The Effect of Parent Marital Status on the Happiness and Aspirations of College Students
Location
CSU 204
Start Date
11-4-2017 11:05 AM
End Date
11-4-2017 12:05 PM
Student's Major
Psychology
Student's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Mentor's Name
Emily Stark
Mentor's Department
Psychology
Mentor's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description
The purpose of this study is to examine an effect of marriage or divorce and expressed parental personalities may have on the children's personal view of themselves and their aspirations. Research by Lu (Lu, 1997) shows that characteristics of age and gender had indirect effects of happiness through social support, Thus we hypothesize the following: First, children of parents who stayed married will have a higher sense of happiness, through extensive social support opportunities. Secondly, we believe children of married parents will have a higher focus on attending college and more prestigious career choices. Finally, children of parents who stayed married will have a higher score on a happiness scale, perhaps because of more extensive social support opportunities. Research will be conducted by distributing a survey to participants. The survey is created through Qualtrics, and consists of 50 questions asking about demographics, parent's marital statuses, aspirations, and their views of both parents. One aspect explored in our study focuses on the participant's happiness, which was done by implementing questions from the Subjective Happiness scale (SHS) (Lyubomirsky, 1999), as well as their current aspirations, and whether they perceive themselves as following closely to a certain parental figure, or following their own distinctive path. Data collection is ongoing, and currently approximately 200 participants have completed the survey. Our study may reveal that people with married parents are perceived happier and have higher goals set for themselves.
The Effect of Parent Marital Status on the Happiness and Aspirations of College Students
CSU 204
The purpose of this study is to examine an effect of marriage or divorce and expressed parental personalities may have on the children's personal view of themselves and their aspirations. Research by Lu (Lu, 1997) shows that characteristics of age and gender had indirect effects of happiness through social support, Thus we hypothesize the following: First, children of parents who stayed married will have a higher sense of happiness, through extensive social support opportunities. Secondly, we believe children of married parents will have a higher focus on attending college and more prestigious career choices. Finally, children of parents who stayed married will have a higher score on a happiness scale, perhaps because of more extensive social support opportunities. Research will be conducted by distributing a survey to participants. The survey is created through Qualtrics, and consists of 50 questions asking about demographics, parent's marital statuses, aspirations, and their views of both parents. One aspect explored in our study focuses on the participant's happiness, which was done by implementing questions from the Subjective Happiness scale (SHS) (Lyubomirsky, 1999), as well as their current aspirations, and whether they perceive themselves as following closely to a certain parental figure, or following their own distinctive path. Data collection is ongoing, and currently approximately 200 participants have completed the survey. Our study may reveal that people with married parents are perceived happier and have higher goals set for themselves.
Recommended Citation
Wynia, Ethan; Akorede Teriba; Danielle Petruska; Jacklyn Gehling; and Quincey Krein. "The Effect of Parent Marital Status on the Happiness and Aspirations of College Students." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 11, 2017.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2017/oral-session-04/1
