Family Problem Solving: A Comparative Study of Adult Children in Puerto Rico and the Upper Midwest

Abstract

This study examined family problems and problem solving among American Upper Midwest and Puerto Ricans participants. Thematic and chi-square analyses provide a snapshot of how diverse families experience similar macro problems in day-to-day endeavors. Responses to each macro issue or strategy also suggest ways that the two cultural groups relate to family problems differently. Puerto Rico participants described and discussed significantly more communication-related problems and they also identified communicating about the problem less as something they had thought about to resolve the problem than did Upper Midwest participants. The article discusses how micro level values are inherent in macrocultural family problems.

Keywords:

• Family Communication
• Problem Solving
• Conflict
• Cultural Differences

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Judy C. Pearson

Judy C. Pearson (Ph.D., Indiana University, 1975) is a Professor and Associate Dean in the College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences at North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND.

M. F. Casper

M. F. Casper (Ph.D., North Dakota State University, 2007) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Boise State University, Boise, ID.

Jeffrey T. Child

Jeffrey T. Child (Ph.D., North Dakota State University, 2007) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication Studies at Kent State University, Kent, OH.

Kerri Spiering

Kerri Spiering (Ph.D., North Dakota State University, 2007) is Director of International Programs at North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND.