ROY'S MODES OF ADAPTATION AND USE OF HUMOR RELATED TO FAMILY FUNCTIONING.
Contributors: University of Pittsburgh.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 128
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Sociology, Individual and Family Studies.
Description: This ex post study was designed to investigate the relationship between the level of functioning in family systems and the families' adaptation level and use of humor. A self-report Likert type questionnaire was used to collect data from thirty-six, volunteer, intact families who had at least one child between the ages of thirteen and nineteen years.

The questionnaire, The Family Life Inventory, combined three instruments to measure family functioning, adaptation level, and the use of humor of families. Family functioning data were collected with the Family Assessment Device (FAD), which is based on the McMaster Model of Family Functioning. Also used were a new instrument, the Modes of Adaptation (MOA), based on Roy's Adaptation Model of Nursing; and the Wuerffel Inventory of Family Humor (WIFH), based on a synthesis of humor theories. In addition, demographic data were collected on the questionnaire. The networking method of data collection was used and questionnaires were mailed to families. The three family members completed individual questionnaires and returned them, anonymously, in separate envelopes.

The scores of individual family member's perceptions of their family's functioning, use of humor and adaptation were averaged to find scores for each family as a unit. Analysis of variance, correlation and regression techniques were used to test five hypotheses predicting relationships between family functioning, humor and adaptation. The level of probability was.05.

Overall, adaptation was significantly related with whole family functioning. No relationship was found between overall humor and family functioning, but four dimensions of family functioning, problem solving, communication, affective involvement, and behavior control were associated with humor.

Humor was associated with three of the modes of adaptation and wit was the type of humor most frequently used. Adaptation and humor accounted for almost 70% of the variance of family functioning. Nursing implications include use of the MOA as a family functioning assessment tool and assessment of humor as an indicator of healthy family functioning.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-07, Section: B, page: 2843.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, 1989.

School code: 0178.