of interrelated behaviors.

Inter-rater Reliability

 

Each attitudinal construct is designed as a bipolar concept
composed of positively worded and negatively worded items to avoid
response bias. Six graduate students selected by random sample from
a graduate class roster in Family Ecology served as judges to determine
the polarity of 48 items operationally defined by four attitudinal
constructs.

The judges were given four envelopes each containing the
appropriate items composing one of the following attitudinal constructs:
8 items for management, 11 items for homemaker role, 21 items for
parent role, and 8 items for education. On the back of each statement
the judges indicated which polarity of that particular bipolar continuum
was represented (Appendix C). An overall inter-rater reliability of

.71986 was calculated.

Scoring

Those items to which a "yes" response represents strongly agree
(1) to statements of managerial fate, unsatisfying homemaker role,
authoritarian parent role, and to negative attitudes toward education
were scored as 1. The statements to which a "yes" response represented
strongly agree (1) to attitudes of managerial control, satisfying

homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role, and to positive

37

attitude toward education were reflected for consistency in polarity of
scoring, which then scored as 4 so that high scores would always
indicate more of a given variable. Mean scores from single items were
transformed into mean scores for attitudinal constructs as necessitated
by statistical computations.

Establishment of nutrition knowledge scores was discussed in
relation to nutrition knowledge construct validation and reliability
(page 34). Distribution of scores for the five constucts is shown in

Appendix D.

Analysis of Data

Data collected on Homemaker Interview Schedules were coded and
quality checked for accuracy by graduate assistants assigned to the
Expanded Nutrition Research Project, then transferred by key-punching
and verification to computer processing cards. Methods used in the
analysis of data is summarized in Table 1 and the instruments

associated with each.

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38

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39

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CHAPTER IV

DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLE

This chapter presents a brief background of the overall study,

confidentiality of the research data, and a description of sample.

Background of the Overall Study

 

Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Programs are an integral
part of the Department of Agriculture Extension Service in the State of
Michigan. Personnel responsible for directing food and nutrition
education and assistance programs have a continuing need for information
of the population being reached and the impact of the programs on
participants.

To this end, an Expanded Nutrition Evaluation Study was conducted
through cooperation of the Agriculture Extension Service and the
Institute for Family and Child Study, Michigan State University, to
obtain objective criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of a
specific expanded nutrition program. The investigation was conducted
in two phases, during the years 1972 to 1974, so as to compare findings
for improved nutrition knowledge and diets of low-income families.

Data used for the present analysis, collected during the first phase,
were made available through the Cooperative Extension Service of

Michigan.

40

41

Confidentiality of the Research

 

Ethical responsibilities toward participants over the course
of research were assumed from the initial decision to pursue the study
through steps necessary to protect the confidentiality of research data.
The director of the research project arranged so that all the participants
were informed of all the features entailed in the biological indices used
for measuring status of health, and explained that these data would be
collected during two sessions approximately two weeks apart. Respect
was held for the individual's freedom to decline to participate in
research project or to discontinue participation at any time. There
was not further investigation of those choosing not to participate or
of those discontinuing the project.

The actual data were collected by graduate research assistants
instructed as to the ethical principles in the conduct of research
with human participants. Confidentiality is safeguarded by assignment

of codes in replacement of participants names.

Description of Sample

 

The sample represents young homemakers in large portion, Table 2.
The largest number of homemakers, approaching one-third the sample, are
in the 2gg_range of 20-24 years. Approximately 41 per cent of the
homemakers in the sample are less than twenty—five years of age, with
only 11 per cent of the homemakers in the age group of forty years of
age or older.

Chi-square tests of association administered to age in relation

42

Table 2. Characteristics of homemakers.

 

Number Percentage
of homemakers of homemakers

 

Age Group
Under 20 years 27 9.90
20-24 years 85 31.14.
25-29 years 58 20.25
30-34 years 49 17.95
35-39 years 24 8.80
40-44 years 10 3.60
45-49 years 10 3.67
50-54 years 6 3.21
55 years and over 4 1.48
Total 273 100.00
Mean: 28.54
Std Dev: 9.12
Educational Attainment
8th grade or less 52 19.33
9-12 grades 205 76.21
12 years or more 12 4.46
Total 269 100.00
Mean: 1.85
Std Dev: .47
Ethnic Background
Caucasian 154 56.41
Black 78 28.57
Spanish American 38 13.92
Oriental 1 .37
American Indian 2 .73
Other 0
Total 273 100.00
Residence
Urban 237 86.81
Rural Non-farm 36 13.19
Farm 0
Other 0
Total 273 100.00

43

to other characteristics of homemakers, Table 6, indicate five
relationships of significance. Homemakers 24 years of age or less
represented 37.92 percent of the sample with 9th grade education or
more: 27.47 percent, with three household members or less: only 1.47
percent, with 4 children and more: 24.54 percent, with incomes of $299
or less; and 2.59 percent, of Spanish American homemakers where more
might have been expected.

Educational attainment of the homemakers is considerable in

 

degree. Slightly more than 76 percent of the 269 homemakers reporting,
indicated grades of education through high school: while nearly one-fifth
of the sample represent homemakers with 8th grade education or less.
Chi-square tests of association for education in relation to
other characteristics of homemakers indicate two relationships of
significance. Less than one-half the sample, 42.75 percent, represents
homemakers 25 years of age or more having 9th grade<education or more.
In representation of ethnic background, large proportions of both
Caucasian and Black homemakers, 50.38 percent and 25.56 percent,
respectively, have 9th grade education or more; whereas, 9.02 percent
of Spanish American homemakers have education of 8th grade or less
in contrast to only 4.51 percent with 9th grade education or more.
Post hoc test indicates the expected value to be in reverse proportion,
with fewer Spanish American homemakers of 8th grade education or less.

Ethnic backgrounds reveal that a predominately large number of

 

homemakers are Caucasian, slightly over 56 percent: while approximately
one-fourth of the sample, 28.57 percent, is represented by Black

homemakers: and slightly more than one-tenth or 13.92 percent of the

44

sample composed of Spanish American homemakers. Oriental and American

Indian, together, represent but 1 percent of the sample. Of additional

interest is the knowledge that although a number of homemakers identify

themselves as Caucasian, their spouses are of different ethnic background.
Significant chi-square tests of association for ethnic background

in relation to other characteristics of homemakers are five in number.

The predominance of Spanish American homemakers 25 years of age or

older, as compared to those of 24 years or less. Of homemakers with

9th grade education or more, nearly one-half the sample is Caucasian

and one-fourth the sample Black. Families receiving two or more sources

of financial aid, in contrast to those receiving none or only one form

of financial assistance, represent the largest percentage of homemakers

in all three ethnic groups. More than one-fourth the sample, 27.41

percent, are Caucasian. families receiving two or more sources of

financial assistance in some form. Post hoc test reveals that the

number of Black homemakers who do not receive any form of financial

assistance to be smaller than expected. More than one-third the sample

or 36.30 percent, receive $300 or more in monthly income. Nearly one-half

or 45.93 percent of the Caucasian families live in urban residences in

contrast to 11.11 per cent who live in areas classified as rural, non—farm.

All Black families, 28.89 percent of the sample, are urban dwellers.

Urban residence is represented by a large majority, 86.81

 

percent, of homemakers. The remaining 13.19 percent of the
homemakers residing in rural areas are registered as rural, non-farm.
Chi-square test indicates that the percentage of urban residents

receiving financial assistance is in direct proportion to the number

45

of financial sources received. The percentage of rural residents
receiving assitance is in reverse proportion to the number of sources
received, with 6.59 percent of non-farm families independent of any form

of financial assistance.

In more than one-half the families, homemakers appear to be
in a position of head of household, Table 3. Slightly more than 45
percent of the homemakers indicate a spouse as part of the present
family composition, while approximately 54 percent do not.

The number of children reported by approximately one-fourth

 

the homemakers, 25.27 percent, are two in number, with 2.79 children the
mean of the sample. Homemakers with children more than four in number
are represented by approximately 17.59 percent of the sample.

Chi-square tests of association administered to number of
children in contrast to other family characteristics of homemakers,
Table 6, indicate three relationships of significance. Homemakers
age and size of household are logically in direct relation to increase in
number of children. With increase in numbers of children and increase in
monthly income, there is disparity for families with four children or
more. It is of interest that 2.56 percent of the homemakers receive
incomes of $299 or less, while 25.27 percent receive incomes of $300
or more. Families with three children or less represent 38.83 percent
with incomes of $299 or less, and nearly that same percentage, 38.33
percent, with incomes of $300 or-more. Table 4 may offer further
clarification of monthly income shared among family members.

Nearly three-fourths of the children are eleven years of age or

46

Table 3. Family characteristics of homemakers.

 

 

 

 

 

Nunber Percentage
of homemakers of homemakers
Marital Status
Husband 124 45.42
Husband not indicated 149 54.58
Total 273 100.00
Number of Children
Children not indicated 17 6.23
1 59 21.61
2 69 25.27
3 52 19.05
4 27 9.89
5 18 6.59
6 14 5.13
7 11 4.03
8 4 1.47
9 or more 2 .73
Total 273 100.00
Mean: 2.79
Std Dev: 1.94
Number Percentage
Ages of Children of Children of Children
1 year or less 114 14.90
2-3 129 16.86
4-5 122 15.95
6-7 102 13.33
8-9 85 11.11
10-11 67 8.76
12-13 46 6.01
14-15 49 6.41
16-17 30 3.92
18-19 13 1.70
20 years or more 8 1.05
Total 765 100.00
Mean: 4.15
Std Dev: 2.51
Sex of Children
Female 384 50.20
Male 381 49.80

Total 765 100.00

47

younger, with children of an age-range of two and three years representing
the greatest number, 16.86 percent. Within the age range for the mean
number are found 15.95 percent of the children four and five years of

age. Of the total 765 children in the sample, 384 or 50.20 percent are
female and 381 or 49.80 percent are male, nearly equal in ratio. The
spacing of children from the first child to the second child and

through to the ninth child or more have mean years of 2.33, 2.16, 2.19,

1.89, 2.27, 2.91, 2.25, 2.00 and 4.00, respectively.

Financial aids received by families are predominately those of
USDA Food Stamps and Welfare, either of which represents considerably
more than one-half the samples, Table 4. Eight or slightly less than
3 percent of 273 homemakers receive some source of financial assistance
other than the four specified. USDA/FHA and Social Security form an
appreciatively small percentage as sources of financial aid received.

