Parental models and career v. family values
Published: 1975
Language: eng
Format: computer file
Subjects: Women; Employment; Parent and adult child
Description: These data were collected in order to examine the effect of the parents' example on a college daughter's lifestyle choice. Using questionnaires and a subsample of extensive interviews, Kahn investigated role models and sources of identity formation.

The sample consisted of 114 junior and senior women students at a small midwestern liberal arts college with high academic standards. Of the original 114 participants, a subsample of 41, representing high, middle, and low groupings on a sex role scale, completed a semistructured interview.

The questionnaire consisted of items that examined attitudes about the present, including college life; items on plans and goals for the future; views on family and career; items about the past, including play and fantasy behavior, people admired, and reference groups; information about parents, including a brief description of each, occupation, education, relationships, and parental influences; items on marriage and other intimate relationships, including sharing of roles; and the "Who am I" measure. Two separate forms of the Gough Adjective Check List were completed by all subjects, as well as the Tennessee Self-Concept Measure. The 90-minute semistructured interview was designed to pursue in greater detail participants' responses to their models and other sex role influences.

The Murray Center possesses the original questionnaires, completed questionnaire summaries of paper data (consisting of typed responses to most of the open-ended items on the original questionnaire, and the original handwritten questionnaire), audiotapes of the in-depth semistructured interviews, transcripts of 16 of these interviews, and computer-accessible data.
Notes: Sample characteristics: sample size: 101-500; time: 70s; race: not asked; age: 18-22; number of generations: 1; gender: female; ses: student.

Data collection methods: design: field study; length of data collection: na; measures: questionnaire, interview, psychological tests.

Follow-up possible: yes; follow-up available: no.