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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMOR AND FAMILY STRENGTHS (PUTDOWNS, SARCASM, JOKES, WIT)
Abstract
This study was designed to explore the use of humor in the family. Family members were asked to report the amounts and effects of a variety of types and ways they use humor. This descriptive information was studied as it related to the strength of the family. The Wuerffel Inventory of Family Humor (WIFH) was designed for this task. The first six sections of the WIFH explore humor in the family. The last section measures family strength, using Nick Stinnett's Family Strength Inventory (FSI). The research was conducted at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. Three hundred and four surveys were collected. More than two-thirds of the sample were senior enlisted personnel and their families. The sample was near the American median for income, educational level, family size, ethnic composition, religious affiliation, and age. Adolescents (age 13 and older) represented about 25% of the sample. The following variables were compared by ANOVA: fathers/mothers, parents/children, sons/daughters, self-perception/others' perception, officers/enlisted/civilians, and males and females. Fathers and mothers had similar scores on most items. Parents and children, however, scored significantly different on more than one half of the items tested. Sons and daughters scored significantly different on 10 out of 50 items tested. Most self-perceptions were accurate, and few significant differences were found between males and females. FSI scores were compared with a variety of ways families use humor. Stronger families use humor more often than weaker families to maintain a positive outlook on life, for entertainment, to reduce tension, to express warmth, to put others at ease, to facilitate conversations, to lessen anxiety and to help cope with difficult situations. Strong families report negative effects when humor is used to put down other family members. Families do use a wide variety of humor with positive effects. Putdowns were used less by stronger families and more by weaker families. "Family Fun" brought amusement and laughter to strong families, as did "Wit" and "Jokes." Families are benefiting more from the use of incongruity humor than superiority humor.
Subject Area
Adult education|Continuing education|Families & family life|Personal relationships|Sociology
Recommended Citation
WUERFFEL, JON LEONARD, "THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMOR AND FAMILY STRENGTHS (PUTDOWNS, SARCASM, JOKES, WIT)" (1986). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8620825.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8620825