A total of 353 families receiving financial aid would indicate
that a number of families obtain more than one source of assistance.
Nearly one-fourth of the families do not receive any form of financial
assistance,whereas over one-half the homemakers indicate receiving aid
from several sources. A mere 1.5 percent of the homemakers receive
financial assistance from three sources.

Chi-square tests of associations on number of financial sources
received in relation to other characteristics of homemakers, Table 6.,
indicatetnuavalues of significance previously discussed in relation to
urban residents and Caucasian homemakers. In addition, about one-half

or 52.75 percent of both low and high income families receive in nearly

Table 4. Financial characteristics of homemakers.

48

 

 

Number
of homemakers

Percentage
of homemakers

 

Aid Received

USDA Food Stamps

USDA/FHA
Welfare

Social Security

Other
Total

Number of Financial Aids Received

None

1 source
2 sources
3 sources

Total

Mean:
Std Dev:

Monthly Income

Under $100
$100-$199
$200-$299
$300-$399
$400-$499
$500-$599
$600 or more

Total

Mean:
Std Dev:

68
61
140

273

13
24
76
77
41
22
20

273

339.63
154.39

Monthly Income Shared Among Family Members

Monthly Income

Under $100
$100-$199
$200-$299
$300-$399
$400-$499
$500-$599
$600 or more
Total

Mean Number
of
Members

 

2.31
2.42
3.21
4.70
5.71
6.05
5.10
4.26

61.90
3.30
57.88
3.30
2.94

129.32

24.91
22.34
51.28

1.47

100.00

4.76
8.79
27.84
28.21
15.02
8.06
7.33

100.00

Standard
Deviation

 

1.11
1.10
1.36
1.72
1.90
2.42
2.69
2.11

 

49

equal proportion 2 or more sources of aid, while 1.83 percent of low
income and 23.08 percent of high income families receive none. It is
curious that the percentage of non-assistance for homemakers receiving
monthly incomes of $300 or more is not greater than 23.08 percent,
although this must be viewed in light of the number of members sharing
the income.

Of the 273 families reporting monthly incomes, more than one-half

 

of the families receive incomes ranging from $200 to $399, with that
amount distributed nearly evenly into $200-$299 and $300-$399 categories.
Few families indicate monthly incomes of less than $200, with slightly
over 15 percent of the families acknowledging incomes of $500 or more.
While the mean monthly income is recorded at $399.63, the standard
deviation from the mean is considerable.

Chi-square tests of association on amount of monthly income
in relation to other characteristics of homemakers indicate values of
significance previously discussed with respect to age, household size,
number of children, number of financial sources, residence and ethnic
background of homemakers. The mean number of family members sharing
each financial category of monthly income is indicated in Table 4. On
the whole there is a direct relationship between mean number of members
and monthly income categories. Only for the category of $600 or more
is there a decline in the number of family members sharing that income.
The last two categories indicate the largest standard deviation from the

mean.

50

Household size, indicated in Table 5, may include occupants

 

other than family members, for in a number of cases relatives or
friends reside there. Three and four occupant households represent
nearly 44 percent of the families. Two occupant and four occupant
households occur in about one-sixth of the families. Small percentages
of 1 percent or less in each instance are not shown by the 2.57 percent
household sizes of ten occupants or more. Family size and household
size are almost identical, indicating that there are probably

relatively few occupants other than family members.

Table 5. Household size of homemakers.

 

 

 

=1 m

Number Percentage
Household size of homemakers of homemakers

1 5 1.83

2 41 15.02

3 61 22.34

4 58 21.25

5 44 16.12

6 23 8.42

7 11 4.03

8 14 5.13

9 9 3.30

10 occupants or more 7 2.57

Total 273 100.00

Mean: 4.43
Std Dev: 2.20

 

51

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CHAPTER V

FINDINGS

The results are presented in relation to the findings for the
following divisions: description of responses to attitudes and nutrition
knowledge, test of relationships hypothesis, and tests of predictive

association hypotheses.

Description of Responses to Attitudes
and Nutrition Knowledge

 

 

Responses of homemakers to statements composing each attitude and
nutrition knowledge construct, Table 7, are represented as an average of
items, which are then used as measurements of managerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role, positive
attitude toward education, and high level nutrition knowledge.

Intervals designated along the dimension for measurement of
each attitude and nutrition knowledge scores are not of equal values.

Two extremes, 1.5 or less and 3.6 or more, are but approximately one-half
the length of intervals designated for 1.6-2.5 and 2.6-3.5. In that
values could not be estimated for less than 1 and for more than 4, a
decision was made to record the extremes of the dimensionsan: .5
intervals. Intervals of .9 allow for estimating values of mildly
disagree, 2, and mildly agree, 3, thus capturing the vast majority of
responses.‘

53

54

Table 7. Homemaker responses to statements in attitudes and nutrition
knowledge constructs.

 

 

 

Number Percentage
of homemakers of homemakers
Attitude Scores
Managerial Control
1) 1.5 or less 1 .37
2) 1.6 - 2.5 119 43.59
3) 2.6 - 3.5 150 54.95
4) 3.6 or more 3 1.10
Total 273 100.00
Mean: 2.568
Std Dev: .525
Satisfying Homemaker Role
1) 1.5 or less 0
2) 1.6 - 2.5 184 67.40
3) 2.6 - 3.5 89 32.60
4) 3.6 or more 0
Total 273 100.00
Mean: 2.326
Std Dev: .470
Non-authoritarian Parent Role
1) 1.5 or less 3 1.10
2) 1.6 - 2.5 203 74.36
3) 2.6 - 3.5 67 24.54
4) 3.6 or more 0
Total 273 100.00

Mean: 2.234
Std Dev: .450

Positive Attitude Toward Education

1) 1.5 or less 4 1.47
2) 1.6 - 2.5 41 15.02
3) 2.6 - 3.5 154 56.41
4) 3.6 or more 74 27.11

Total 273 100.00

Mean: 3.092
Std Dev: .688

Knowledge Scores

Nutrition Knowledge

1) 1.5 or less 0

2) 1.6 - 2.5 63 23.08

3) 2.6 - 3.5 209 76.56

4) 3.6 or more 1 .37
Total 273 100.00

Mean: 2.773
Std Dev: .428

 

55

Managerial control, responses falling within the interval of 3.6
or more, represent only 1.1 percent of the homemakers, with more than
one-half the women, 54.95 percent, agreeing mildly to the concept of
managerial control. A mean of 2.568 indicates that homemakers perceive
themselves neither as subject to fate nor as agents of control: rather,
they view themselves as mid-point on a managerial fate-control continuum.

Satisfying homemaker role, 3.6 or more, is not an attitude repre- .
sentative of this group of women. While nearly one-third the sample
view themselves as mildly satisfied homemakers, one-third the sample
are less than enchanted. A mean of 2.326 indicates that, on the whole,
homemakers are mildly dissatisfied with the role of homemaker.

This sample does not represent non-authoritarian parents,
although nearly one-fourth the homemakers,24.54 percent, are non-authori-
tarian in their attitude toward the parent role. A mean of 2.234, around
which is clustered nearly 75 percent of the sample, reflects a tendency
towardan authoritarian attitude toward the parent role.

Slightly more than 27 percent of the homemakers have a positive
attitude toward education, with more than one-half, 56.41 percent, of
the sample representing a mildly positive attitude. A mean of 3.092
reflects an attitude to a degree approaching the extreme of an attitude
which is positive toward education.

About three-fourths, 76.56 percent, of the homemakers indicate
a considerable level of nutrition knowledge, with .37 percent scoring
in the 3.6 or more interval. A mean of 2.773 is in mild agreement with
a score of 4, which, after item reflection for scoring, is designated

as the most appropriate response to items of nutrition knowledge.

56

A summation of homemaker responses to each item is presented by

frequency and percentage in Appendix D.

Test of Relationshipngypothesis

 

The following research hypothesis is defined and tested by

simple correlation coefficients analysis:

Hypothesis 1

 

There are no significant relationships among managerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role,
positive attitude toward education, education, age, amount of
monthly income, number of children, size of household, number
of financial sources received, residence, and ethnic background
of homemakers to nutrition knowledge.

There are significant relationships at the .01 level among the
following attitudes, characteristics of homemakers, and nutrition
knowledge, Table 8, as reported in order of decreasing correlation
coefficients: Positively correlated to high level nutrition knowledge
are non-authoriatrian parent role, satisfying homemaker role, positive
attitude toward education, managerial control, education and residence.
Negatively correlated to high level nutrition knowledge are ethnic
background, and younger in age.

The Eppright and associates (1970) findings support several of
these correlations. In that study were discussed simple correlations,
.058 and -.058, significant at the .01 level. Nutrition knowledge
was positively correlated with education, income and residence. Though

positively correlated income was not significant in this test.

Significant relationships of nutrition knowledge to attitudes

57

ocsonmxomm uncenm

cocoonmmm

oaoocH >Hnucoz

moonsom Honocmcnm wo nonesz

conoHHno mo nonficz

ounm 0Hosomsom

000000.H coHumooom

mohMHm.I oooooo.H mom

mmsmnm. mnmmmn.u oooooo.n mmcmnaocs conunnusz

mmmmmm. oommmo.i momnHv. oooooo.H coHucocom

moooHH. mmHmoo.| mmmHHm. mmomom. oooooo.H oHom uconmm

hmvmom. mmanm.I mmmmbv. phonon. mmmmmv. oooooo.H oHom noMMEoEom

moowhm. nmmmHm.I mqmnmm. mnmvmm. ommmmH. HHOhom. oooooo.H ucoEommcmz
n o m v m N H

MH

NH

HH

0H

 

 

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on mnomeoEoc mo monumnnouomnmco UHMHoomm new cosunuum mo mucononumooc coHucHonnoo oneHm .m oHnme

.mom n z
.Ho>oH mm. new no ucmonwncmnm onm noummnm no mmH. .mmH.i mo HHV mcch> uccHonmooo coHumHonnoo

 

58

oooooo.H occonmxomm oncnum MH
mthOH.I oooooo.H cocconom NH
mommOH.I mmmvhH. 000000.H chocH anucoz HH
mhhmno. ovmhmm.| mmHvHv.I oooooo.H mooncom HMHcccch mo nomadz 0H
omovmo. Homnmo. ommmmv. Nommoo. 000000.H conoHHnO mo nonfisz m
mvhvmo. ooHoOH. ommmmv. ommmmo.l OOHon. oooooo.H oNHm oHonomcom m
vmnomm.l Hommoo. NOHHoo. mnohHo. MonmoH.| mmthH.i coHumosom h
moomoH. mommoo.l Hmommo. NvHOHo. mmmHmm. vHomHm. 00¢ 0
hmohhm.l mobmmH. bvavH. NSNMOH.i mmmvH0.I Hoomoo. omocHsocM :oHanusz m
mmvmmm.i monomo. mmMBHH. v~0mn0.u voo~oo.u omn0Ho. coHucosom v
mmHmmH.I mmmhmH. mmommH. mvhmmH.I oomvmo.l NHva0.I oHom uconcm m
vmvvom.| vaNOH. oovmmH. mmbmmo.l Hmmmho.i NOHObo.I oHom nmxmaosom m
moommH.I bamboo. oovmoo.| mmvvmo.1 vmvaN.I vHoNNN.i uccfiomccmz H

MH NH HH 0H m m

59

and echaracteristics leave two relationships difficult to explain. The

negative relationship, -.277037, of nutrition knowledge to ethnic

background, and the positive relationship, .158769, of nutrition know-

ledge to residence.

hypotheses (pages 68, 70).

The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a P (.01.

Tests of Predictive Association Hypotheses

 

These variables are later subjected to tests of

The following research hypotheses are defined and tested by

multiple regression coefficient analyses:

Hypothesis 2

 

There are no predictable criteria of variation in nutrition
knowledge from specific measures of homemaker attitudes.

Table 9.

homemakers and nutrition knowledge.*

Predicted regression coefficients between attitudes of

 

 

 

Non-autho- Positive
Satisfying ritarian attitude
Managerial homemaker parent toward
control role role education
Nutrition Knowledge P < .0019 P < .0039 P < .0001 P < .0001
Multiple R2 =42.12 Beta = .134 Beta = .129 Beta = .294 Beta = .133
Univariate F =48.02 S.E. = .042 S.E. = .044 S.E. = .045 S.E. = .028
P< .0001
Added variance
accounted for 2.176 1.865 9.281 4.946

Multivariate F = 48.025, with 4 and 264 degrees of freedom

 

*F test of association between dependent and independent variables is

significant at P (.0001.

N = 269.

6O

Hypothesis 2a. There is a significant association, P<:.0019,

 

between nutrition knowledge and managerial control, Table 9. Of the

 

42.12 percent of nutrition knowledge explained by managerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role and positive
attitude toward education, approximately 2 percent or 2.176 of additional
variance may be accounted for by managerial control. In reordering
the four independent variables in the equation so that the variable,
managerial control, was ordered last and tested first, the dependent
variable or nutrition knowledge score increases .134 for each cumulative
degree in attitude toward managerial control.

The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a P< .0001.

Hypothesis 2b. There is a significant association, P<£.0039,

 

between nutrition knowledge and satisfying homemaker role, Table 9. Of
the 42.12 percent of nutrition knowledge explained by managerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role and positive
attitude toward education, slightly less than 2 percent or 1.865 of
additional variance may be accounted for by satisfying homemaker
role. In reordering the four independent variables in the equation so
that the variable, satisfying homemaker role, was ordered last and
tested first, the dependent variable or nutrition knowledge score
increases by .129 for each cumulative degree in attitude toward
satisfying homemaker role.

The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a P< .0001.

Hypothesis 2c. There is a significant association, P4<.0001,

 

between nutrition knowledge and non-authoritarian parent role, Table 9.

 

Of the 42.12 percent of nutrition knowledge explained by managerial

61

control, satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role

and positive attitude toward education, more than 9 percent or 9.281 of

additional variance may be accounted for by non-authoritarian parent

role. In reordering the four independent variables in the equation

so that the variable non-authoritarian parent role was ordered last

and tested first, the dependent variable or nutrition knowledge score

increases by .294 for each cumulative degree in non-authoritarian

parent role. This is the greatest association of the four variables.
The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a P«(.0001.
Hypothesis 2d. There is a significant association, Pe<.0001,

between nutrition knowledge and positive attitude toward education,

 

Table 9. Of the 42.12 percent of nutrition knowledge explained by
managerial control, satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent
role and positive attitude toward education, about 5 percent or 4.946

of additional variance may be accounted for by positive attitude toward
education. In reordering the four independent variables in the equation
so that the variable positive attitude toward education was ordered

last and tested first, the dependent variable or nutrition knowledge
score increases by .133 for each cumulative degree in positive attitude
toward education.

The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a P<I.0001.

Summagy. That non-authoritarian parent role predicted a greater
association for nutrition knowledge, .294, and accounted for nearly
one-fourth or .9281 of the total variance than was predicted by the other
three attitudes may be understood in light of the statements forming

that construct (Appendix B). Nearly one-half the 21 items pertain to

62

child-feeding practices, which may further explain an association of
.294 to nutrition knowledge. The correlation between non-authoritarian
parent role and nutrition knowledge is .51, thus representing the largest
coefficient in the matrix of attitudes and nutrition knowledge, Table 8.
Predictive values for nutrition knowledge from positive attitude
toward education, .133, and managerial control, .134, are but approxi-
mately one-half the predicted association of non-authoritarian parent
role. A greater association between positive attitude toward education
and nutrition knowledge might be expected. In reviewing the 8 items,
one could conclude that homemakers perceive the statements in relation
to their children rather than in relation to their own educational
development. Satisfying homemaker role seems to contribute little to

l

nutrition knowledge.

Hypothesis 3

 

There are no predictable criteria of variation in attitudes

and nutrition knowledge from specific measures of homemaker

characteristics.

Hypothesis 3a. There are predictable associations between
managerial control, satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian
parent role, positive attitude toward education, nutrition knowledge
and educational attainment of homemakers at a.P( .0001, Table 10.
Individually, 12.59 percent of managerial control, 11.66 percent of
satisfying homemaker role, 7.74 percent of non-authoritarian parent role,
10.57 percent of positive attitude toward education, and 12.65 percent

of nutrition knowledge or a total of 55.21 percent of these attitudes and

nutrition knowledge may be explained by educational attainment of

63

.omm u 2 .300. Va m. an acmoHMHcon mH moHanHnm> ucmocomoocH occ ucoocommo coosuon coHumHoommm mo umou ha

 

.Eoooonm mo moonooo omoH pom

0m 5H3 .omom.m n

m oumHnm>Huch

 

Hooo. v o
moo. u .m.m Hoo. u .m.m omo. n .m.m oHo. u .m.m Hmo. u .m.w ooo. u .m.m mmo n .m magnetic:
omo.|nmumm ooo. umuom HHo.iumuom ooo. unnom moo.|umuom mmH. "comm mo.mHn mm onHquz

mooonocx COHanucz

H000. vm
mmo. u .m.m mmo. u .m.m ooo. u .m.m hmo. u .m.m mmo. u .m.m moo. u .m.m oH.m u m ouMHnmcho
woefuflom SOFumumm 08.538 ooo. "3mm ooo. n33 in. "3mm 3.3 u mm 39.582

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moo.inmuom HHo.Iumuom oHo.iucuom ooo. umuom ooo.lucuom mwo. unnom obi. H mm onHuHsz

oHon uconmm cmHnmanoeuscicoz

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So... u whom 000... u muom 000.: u muom 000. u whom 000... u muom mnH. u comm ooHH u mm onHuHsz

cHon ncmeoEon oCHmmeucm

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mmo. u .m.m nmo. u .m.m mmo. u .m.m mHo. u .m.m omo.lu .m.m moo. u .m.m one u .m cognac/Hos
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Honncoo HcHnomccmE
ono. vm mmom.vm oomo.vm ommH.vm omoo.v o Hooo.vm
moonsom oHosomcom conoHHno oEoocH mod coHumooom

 

 

«.cmooHsocx coHanusc
ocm mnomeoEoc mo moHumHnonomnmso .moocunuum coozuon mucoHonmooo conmonmon oouoHoonm .0H oHnme

64

homemakers. In reordering the six independent variables in the equation
so that the variable educational attainment was ordered last and tested
first, each additional year of education increases the dependent
variables or homemakers attitudes toward managerial control by .175;
satisfying homemaker role by .179; non-authoritarian parent role by
.075, which is the least; positive attitude toward education by .374,
which is the greatest; and their knowledge of nutrition by .192.

The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a‘P( .0001.

Hypothesis 3b. There are predictable associations between

 

managerial control, satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent
role, positive attitude toward education, nutrition knowledge and age_
of homemakers at a P‘(.0659, Table 10. Individually, 12.59 percent of
managerial fate, 11.66 percent of unsatisfying homemaker role, 7.74
percent of non-authoritarian parent role, 10.57 percent of positive
attitude toward education, and 12.65 percent of low-level nutrition
knowledge or a total of 55.21 percent of these attitudes and nutrition
knowledge may be explained by age of homemakers. In reordering the six
independent variables in the equation so that the variable age was
ordered last and tested first, each additional year of age lessens the
degree of homemakers attitude toward managerial control by -.004;
satisfying homemaker role by -.006; non-authoritarian parent role

by -.000, which is inappreciable; knowledge of nutrition by -.003; while
it increases homemakers degree of positive attitude toward education by
.004.

The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a P< .0659.

65

Hypothesis Be. There are no predictable associations between
managerial control, satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent
role, positive attitude toward education, nutrition knowledge and amount

of monthly income of homemakers, Table 10.

 

The overall null hypothesis is not rejected at a Pe(.1226.

Hypothesis 3d. There are no predictable associations between

 

managerial control, satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent
role, positive attitude toward education, nutrition knowledge and number

of children of homemakers, Table 10.

 

The overall null hypothesis is not rejected at a P<l.9960.

Hypothesis 3e. There are no predictable associations between

 

managerial control, satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian
parent role, positive attitude toward education, nutrition knowledge

and household size of homemakers, Table 10.

 

The overall null hypothesis is not rejected at aIP( .8459.

Hypothesis 3f. There are no predictable associations between
managerial control, satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent
role, positive attitude toward education, nutrition knowledge and number

of financial sources received by homemakers, Table 10.

