| The parents of undergraduate students participated in a study investigating both the relationship of grandparent-parent variables and spousal variables with their current psychological distress. In the process, a new scale measuring reciprocity with one's spouse was validated. The 602 participants, comprising 301 married couples, provided demographic information and completed questionnaires assessing their parents parenting style, their reciprocity with their parents during adolescence, reciprocity with their spouse, and the Symptom Checklist 90 - Revised (SCL-90-R). Reliability and validity analyses supported the psychometric properties of a new Perception of Spousal Reciprocity Scale (POSRS). Preliminary analyses demonstrated significant differences in psychological distress for males and females. Subsequently, the data were analyzed separately according to gender. Together, the current findings have extended the parenting style and reciprocity literature into adulthood, and have demonstrated that these variables differ in their relationships with distress at this stage when contrasted with findings obtained during adolescence/young adulthood. Furthermore, it appears as though the distress levels of males and females are differentially affected by the gender of the parent. However, reciprocity with one's spouse appears to be more relevant in terms of psychological distress than the parent-based variables. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
