| The intent of this study was to examine family dynamics within family businesses. Fifty families participated in the study. Twenty-five family business families were compared to twenty-five non-family business families. Subjects were matched on age patterns, number of members, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. The families completed a Family Boundary Ambiguity Scale, Olson's (1985) FACES III Family Adaptability & Cohesion Scale, and Beck's (1978) Inventory for Depression. In addition, they were asked if there had been an incident of a broken engagement, separation, or divorce within their family. All of the questionnaires were mailed to the families involved. Results of the study show that families involved in a family business have a significantly greater incidence of divorce than families that are not involved in a family business. Implications for family businesses and clinical practice are drawn. |