 

The overall null hypothesis is not rejected at a.P( .6816.

Summary. Homemakers educational attainment is the most powerful
predictor of association between positive attitude toward education,
nutrition knowledge, satisfying homemaker role, managerial control,
and non-authoritarian parent role.

That educational attainment is a better predictor of association

with positive attitude toward education, .374, than with nutrition

66

knowledge, .192, could be the effect of choice in indices for measuring
education as compared to the indices for measuring nutrition knowledge.

A coefficient alpha of .71 for each construct (page 35) is a measure

of internal consistency among item-total correlations--a11 share a common
response determinant and thereby "hanging together." Whereas the items
of nutrition information, although internally consistent, may not be

the most representative statements of common essential foods and impor-
tant nutrients supplied by basic food groups. Were this so, the
statements would be judged as poor indicators of nutrition knowledge.

Less readily explained is educational attainment of homemakers
as a predictor of association to non-authoritarian parent role, .075,
in relation to education as a predictor of association to nutrition
knowledge, .192. What reason could be given for the discrepancy in
associations when, as an independent variable, non-authoritarian
parent role predicted an association of .294 to nutrition knowledge,
Table 9. While the statements which formed the construct, non-authorita-
rian parent role, pertain predominently to child-feeding practices,
educational attainment as a predictor of association to non-authoritarian
parent role, may be measuring relatively different tendencies.

Managerial control and satisfying homemaker role seem incon-
clusive as to their particular explanation of predictive association in
relation to other attitudes or with homemaker characteristics when the
latter-are used as independent variables.

Age of homemaker while of a reasonable significance, .0659,
is a poor predictor of variation in criteria measures of attitudes and

nutrition knowledge.

67

Hypothesis 4

There are no predictable differences between urban homemakers

and rural homemakers in managerial control, satisfying homemaker

role, non-authoritarian parent role, positive attitude toward

education and their knowledge of nutrition.

There are significant differences between urban homemakers
and rural non-farm homemakers in non-authoritarian parent role and in
nutrition knowledge, Table 11. Confidence intervals calculated through
standard errors and estimate of effects found probability levels of
.0012 for non-authoritarian parent role and .0091 for nutrition knowledge
to be significant. Cell means for all five dependent variables are
consistently larger for rural non-farm residence. Mean score of 2.2064,
with a standard deviation of .3665 for urban homemakers in contrast to
a mean of 2.4192, with a standard deviation of .3268 for rural homemakers
indicates a margin in favor of non-authoritarian parent roles for rural
non-farm residents. Mean score of 2.6975, with a standard deviation of
.3124 for urban homemakers in comparison to a mean of 2.8400, with a
deviation of .2289 for rural homemakers reveals rural homemakers higher
level of nutrition knowledge.

The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a P<(.0269. To the
extent that there are significant differences in non-authoritarian parent

role and nutrition knowledge for rural non-farm homemakers, the

hypotheses are not rejected at a P ( .0012 and at a P( .0091, respectively.

68

.mom u z .momo. vm

m up ucmonncon mH moHannm> ucoocomooCH pom ucoocomoo ccmzuon ccconoMMHo mo umon ma

 

.soommnn no mmmnmmo new new m gun: .mmnm.~ u m mumnna>nuHsz

 

 

 

Hmoo.v m
00mm. ooom.~ omHm. memo.m mooo.o u m oucan>Hco
omooHsocM cOHanucz
omoo. v m
Homo. HHHm.m Hoom. onoH.m HHoH. "um oDMHnm>HcD
coHucosom onmzoa mocpHuum 0>Hunmom
NHoo.v m
momm. mmHo.m moon. ooo~.m mmoo.0H u m oucan>Hco
oHom uconmm conncanocusclcoz
momo. v m
omoo. homo.m Hmoo. mmom.~ thm.m u m oucHnm>HcD
mHom noxdficfiom ocmemHumm
memo. v m
momm. mom0.m mmmm. mHHo.m o>Ho. n m cuman>Hco
Honucou Hmanmmcmz
coHumH>oo coo: coHucH>oo coo:
onmocmum oncocmum
annulcoz .Hmnsm cmnno

 

 

«.mnmxcecson mo cmocHsocx

:oHanusc one mosuHuum CH cocoonon coosucn moosoanMHo oGUOHocnm .HH manB

69
Hypothesis 5

There are no predictable differences among Caucasian, Black

and Spanish American homemakers in managerial bontrol, satisfying

homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role, positive

attitude toward education and their knowledge of nutrition.

There are significant differences among Caucasian, Black and
Spanish American homemakers in managerial control, satisfying homemaker
role, non-authoritarian parent role, positive attitude toward education
and nutrition knowledge, Table 12. Confidence intervals calculated
through standard errors and estimate of effects identified probability
levels of .0597 for managerial role, .0001 for satisfying homemaker
role, .0001 for non-authoritarian parent role, .0001 for positive
attitude toward education, and .0001 for nutrition knowledge to be
significant for Caucasian homemakers. Cell means are greater for
Caucasian women than for Black women in the following five dependent
variables presented in order of decreasing differences: Non-authori-
tarian parent role with a mean of 2.3350 and a standard deviation of
.3713 for Caucasian homemakers is greater than a mean of 2.0388 and a
standard deviation of .2914 for Black homemakers. Satisfying homemaker
role with a mean of 2.4839 and standard deviation of .4065 for Caucasian
homemakers in contrast to a mean of 2.2087 with a standard deviation of
.3310 for Black homemakers. Nutrition knowledge with a mean of 2.8086
and a standard deviation of .2756 for Caucasian homemakers is greater
than a mean of 2.5875 and a standard deviation of .3062 for Black home-
makers. Positive attitude toward education with a mean of 3.2957 and

a standard deviation of .4905 for Caucasian women as compared to a

mean of 3.0979 and a standard deviation of .5550 for Black women. The

7O

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Hooo.v m

ommm. mmoo.m moon. mnom.~ omnm. omom.~ Homm.mH u m oumnnm>Hco
cmooHsocM coHanucz

H000. v m

Homo. whmh.m ommm. momo.m momo. hmmm.m Nooo.oH m mumwnm>HCD
COHucospm onmsofi cosuHuu< o>HuHmom

H000. v m

mmmm. homm.m oHoN. mmmo.m mHnm. ommm.~ momm.mH u m oucnnc>HcD
oHom uconcm ccananonusclcoz

Hooo.v m
moon. NomH.N 0Hmm. nmo~.m mooo. ammo.m momo.hH u m oumnnm>Hco
mHom mcmesoEom ocHhmmHumm

homo. v m
Hmom. mmmo.m Hmmm. HoHo.~ ooom. Hnoo.~ moom.~ n m oDMHnm>Hco
Honucoo HmHnommccz

 

 

 

 

coHumH>oo coo: coHumH>oo cmoz coHuMH>oo coo:
onmccmum onmocmum onmoqmum
ccoHno54 anccmm xomHm cchmosmo

 

 

«.mncxmsmson mo
omocH3ocx coHanucc pom moosanuc CH mocconmxocn Ochuo moose moocmncmeo ocuoHoonm .NH oanB

71

smallest difference is noted in managerial control where a mean of 2.6471
with a standard deviation of .3680 for Caucasian women is only slightly
larger than a mean of 2.6161 with a standard deviation of .3951 for
Black women.

When using the "Helmer Contrasts" for analyzing the three
following ethnic groups: Caucasian homemakers in contrast to Black and
Spanish American homemakers, two variables of importance are found. In
the Black and Spanish American set, for non-authoritarian parent role the
cell mean of 2.2267, with a standard deviation of .3358 for Spanish
American homemakers is greater than a mean of 2.0388, with a standard
deviation of .2914 for Black homemakers. In reverse order, the
difference is even greater for positive attitude toward education, with
a mean of 3.0979 and a standard deviation of .5550 for Black
homemakers, and a mean of 2.7878 with a standard deviation of .6271 for
Spanish American homemakers. To review, Caucasian homemakers indicate
higher cell means for all four attitudes and nutrition knowledge. While
indicating lower overall cell means for Black and Spanish American
homemakers, the Black women indicate a more positive attitude toward
education than idicated by Spanish American women, and, in turn, Spanish
American homemakers indicate a more non-authoritarian parent role than
indicated by Black homemakers.

The overall null hypothesis is rejected at a P< .0001.

CHAPTER VI

CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS

In this chapter are discussed the conclusions of findings,

limitations of the study, and implications for further research.

Conclusions of Findings

 

Reliability and Validity
of Constructs

 

 

The Homemaker Interview Schedule (Appendix A) consists of 99
items. The last 25 items classified in the schedule as nutrition
information were accepted as a construct for measuring nutrition
knowledge, with the remaining 74 items assigned to the most appropriate
operational definition for developing attitudinal constructs. These
items as a test of reliability recorded an internal consistency of
.9212. Individually, item-total correlations calculated coefficient
alphas<mf.75, .76, .82, .71, and .71 for attitudes of managerial control,
satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role, positive
attitude toward education and nutrition knowledge. These tests of
internal consistency, though not of high values, are statistically
sufficient.

As for the validity of the constructs, alternative means for

developing pools of statements need be considered. Validity of

72

73

statements could be increased by several methods. Items written in
relation to generic types as Operationally defined by a central-
peripheral dimension or in relation to other theoretical bases would
affect, considerably, the degree of validity. The most effective
procedure, however, involves writing, testing, rewriting and retesting
items for validity with control group subjects. Ambiguous, poorly
discriminating and insufficient item-total correlations are thus
eliminated. The necessity for pretesting items for validity seems
imperative. While there is convergent validation with other logically
related psychological contructs and some validation in relation to
specific demographic characteristics verified by other studies
(Eppright, 1970; Sims, 1971), the validity of the indices for measuring
attitudes appears uncertain.

Inter-rater reliability of .71986 was calculated from the
decisions of six judges in determining the polarity of statements
formulating attitudinal constructs. The coefficients could have been

augmented with an increase in numbers of judges.

Association Between Nutrition
Knowledge and Attitudes

 

 

An overall F test of association between nutrition knowledge
and attitudes toward managerial control, satisfying homemaker role,
non-authoritarian parent role, and positive attitude toward education
was significant at a P(f.0001, based on a multivariate regression
analysis, Table 9.

Of the univariate tests of association between nutrition

74

knowledge and attitudes, positive attitude toward education and non-
authoritarian parent role were significant at the 99.9 level, with each
degree of the latter association predicting .294 increase in nutrition
knowledge score and explaining 9.281 percent of the total variance.
Neither attitude toward managerial control nor attitude toward satis-
fying homemaker role predicted appreciable degrees of association for
increases in nutrition knowledge or explained large percentages of

the total variance.

were one to expect a greater predictive association of
nutrition knowledge from a positive attitude toward education, the items
which formulate the education construct might be examined for their
validity in measuring homemaker attitude toward the homemaker's own
intellectual development as related to the acquisition of nutrition
knowledge. Items formulating the construct, non-authoritarian parent
role, should also be re-evaluated to ensure that only items related to
child-feeding practices are included. These constructs could be refined
through a procedure similar to that used by Cross and Kawash (page 16).
Statements for measuring homemakers attitudes toward self might better
be written in relation to the homemaker role as that role pertains to
meal planning, food preparation and meal service.

Indices for measuring attitude toward management or internal
control proved disappointing. Brim and associates (1962) Test of
General Epistemological and Instrumental Beliefs might be considered.
That test which was pretested on a large, heterogeneous sample is not
only statistically reliable, but provision is made for attaining degrees

of validity through the combination of objective and subjective

75

responses.

For estimates of homemakers nutrition knowledge, statements more
closely identified withtfimaoperational definition, which emphasizes
common essential foods included in the basic four food groups, carbohy-
drates and fats, and the effect of their intake upon one's health would
be better indicators of knowledge. A need for re-evaluation of items
chosen to derive a nutrition knowledge score is supported by Kerr
(page 34) in her analysis of nutrition knowledge when correlated with

educational attainment of homemakers.

Association Between Nutrition Knowledge,
Attitudes and Characteristics

 

 

Two characteristics of homemakers, education and age, were
significant as predictors of nutrition knowledge and attitudes at the
99.9 and 93.41 levels. With greater precision in the validity of
items formulating the five constructs, these variables would predict
associations to nutrition knowledge and attitudes of higher scores
and greater degrees.

The .374 association between educational attainment of
homemakers and positive attitude toward education is understandable in
that the variables have.a common focus. That education is not a better
predictor of nutrition knowledge should be examined in light of the
validity of statements designed for measuring nutrition knowledge.

While age of homemakers is statistically significant, the pre-
dictive association of nutrition knowledge and attitudes is negligible.

The association between age and managerial control might be re-examined

76

for environmental factors.

Variables of family monthly income, number of children, size
of household, number of financial sources received were not significant
as predictors of nutrition knowledge and attitudes in a multivariate
regression analysis. Income, however, might have been expected to be
a better predictor of association with managerial control (Sims, 1971).

Rural, non-farm residence predicted significant associations
between non-authoritarian parent role, .0012, and nutrition knowledge,
.0091. This finding suggests that the difference in educational
opportunities and exposure to nutrition information between urban and
rural non-farm residents might be investigated. Are there, in fact,
factors associated with authoritarian parent role and lower level
nutrition knowledge scores as indicated by cell means of urban, lower
socioeconomic homemakers?

Ethnic backgrounds predicted significant associations, .0001,
for attitudes and nutrition knowledge. While Caucasian background
registered larger mean scores for all five dependent variables; of
smaller, but yet significant associations were Spanish American
homemakers predicted association, .0001, of non-authoritarian parent
role and Black homemakers predicted association, .0001, of positive
attitude toward education. Ethnic background is a highly significant
predictor, .0001, of both multivariate and univariate associations for

nutrition knowledge and attitudes of homemakers.

77

Relationship Between Nutrition Knowledge,
Attitudes and Characteristics

 

 

Significant relationships among nutrition knowledge, attitudes
and characteristics of homemakers, as reported in order of decreasing
correlations, are of interest (page 56). Some of these relationships
are supported in a study (Eppright, 1970) of nutrition knowledge and
attitudes of mothers, with significant findings reported at the .99
level.

In the Eppright and associates study, as in this current study,
high level nutrition knowledge was positively related to rural home-
makers, more education and higher income; although negatively related
to permissiveness. Not knowing the item content of that permissiveness
attitude construct, permissiveness and non-authoritarianism as
variables should not be compared. Education of homemaker was positively
related to non-authoritarianism. Again, the permissiveness of that
study and the non-authoritarianism of this study may not be comparable.
The concepts, permissiveness and non-authoritarianism, must be

interpreted with reservation in either study.

Responses to Nutrition Knowledge
and Attitude Statements

 

 

Mean scores for nutrition knowledge and attitudes of managerial
control, satisfying homemaker role, non-authoritarian parent role,
positive attitude toward education, and nutrition knowledge are reliable
indices for evaluation in relation to educational programs for

homemakers.

78

Positive attitude toward education, 3.092, and nutrition
knowledge, 2.773, could be considered high scores. With increased
validity of items formulating the nutrition knowledge construct, this
mean of 2.773 might be increased. A mean of 2.234 for non-authoritarian
parent role might be increased, as the items composing that construct
are given greater precision with regard to child-feeding practices;
and a mean of 2.326 for satisfying homemaker role may be increased,
as those items are rewritten in relation to meal planning, preparation
and service.

The attitude of managerial control with a mean of 2.568
would seem to have implications for educators. A feeling of power-
lessness in relation to income is supported by Sims (1971) and is
related also to other resources. More precise indices for measuring
perceptions of management, in particular, remains a challenge to

future investigators.

Homemaker Characteristics

 

Chi-square results are presented in association to homemaker and
family characteristics. These characteristics were designed as variables
of interest in the original Expanded Nutrition Study.

Three homemaker-family characteristic variables have multiple
significant associations at the .98 level or above. Family monthly
income related significantly at the .98 level or above to six homemaker
indices. Age related significantly at the .99 level to five homemaker
characteristics. Ethnic background, a variable found to be of con-

siderable importance in this study, related at the .99 level or above

79

with five homemaker characteristics, except for number of financial
sources at the .95 level.

Size of household, number of children, number of financial
sources received, and residence of homemaker related significantly
at the 99.9 level, with the exception of the relationship of sources
to ethnic background at the .95 level. Education related negatively
to age and positively to ethnic background at the 99.9 level. Discrete
variables need post hoc tests for further clarification.

The eight independent variables are in themselves so interrelated
as to generate levels of significance at a degree of seemingly great

importance.

Limitations

 

1. The manner in which the sample was selected necessarily
introduced bias into the study. Data were collected only from families
referred to the expanded nutrition program and from homemakers willing
to participate in the study. Little is known about those families
choosing not to participate or failing to complete the second interview,
even though a practice was followed of returning to the home on three
occasions to obtain information.

2. While the chi-square tests of independence between homemaker
characteristics is of interest, greater meaning could be derived from
chi-square tests of "goodness of fit," using a technique of split-half
sample compared with the population. The largest proportion of deprived
families in Michigan are known to be Caucasian as represented in this

study. To what extent these findings could be expected to occur among

80

families in the State is of empirical interest.

3. Poorly developed psychological constructs from the original
attempt at computer generated clusters were differentiated from homemaker
responses. Failure to differentiate exclusive categories may indicate
failure on the part of the homemakers to understand the statements or
to perceive the statements as meaningful.

4. Items of inquiry were categorized by the researcher
according to the research problem to be mutually exclusive, though not
independent, and derived from one classificatory principle based on
theory. Had a panel of judges selected items for the classifications,
content of the constructs would be further validated.

5. Multiple regression analysis, which enables the prediction
of a value of one variable on a condition that prior information is
available about the others, involves three or more variables, one of
which is the dependent variable that is to be estimated on the basis
of the values of all others. To have treated the five dependent, inter-
related psychological constructs together in a multiple regression

analysis may be unduly confounding.

Implications

 

Theogy

Central-peripheral dimension as a heuristic theory is also a
perceptive theory for better understanding the relativity of choice
underlying the process of nutrition practices. This model would appear

to have numerable implications for perceiving family management

81

practices in everyday living.

Research

This study explores a theory that may be applicable to many
family settings. An approach to be used in constructing an attitudinal
system for comparison within and between cultural groups of family
decisionmakers.

Although several coefficients are significant, they are
generally of small absolute value. The reason for these findings may
be a result of the complexity of some of the variables, possibly
poor discrimination among test items, and other problems inherent in
collecting attitudinal responses from a large sample. Therefore,
refinement of psychological constructs would be needed if the

central-peripheral dimension is contemplated for other studies.

Action Program

 

The value of the present study to potential application in
program implemented by change agents lies in the theoretical perspective,
in the portent for investigating factors associated with choice of
nutrition knowledge, and in the interdependent and interrelatedness of
attitudes, nutrition knowledge and characteristics of homemakers which
were revealed. The entire constellation of family attitudes, charac-
teristics and knowledge must be evaluated more discretely before any
predictions concluding nutrition change programs can be made with any

degree of certainty.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

Attitude Schedule and
Biological Data Schedule

APPENDIX A

Attitude Schedule

Name of Respondent

 

Respondent ID

 

County

 

General Instructions: We are interested in knowing what you think or
feel about some things. These are things that a lot of people have
different ideas about. For example, you and your best friend may not
agree about many of them, but it's important to us to know what ygp_
think about each one.

 

For each item, I'd like for you to say whether you agree or disagree and
also how strongly you feel about it--for example, whether you strongly
agree or mildly agree, strongly disagree or mildly disagree. I have

some cards that have these different responses on them, so you can

look at them while you think about each item and then show me which one
is the closest to your opinion for that item. Here are the cards.
(Present cards in the order SAPMA-MD-SD, labeling each as it is presented,
so that the SA is on the respondent's left and the SD on her right.)

I'll also give you a copy of the questions so that you can follow
while [read them if you'd like.

Let's try a sample item first. For example, if I gave you this
statement--

Any parent should be proud to have a child who
rarely cries.

--how would you respond to it? (Be sure that respondent indicates her
response by pointing to a card and verbalizing the response, if
possible, so that you are sure she understands the procedure. Clarify
if necessary.)

Good. Are there any questions?

82

 

83

PART I

Nutritional Attitudes

Introduction: In this first section, we have some
statements about family eating habits and nutrition.
Remember--there are no right or wrong answers to these;
we just want to know your opinion about these things.

 

(l)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)
(6)

(7)

(8)
(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

(l3)

(14)

(15)

(16)

'(17)

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

MD

MD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

84

Children will eat the right things if they can pick
what they want to eat.

If a child drinks enough milk, his mother doesn't
need to worry about nutrition.

The foods that children eat will have a big effect on
their health in the future.

As long as children eat a lot, they will get all the
vitamins and other nutrients they need.

It's all right for peOple to snack between meals.

A good mother should make her child eat what she
thinks is best for him.

If children are not sick, it means they are eating the
right foods.

Parents should let their children eat whatever they want.

Dessert always just adds extra calories but no other
nutrients to a family's diet.

Children's foods have so many vitamins added to them
that parents don't need to worry about their children's
nutrition.

It is all right for children to choose their own food
as long as they do not always pick the same thing.

Young children don't grow correctly if they eat the
wrong foods.

Children should be able to choose what they want to
eat for meal even if it means a little more work for
the mother.

If children have plenty of liquids, their mothers don't
need to worry about what they eat.

If a child doesn't like to eat breakfast, it is better
to let him go without it than to start the day off
with an argument.

Nutrition is one of the most important concerns a
mother has for her family.

If a child wants a particular food to eat, it is
important to let him have it.

85

(18) SA MA MD SD As long as the doctor doesn't say anything to a

(19) SA MA MD SD

(20) SA MA MD SD

mother about nutrition, she doesn't have to worry
about it.

A child should always be made to eat everything on his
plate.

Eating fruits and vegetables is important for children
but doesn't make much difference for adults.

86

PART II

Child-Rearing Attitudes

Introduction: Now we'd like to know what you think about
some statements about children, such as how parents should
handle them. These are things people have many different
Opinions about, so remember that what we're interested in
is what you really believe yourself.

 

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

(13)

(14)

(15)

(16)

(17)

(18)

(19)

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

MA

MA

MA

MA

MD

MD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

87
A mother has a right to know everything going on in
her child's life because her child is a part of her.

Children are basically either good or bad, and there
isn't much that can be done about changing them.

Children pester you with all their little upsets if
you aren't careful from the first.

Children must be told exactly what to do and how to
do it or they will make mistakes.

Mothers sacrifice almost all their own fun for their
children.

If parents are not strict about rules, children will
misbehave and get into trouble.

Having to be with the children all the time gives a
woman the feeling that she cannot get out.

A good mother should listen to her children whether
she's interested in what they're saying or not.

It is natural for a mother to be relieved when her
children start school.

A baby will be spoiled if he is picked up whenever he
cries.

A child should not question the thinking of his parents.

Self sacrifice is one of the most desirable traits of
a good mother.

Few men realize that a mother needs some fun in life too.

There is no good excuse for a child hitting another
child.

A good mother will find enough social life within the
family.

A mother should make it her business to know everything
her children are thinking.

Most children are toilet trained by 15 months of age.

Children should be more considerate of their mothers
since their mothers suffer so much for them.

A child who is "on the go" all the time will most
likely be happy.

(20)

(21)

(22)

(23)

(24)

(25)

(26)

(27)

(28)

(29)

(30)

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

MA

MD

MD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

88
Sane children are just so bad they must be taught
to fear adults for their own good.

One of the worst things about taking care of a home
is that a woman feels she can't get out.

A child's ideas should be seriously considered in
making family decisions.

There is usually something wrong with a child who
asks a lot of questions about sex.

Children will get on any woman's nerves if she has
to be with them all day.

The sooner a child learns to walk the better he is
trained.

A mother should do her best to avoid any disappointment
for her child.

A child should be taught to avoid fighting no matter
what happens.

Parents must earn the respect of their children by
the way they act.

Mothers very often feel they can't stand their
children a moment longer.

Children soon learn there is no greater wisdom than that
of their parents.

89

PART III

General Social and Educational Attitudes

Introduction: Now I'm going to read some statements about
some general things like education. Again, there aren't
any right or wrong answers; we just want to know what you
really think about these things.

 

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(ll)

(12)

(13)

(14)

(15)

(16)

(17)

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

MA

MA

MD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

90
A good education is the best way for people to improve
the way they live.

If you want something done right, it is better to do
it yourself.

The world is run by a few people in power, and there is
not much anybody else can do about it.

There is not much that parents can do to improve the
schools.

Most new ideas and ways of doing things are not as good
as the old ones.

People with a lot of schooling enjoy life more than
those with less schooling.

It is better to put your money into something that
you know will be safe, even though you may not make
as much money that way.

Most teachers are good examples for children.

It doesn't do much good to try to plan ahead because
most things turn out to be a matter of luck anyway.

Much of the tax money spent on education during the
past few years should have been spent for other things.

It is better to use your own judgment than to do what
other people tell you.

A person can usually learn more on a job than he can
in school.

It is very important for every family to keep some
money saved for emergencies.

It is all right for parents to keep their children out
of school if they are needed to help out at home.

Only basic subjects like reading, writing, and arithmetic
should be taught at the taxpayer's expense.

The schools do not encourage a person to think for
himself.

People often don't have enough control over what
happens in their lives.

(18)

(19)

(20)

(21)

(22)

(23)

(24)

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

MA MD

MA MD

MA MD

MA MD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

91
It is better for a person to finish high school even
if he can get a job without it.

Most young people are getting more schooling than they
really need.

In general, scientists have done more harm than good
for this country.

The things a person learns in school are not very
helpful in meeting the problems of real life.

Those who stick to the old ways of doing things get
ahead faster.

The lot of the average man is getting worse, and
there isn't anything that can be done about it.

An education is not really worth all the time and
effort it requires.

92

PART IV
Nutrition Information

Information: In this last section, we have some more state-
ments about food and eating habits. Again, these are things
that different people have different ideas about, and we

want to know which ones you believe are important and that you

use in planning your family's meals.

(l)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)
(8)

(9)

(10)

(ll)

(12)

(13)

(14)

(15)

(16)

(17)

(18)

(19)

(20)

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

SA

E

E
5

MA

MA

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

93
Meat, milk, and eggs all have lots of nutrients which
are needed for the growth of small children.

When children have enough food to satisfy their
appetites, they are getting enough nutrients.

Gelatin desserts are a good source of protein.
It is better not to have orange juice and milk in
the same meal because the orange juice causes the

milk to curdle in the stomach.

Eating bacon for breakfast is a very good way to
get the protein that is needed for the day.

School-age children need to have vitamin pills every
day for good health.

A good easy way to lose weight is to skip breakfast.
Apples have a lot of Vitamin C.

Healthy, active young children need some sweets, such
as candy or cake, each day for energy.

It is best to avoid eating milk and fish together.

Adding soda while cooking vegetables and dried beans
makes them easier to digest.

Dried beans contain many of the same nutrients as meat.

Year-old babies should eat different kinds of foods,
since drinking only milk may not be enough for growth.

White bread and cereals that are enriched are better
for both children and adults than those that are not.

Eating cheese causes constipation.

It is important to eat many kinds of foods from day to
day.

Adults should avoid fat in their diets in order to
prevent heart diseases and strokes.

Milk is needed mainly by infants and growing children.

Lemonade and orange juice have about the same amounts of
Vitamin C.

Peanut butter is a nutritious food for both children and
adults.

(21)

(22)

(23)

(24)

(25)

SA MA.MD SD

SA MA MD SD

SA MA MD SD

SA MA MD SD

SA MA MD SD

94
Most fat children and adults have a problem with their
glands.
A reducing diet should not contain bread or potatoes.

Skim milk has about the same amount of minerals and
protein as whole milk.

Eating carrots helps a person see better.

If a person drinks enough orange juice, he won't get
a cold.

95

Biological Data Schedule

Permission--Proof of Home Call

The Expanded Nutrition Evaluation Project has been explained to me.

I am willing to participate and have members of my family participate
in the project.

I understand that I will be interviewed at agreed upon times, that my
young children (if I have any) may be weighed and measured, and we
will be asked to supply urine samples.

 

Homemaker

 

Aide

 

Date

96

BIOLOGICAL DATA

County Code

 

Family ID Number

Part I. General Family Information

 

Date aides first visit

 

Check for residence location:

Check for aid recieved by family:

Yes No

 

USDA Food Stamps

 

USDA/FHA Assistance

 

Welfare

 

Social Security

 

Other (specify)

 

no information

urban

rural non-farm

farm

other

no information

 

Total family income for last month (dollars)

Does family have a garden?

Part II. Homemaker_;nformation

 

Homemaker's age

Check for education of homemaker:

 

no.

 

no information

8th grade or less

9-12 grade
beyond high school

other (specify)

 

97

BIOLOGICAL DATA

County Code

 

Family ID Number

 

Part II. (continued)

Check for background of homemaker:

no information Oriental
Caucasian American Indian
Negro Other (specify)

 

Spanish American

 

 

Check for homemaker:
no information pregnant

non-pregnant lactating

 

 

Homemaker's 24-hour Food Recall (record actual number of

 

 

 

servings)
no information _____ fruit-vegetable group
meat group _____ bread-cereal group
_____ milk group
Check for equipment available: _____ no information
Yes No
Stove/range
Oven
Hot plate

 

Electric frying pan

 

Freezer

Refrigerator

 

Ice box

 

Electricity

 

Running water

 

Other (specify)

 

 

98

BIOLOGICAL DATA

County code

 

Family ID Number

Part III.

