This article reports three exploratory studies that describe aspects of obligation in ongoing relationships with family. Using independent samples of young married couples and single, college-age adults, five dimensions of felt obligation were identified as expectations for appropriate behavior about: (1) family contact and participation in family ritual; (2) assistance; (3) conflict avoidance; (4) self-sufficiency; and (5) personal sharing in specific relationships with kin. Initial evidence of convergent and discriminant validity was established for the felt obligation measure. Gender differences in felt obligation dimensions were found across studies with women generally reporting higher levels of obligation than did men. Felt obligation differed as a function of kinrole relationship (i.e. parents and in-laws, mother, father) across the three studies. Among married couples, felt obligation towards parents was related to higher levels of psychological symptomatology, depression and neuroticism for men but were not significantly related to mental health scores for women. The usefulness of the concept of felt obligation in the study of adult family relationships is discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adams, B.N. (1968) Kinship in an Urban Setting. Chicago, IL: Markham.
2.
Allan, G.A. (1979) A Sociology of Friendship and Kinship. London: Allen & Unwin.
3.
Bahr, H.M. (1976) `The Kinship Role', in F.I. Nye (ed.) Role Structure and Analysis of the Family, pp. 61-80. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
4.
Baxter, L.A. (1988) `A Dialectical Perspective on Communication Strategies in Relationship Development', in S.W. Duck (ed.) Handbook of Personal Relationships, pp. 257-274. New York: Wiley.
5.
Blenkner, M. (1965) `Social Work and Family Relationships in Later Life with Some Thoughts on Filial Maturity', in E. Shannas & G. Streib (eds) Social Structure and the Family: Generational Relationships, pp. 46-59. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
6.
Blieszner, R. & Mancini, J. (1987) `Enduring Ties: Older Adults' Parental Role and Responsibilities', Family Relations36: 176-180.
7.
Boszormenyi-Nagy, I. & Spark, G. (1973) Invisible Loyalties: Reciprocity in Inter-generational Family Therapy. New York: Harper & Row.
8.
Clarke, M.S. (1983) `Reactions to Aid in Communal and Exchange Relationships', in J.D. Fisher, A. Nadler & B.M. Depaulo (eds) New Directions in Helping, Vol. 1, pp. 281-335. New York: Academic Press.
9.
Cohler, B.J. & Geyer, S. (1982) `Psychological Autonomy and Interdependence within the Family', in F. Walsh (ed.) Normal Family Processes, pp. 196-228. New York: Guilford.
10.
Crown, D.P. & Marlowe, R. (1960) `A New Scale of Social Desirability Independent of Psychopathology', Journal of Consulting Psychology24: 349-354. -
11.
Derogatis, L.R. (1977) SCL-90: Administration, Scoring and Procedures Manual for the R(evised) Version. Baltimore, MD: Clinical Psychometric Research Unit, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Finley, N.J. , Roberts, D. & Banahan, B.F. (1988) `Motivators and Inhibitors of Attitudes of Filial Obligation toward Aging Parents', The Gerontologist28: 73-78.
14.
Fischer, L.R. (1983) `Mothers and Mothers-in-law', Journal o3f Marriage and the Family45: 187-192.
Greenberg, M.S. (1980) `A Theory of Indebtedness', in R.J. Gergen, M.S. Greenberg & R.H. Willis (eds) Social Exchange: Advances in Theory and Research, pp. 3-26. New York: Plenum Press.
17.
Hagemann-White, C. (1984) `The Social Context of Women's Role in Family Relationships and Responsibilities', in V. Garms-Homolova, E.M. Hoerning & D. Shaeffer (eds) Intergenerational Relationships, pp. 133-143. Lewiston, NY: C.J. Hogrefe.
18.
Hamon, R.R. & Blieszner, R. (1990) `Filial Responsibility Expectations among Adult Child-Older Parent Pairs', Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences45: 110-112.
19.
Hanson, S.L. , Sauer, W.J. & Seelbach, W.C. (1983) `Racial and Cohort Variations in Filial Responsibility Norms', The Gerontologist23: 626-631.
20.
Hareven, T.K. (1986) `American Families in Transition: Historical Perspectives on Change', in A.S. Skolnick & J.H. Skolnick (eds) Family in Transition. Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Company.
21.
Hendrick, C. (1988) `Roles and Gender in Relationships', in S.W. Duck (ed.) Handbook of Personal Relationships, pp. 429-448. New York: Wiley.
22.
Johnson, C.L. (1988) `Relationships among Family Members and Friends in Later Life', in R.M. Milardo (ed.) Families and Social Networks, pp. 168-189. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
23.
Karpel, M.A. & Strauss, E.S. (1983) Family Evaluation. New York: Gardner Press.
24.
Lang, A.M. & Brody, E.M. (1983) `Characteristics of Middle-aged Daughters and Help to Their Elderly Mothers', Journal of Marriage and the FamilyFebruary: 193-202.
25.
Lee, G.R. (1979) `Effects of Social Networks on the Family', in W.R. Burr, R. Hill & F.I. Nye (eds) Contemporary Theories about the Family: Research-based Theories, pp. 27-56. New York: Free Press.
26.
McGoldrick, M. & Carter, E.A. (1982) `The Family Life Cycle', in-F. Walsh (ed.) Normal Family Process, pp. 167-195. New York: Guilford Press.
27.
McNair, D.M. , Loor, M. & Droppleman, L. (1971) Manual for the Profile of Mood States. San Diego, CA: Educational Industrial Testing Service.
28.
Montgomery, B.M. (1988) `Quality Communication in Personal Relationships', in S.W. Duck (ed.) Handbook of Personal Relationships, pp. 343-366. New York: Wiley.
29.
Muir, D.E. & Weinstein, E.A. (1962) `The Social Debt: An Investigation of Lower-class and Middle-class Norms of Social Obligation', American Sociological Review27: 532-539.
30.
Nam, C.B. & Powers, M.G. (1983) The Socioeconomic Approach to Status Measurement. Houston, TX: Cap and Gown Press.
31.
Nydegger, C.N. (1983) `Family Ties of the Aged in Cross-cultural Perspective'. The Gerontologist23: 26-32.
32.
Procidano, M.E. & Heller, K. (1983) `Measures of Perceived Social Support from Friends and from Family: Three Validation Studies', American Journal of Community Psychology11: 1-24.
33.
Quinn, W.H. (1983) `Personal and Family Adjustment in Later Life', Journal of Marriage and the Family45: 57-73.
34.
Radloff, L. (1977) `The CES-D Scale: A Self-report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population', Applied Psychological Measurement1: 385-401.
35.
Seelbach, W.C. & Sauer, W.J. (1977) `Filial Responsibility Expectations and Morale among Aged Parents', The Gerontologist17: 492-499.
36.
Stein, C.H. & Rappaport, J. (1986) `Social Network Interviews as Sources of Etic and Emic Data: A Study of Young Married Women', in S.E. Hobfoll (ed.) Stress, Social Support and Women. New York: Hemisphere.
37.
Tippett, J. & Silber, E. (1965) `Self-image Stability: One Problem of Validation', Psychological Reports17: 323-329.
38.
Troll, L.E. (1971) `The Family of Later Life: A Decade Review', Journal of Marriage and the Family33: 263-290.
39.
Walker, A.J. & Thompson, L. (1983) `Intimacy and Intergenerational Aid and Contact among Mothers and Daughters', Journal of Marriage and the Family45: 841-849.
