The Family Environment of Students Self-Appraised as Effective and Ineffective Problem Solvers

Abstract

This study investigated differences in the family environment of students who appraised themselves as either effective or ineffective problem solvers. Subjects (n = 423) were undergraduate students at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Of these, 128 subjects who scored either 1 standard deviation above the mean on the Problem Solving Inventory (effective problem solvers) or 1 standard deviation below the mean (ineffective problem solvers) were compared in terms of the dimensions of the Family Environment Scale. Hotelling T and univariate t tests indicated a significant difference between the two groups. The Effective problem-solving group was characterised by higher scores on Cohesion, Expressiveness, Intellectual-Cultural Orientation, Active-Recreational Orientation, Moral-Religious Emphasis, and Organization as well as lower scores on Conflict. These results appear consistent with the importance attached to family environment as an important influence in personality development.

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