 

Family Interview

 

Date

 

Time of day

 

Number of prior aide visits to family

Has anyone in your family been taking vitamin pills in
the last week or so?

no information
no

yes

 

If so, who has been taking the vitamin pills? no information

Yes No

 

Pre-school children (ages 0-5)
School-age children (ages 6-12)

Teen(s) (ages 13-18)

Adult(s) (l9 and over)

Who does the grocerysshopping for your family most of the time?

no information children
mother other relative
father . non-relative

 

Where do you (or other person) usually shop for your groceries?
no information specialty food store
supermarket other (specify)

small neighborhood store

 

99

BIOLOGICAL DATA

County dee

 

Family ID Number

 

Part III. (continued)
How far away from your home is this store?
no information ______ 1—5 miles
less than 1 mile ______6 miles or more
How do you usually get to the store?
no information
family car
______neighbor, friend, relative drives their car
walk
______bus
taxi

bicycle

other (specify)

 

Is there any other store where you occasionally buy groceries?
no information small neighborhood store
supermarket specialty food store

other (specify)

 

100

BIOLOGICAL DATA

County Code

 

Family ID Number

Part III. (continued)
When you go grocery shopping, there are many, many different
kinds of food you could buy. What kinds of things help you
decide what to buy? (Record 2 responses)

no information

cost-~whether I can afford it

I or someone in my family likes it

it is on my grocery list

I am out of it or need it for something special

it is on sale

it is easy to prepare--convenient

it is a new product someone wanted to try

it is good for us--nutrition

it is in season

it is a specific brand

other (specify)

 

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101

 

 

 

 

 

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:950 m 05.5 J: .um Hoonom mom xom 339339“me Hgoflefivfi madam no 6802

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cosumsuoucH Hmaufl>fiucH .>H puma umnauz aH saweum mnoo sucsoo

 

APPENDIX B

Attitude and Nutrition Knowledge

Constructs

APPENDIX B

Attitude and Nutrition Knowledge

Constructs

Management;

22

52*

53

55*

59

67

72*

73

Homemaker

23

25

27

29*

Children are basically either good or bad, and there is not
much that can be done about changing them.

If you want something done right, it is better to do it
yourself.

The world is run by a few people in power, and there is not
much anybody else can do about ito

Most new ideas and ways of doing things are not as good as
the old ones.

It does not do much good to try to plan ahead because most
things turn out to be a matter of luck anyway.

People often do not have enough control over what happens
in their lives.

Those who stick to the old ways of doing things get ahead
faster.

The lot of the average men is getting worse, and there is
nothing that can be done about it.

Role:

Children pester you with all their little upsets if you are
not careful from the first.

Mothers sacrifice almost all their own fun for their children.

Having to be with the children all the time gives a woman the
feeling that she cannot get out.

It is natural for a mother to be relieved when her children
start school.

 

*Items reflected for scoring

102

32*

33

35

38

41

44

46

103
Self-sacrifice is one of the most desirable traits of a good
mother.
Few men realize that a mother needs some fun in life too.
A good mother will find enough social life within the family.

Children should be more considerate of their mothers since
their mothers suffer so much for them.

One of the worst things about taking care of a home is that
a woman feels she cannot get out.

Children will get on any woman's nerves if she has to be
with them all day.

A mother should do her best to avoid any disappointment for
her child.

Parent Role:

1*

8*

11*

13*

15*

17*

19

21

24

26

Children will eat the right things if they can pick what they
want to eat.

Parents should let their children eat whatever they want.

It is all right for children to choose their own food as
long as they do not always pick the same thing.

Children should be able to choose what they want to eat for
meals even if it means a little more work for the mother.

If a child does not like to eat breakfast, it is better to let
him go without it than to start the day off with an argument.

If a child wants a particular food to eat, it is important to
let him have it.

A child should always be made to eat everything on his plate.

A mother has a right to know everything going on in her
child's life because her child is a part of her.

Children must be told exactly what to do and how to do it or
they will make mistakes.

If parents are not strict about rules, children will misbehave
and get into trouble.

 

*Items reflected for scoring

104

30 A baby will be spoiled if he is picked up whenever he cries.
31 A child should not question the thinking of his parents.
34 There is no good excuse for a child hitting another child.

36 A mother should make it her business to know everything her
children are thinking.

37 Most children are toilet trained by 15 months of age.

39* A child who is "on the go" all the time will most likely be
happy.

40 Some children are just so bad they must be taught to fear
adults for their own good.

43 There is usually something wrong with a child who asks a lot
of questions about sex.

45 The sooner a child learns to walk the better he is trained.

47 A child should be taught to avoid fighting no matter what
happens.

50 Children soon learn there is no greater wisdom than that of
their parents.

Education:
54 There is not much that parents can do to improve the schools.

60 Much of the tax money spent on education during the past
few years should have been spent for other things.

65 Only basic subjects like reading, writing, and arithmetic
should be taught at the taxpayer's expense.

66 The schools do not encourage a person to think for himself.

69 Most young people are getting more schooling than they really
need.

70 In general, scientists have done more harm than good for this
country.

71 The things a person learns in school are not very helpful in
meeting the problems of real life.

 

*Items reflected for scoring

74

Nutrition

75*

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86*

87*

88*

89

90*

91

105

An education is not really worth all the time and effort it
requires.

Knowledge:

Meat, milk, and eggs all have lots of nutrients which are
needed for the growth of small children.

When children have enough food to satisfy their appetites,
they are getting enough nutrients.

Gelatin desserts are good source of protein.
It is better not to have orange juice and milk in the same
meal because the orange juice causes the milk to curdle in

the stomach.

Eating bacon for breakfast is a very good way to get the
protein that is needed for the day.

School—age children need to have vitamin pills every day for
good health.

A good easy way to lose weight is to skip breakfast.
Apples have a lot of Vitamin C.

Healthy, active young children need some sweets, such as candy
or cake, each day for energy.

It is best to avoid eating milk and fish together.

Adding soda while cooking vegetables and dried beans makes
them easier to digest.

Dried beans contain many of the same nutrients as meat.

Year-old babies should eat different kinds of foods, since
drinking only milk may not be enough for growth.

White bread and cereals that are enriched are better for both
children and adults than those that are not.

Eating cheese causes constipation.
It is important to eat many kinds of foods from day to day.

Adults should avoid fat in their diets in order to prevent
heart diseases and strokes.

 

*Items reflected for scoring

106

92* Milk is needed mainly by infants and growing children.
93 Lemonade and orange juice have about the same amounts of
Vitamin C.
94* Peanut butter is a nutritious food for both children and
adults.
95 Most fat children and adults have a problem with their glands.
96 A reducing diet should not contain bread or potatoes.
97* Skim milk has about the same amount of minerals and protein as
whole milk.
98* Eating carrots helps a person see better.
99 If a person drinks enough orange juice, he won't get a cold.
Unclassified:
2 If a child drinks enough milk, his mother doesn't need to
worry about nutrition.
3 The foods that children eat will have a big effect on their
health in the future.
4 As long as children eat a lot, they will get all the vitamins
and other nutrients they need.
5 It's all right for people to snack between meals.
6 A good mother should make her child eat what she thinks is
best for him.
7 If children are not sick, it means they are eating the right
foods.
9 Dessert always just adds extra calories but no other nutrients
to a famdly's diet.
10 Children's foods have so many vitamins added to them that
parents don't need to worry about their children's nutrition.
12 Young children don't grow correctly if they eat the wrong foods.
14 If children have plenty of liquids, their mothers don't need to

worry about what they eat.

 

*Items reflethd for scoring

16

18

20

28

42

48

49

51

56

57

58

61

62

63

64

68

107
Nutrition is one of the most important concerns a mother has
for her family.

As long as the doctor doesn't say anything to a mother about
nutrition, she doesn't have to worry about it.

Eating fruits and vegetables is important for children but
doesn't make much difference for adults.

A good mother should listen to her children whether she's
interested in what they're saying or not.

A child's ideas should be seriously considered in making
family decisions.

Parents must earn the respect of their children by the way
they act.

Mothers very often feel they can't stand their children a
moment longer.

A good education is the best way for people to improve the
way they live.

People with a lot of schooling enjoy life more than those
with less schooling.

It is better to put your money into something that you know
will be safe, even though you may not make as much money that
way.

Most teachers are good examples for children.

It is better to use your own judgment than to do what other
people tell you.

A person can usually learn more on a job than he can in school.

It is very important for every family to keep some money saved
for emergencies.

It is all right for parents to keep their children out of
school if they are needed to help out at home.

It is better for a person to finish high school even if he
can get a job without it.

APPENDIX C

Inter-rater Reliability Profiles

 

APPENDIX C

Inter-rater Reliability Profiles

Bipolar Attitudinal Continuums

Measure for Estimating Inter-rater Reliability

Constructs
Management: SA(1) = Fate

22
52*
53
55*
59
67
72*
73

Homemaker Role: SA(1) = Unsatisfactory

23
25
27
29*
32*
33
35
38
41
44
46

"JO'UOO'UOO

CCCCDCCUICCCU)

Parent Role: SA(1) = Authoritarian

1*
8*
11*
13*
15*
17*
19
21

 

*Items reflected for scoring

108

Pr
Pr
Pr
Pr
Pr
Pr
Pu
Pu

"10"‘1'110’1300

CCCCGCDUJUJCCU)

Pr
Pr
Pu
Pu
Pr
Pr
Pu
Pr

"3'11’11'11'13'110'11

CCCCCCCLOCCC

Pr
Pr
Pr
Pr
Pr
Pr
Pu
Pu

Raters

"JO’UHJ'TJ'UO'U

CmGCCCCchCC:

Pr
Pr
Pr
Pr
Pr
Pr
Pu
Pu

WOWWOOO'U

MCCCMCMMCCC}

Pr
Pr
Pr
Pr
Pr
Pr
Pu
Pu

"10"!"10'90'11

MCCCMCUJCCCC

Pr
Pr
Pu
Pr
Pr
Pr
Pu
Pu

109

Raters
Constructs l 2 3 4 5 6
Parent Role: (continued)
24 Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu
26 Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu
3O Pu Pr Pu Pu Pu Pu
31 Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu
34 Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu
36 Pu Pr Pu Pu Pu Pu
37 Pu Pu Pu Pu Pr Pu
39* Pr Pr Pu Pr Pr Pr
4O Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu
43 Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu Pr
45 Pr Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu
47 Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu
50 Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu
Education: SA(1) = Negative
54 N N N N N N
60 N N N N N N
65 N N N N N N
66 N P N N P N
69 N P N N N N
70 N P N N N N
71 N P N N N N
74 N N N N N N
********************
Criteria for Scoring
Range
Constructs SA(l) MA(2) MD(3) SD(4)
Management Fate Control
Homemaker Role Unsatisfactory Satisfactory
Parent Role Authoritarian Non-authoritarian

Education Negative Positive

APPENDIX D

Homemaker Responses to Statements

APPENDIX D

Homemaker Responses to Statements

Profile of Constructs

 

Attitude Statements Number of Percentage of
Homemakers Homemakers

 

 

Managerial Control

 

22 Children are basically either 35 12.82
good or bad, and there isn't 35 12.82
much that can be done about 48 17.58
changing them. 155 56.78

52* If you want something done right, 12 4.40
it is better to do it yourself. 46 16.85

70 25.64
145 53.11

53 The world is run by a few people 76 27.84
in power, and there is not much 54 19.78
anybody else can do about it. 69 25.27

74 27.11

55* Most new ideas and ways of doing 66 24.18
things are not as good as the old 91 33.33
ones. 72 26.37

44 16.12

59 It doesn't do much good to try to 66 24.18
plan ahead because most things 60 21.98
turn out to be a matter of luck 73 26.74
anyway. 74 27.11

67 People often don't have enough 74 27.11
control over what happens in 86 31.50
their lives. 67 24.54

46 16.85

72* Those who stick to the old ways 99 36.26

of doing things get ahead faster. 106 38.83
40 14.65
98 10.26

 

*Items reflected for scoring

110

111

Number of Percentage of
Attitude Statements Homemakers Homemakers

 

 

Managerial Control

 

73 The lot of the average man is 58 21.25
getting worse, and there isn't 49 17.95
anything that can be done 82 30.04
about it. 84 30.77

Satisfying Homemaker Role

 

23 Children pester you with all 108 39.56
their little upsets if you aren't 80 29.30
careful from the first. 51 18.68

34 12.45

25 Mothers sacrifice almost all 106 38.83

their own fun for their children. 46 16.85
58 21.25
63 23.08

27 Having to be with the children all 75 27.47
the time gives a woman the feeling 74 27.11
that she cannot get out. 63 23.08

61 22.34

29* It is natural for a mother to 35 12.82
be relieved when her children 42 15.38
start school. 85 31.14

111 40.66

32* Self-sacrifice is one of the 19 6.96
most desirable traits of a 38 13.92
good mother. 77 28.21

139 50.92

33 Few men realize that a mother 184 67.40

needs some fun in life too. 56 20.51
21 7.69
12 4.40

35 A good mother will find enough 102 37.36

social life within the family. 70 25.64
56 20.51
45 16.48

 

*Items reflected for scoring.

112

Number of Percentage of
Attitude Statements Homemakers Homemakers
Satisfying_Homemaker Role
38 Children should be more con— 87 31.87
siderate of their mothers since 84 30.77
their mothers suffer so much 57 20.88
for them. 45 16.48
41 One of the worst things about 36 13.19
taking care of a home is 53 19.41
that a woman feels she can't 81 29.67
get out. 103 37.73
44 Children will get on any woman's 102 37.36
nerves if she has to be with 79 28.94
them all day. 52 19.05
40 14.65
46 A mother should do her best to 106 38.83
avoid any disappointment for her 72 26. 37
child 62 22.71
33 12.09
Non-authoritarian Parent Role

1* Children will eat the right things 141 51.65
if they can pick what they want to 43 15.75
eat. 41 15.02
48 17.58
8* Parents should let their children 209 76.56
eat whatever they want. 38 13.92
21 7.69
5 1.83
11* It is all right for children to 87 31.87
choose their own food as long as they 93 34.07
do not always pick the same thing. 64 23.44
29 10.62
13* Children should be able to choose what 103 37.73
they want to eat for meals even if it 60 21.98
means a little more work for the 69 25.27
mother. 41 15.02
15* If a child doesn't like to eat break- 181 66.30
fast, it is better to let him go with- 47 17.22
out it than to start the day off with 27 9.89
an argument. 18 6.59

 

 

 

 

 

*Items reflected for scoring.

113

Number of Percentage of
Attitude Statements Homemakers Homemakers

 

 

Non-authoritarian Parent Role

 

17* If a child wants a particular food 53 19.41
to eat, it is important to let him 78 28.57
have it. 110 40.29

32 11.72

19 A child should always be made to 72 26.37

eat everything on his plate- 68 24.91
85 31.14
48 17.58

21 A mother has a right to know 162 59.34
everything going on in her child's 45 16.48
life because her child is a part of 45 16.48
her. 21 7.69

24 Children must be told exactly what to 133 48.72
do and how to do it or they will make 54 19.78
mistakes. 51 18.68

35 12.82

26 If parents are not strict about 166 60.81
rules, children will misbehave and get 51 18.68
into trouble. 33 12.09

23 8.42

30 A baby will be spoiled if he is 166 60.81

picked up whenever he cries. 39 14.29
36 13.19
32 11.72

31 A child should not question the 64 23.44

thinking of his parents. 63 23.08
88 32.23
58 21.25

34 There is no good excuse foraichild 57 20.88

hitting another child. 49 17.95
101 37.00
66 24.18

36 A mother should make it her business 62 22.71
to know everything her children 74 27.11
are thinking. 85 31.14

52 19.05

37 Most children are toilet trained by 67 24.54

15 months of age. 62 22.71
73 26.74
71 26.01

 

*Items reflected for scoring.

114

 

 

Number of Percentage of
Attitude Statements Homemakers Homemakers
Non-authoritarian Parent Role
39* A child who is "on the go" all the 74 27.11
time will most likely be happy. 87 31.87
50 18.32
62 22.71
40 Some children are just so bad they 39 14.29
must be taught to fear adults for 38 13.92
their own good. 36 13.19
160 58.61
43 There is usually something wrong 24 8.79
with a child who asks a lot of 23 8.42
questions about sex. 88 32.23
138 50.55
45 The sooner a child learns to walk 95 34.80
the better he is trained. 69 25.27
62 22.71
47 17.22
47 A child should be taught to avoid 70 25.64
fighting no matter what happens. 50 18.32
96 35.16
57 20.88
50 Children soon learn there is no 104 38.10
greater wisdom than that of their 84 30.77
parents. 55 20.15
30 10.99
Positive Attitude Toward Education

54 There is not much that parents can do 28 10.26
to improve the schools. 34 12.45
69 25.27
142 52.01
60 Much of the tax money spent on 33 12.09
education during the past few years 37 13.55
should have been spent for other 76 27.84
things. 127 46.52
65 Only basic subjects like reading, 17 6.23
writing, and arithmetic should be 45 16.48
taught at the taxpayer's expense. 56 20.51
155 56.78

 

 

 

*Items reflected for scoring.

115

 

 

 

 

Number of Percentage of
Attitude Statements Homemakers Homemakers
Positive Attitude Toward Education
66 The schools do not encourage a 29 10.62
person to think for himself. 49 17.95
89 32.60
106 38.83
69 Most young people are getting more 21 7.69
schooling than they really need. 27 9.89
57 20.88
168 61.54
70 In general, scientists have done 32 11.72
more harm than good for this country. 45 16.48
74 27.11
122 44.69
71 The things a person learns in school 37 13.55
are not very helpful in meeting 56 20.51
the problems of real life. 94 34.43
86 31.50
74 An education is not really worth 16 5.86
all the time and effort it requires. 20 7.33
36 13.19
201 73.63
High-Level Nutrition_§now1edge
75* Meat, Milk, and eggs all have 252* 92.31*
lots of nutrients which are 19 6.96
needed for the growth of 2 .73
small children. 0
76 When children have enough food 56 20.51
to satisfy their appetites, they 52 19.05
are getting enough nutrients. 75 27.47
90 32.97
77 Gelatin desserts are a good source 104 38.10
of protein. 105 38.46
42 15.38
22 8.06

 

*Items reflected for scoring.

116

Number of Percentage of
Attitude Statements Homemakers Homemakers

 

 

High Level Nutrition Knowledge

 

78 It is better not to have orange juice 41 15.02
and milk in the same meal because the 45 16.48
orange juice causes the milk to 87 31.87
curdle in the stomach. 100 36.63

79 Eating bacon for breakfast is a very 95 34.80
good way to get the protein that 89 32.60
is needed for the day. 58 21.25

31 11.36

80 School-age children need to have 110 40.29
vitamin pills every day for good 64 23.44
health. 68 24.91

31 11.36

81 A good easy way to lose weight is 22 8.06

to skip breakfast. 15 5.49

43 15.75

193 70.70

82 Apples have a lot of Vitamin C 96 35.16
90 32.97

54 19.78

33 12.09

83 Healthy, active young children need 58 21.25
some sweets, such as candy or cake, 94 34.43
each day for energy. 70 25.64

51 18.68

84 It is best to avoid eating milk 30 10.99

and fish together. 40 14.65
102 37.36
101 37.00

85 Adding soda while cooking vegetables 36 13.19
and dried beans makes them easier to 84 30.77
digest. 98 35.90

55 20.15

86* Dried beans contain many of the same 98* 35.90*

nutrients as meat. - 96 35.16
59 21.61
20 7.33

 

*Items reflected for scoring.

117

Number of Percentage of
Attitude Statements Homemakers Homemakers

 

 

High Level Nutrition Knowledge

 

87* Year-old babies should eat different 244* 89.38*
kinds of foods, since drinking only 22 8.06
milk may not be enough for growth. 2 .73

5 1.83

88* White bread and cereals 161* 58.97*
that are enriched are better for 76 27.84
both children and adults than those 26 9.52
that are not. 10 3.66

89 Eating cheese causes constipation. 70 25.64

86 31.50
74 27.11
43 15.75

90* It is important to eat many kinds of 193* 70.70*

foods from day to day. 63 23.08
13 4.76
4 1.47

91 Adults should avoid fat in their 151 55.31
diets in order to prevent heart 82 30.04
diseases and strokes. 27 9.89

13 4.76

92* Milk is needed mainly by infants and 104 38.10

growing children. 40 14.65
44* 16.12*
85 31.14

93 Lemonade and orange juice have about 78 28.57

the same amounts of Vitamin C. 108 39.56
64 23.44
23 8.42

94* Peanut better is a nutritious food 168* 61.54*

for both children and adults. 77 28.21
19 6.96
9 3.30

95 Most fat children and adults have 80 29.30

a problem with their glands. 72 26.37
68 24.91
53 19.41

 

*Items reflected for scoring.

118

Number of Percentage of
Attitude Statements Homemakers Homemakers

 

 

High Level Nutrition Knowledge

 

96 A reducing diet should not contain 97 35.53
bread or potatoes. 54 19.78

80 29.30

42 15.38
97* Skim milk has about the same amount 72* 26.37*
of minerals and protein as whole 72 26.37
milk. 60 21.98

69 25.27

98* Eating carrots helps a person see 89 32.60
better. 75* 27.47*

49 17.95

60 21.98

99 If a person drinks enough orange 23 8.42
juice, he won't get a cold. 49 17.95

90 32.97

111 40.66

 

*Item reflected for scoring.

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