Lauren Ruth Smith and Dr. Bruce Chadwick, Sociology

Religious leaders and social scientists regard the family as the vital social entity of society. Deemed so, partly, because it has the ability to socialize children into competent adults. For the past several decades, the family has been undergoing vast changes, considerable decline in the eyes of some. The discipline and responsibility a child is raised under is crucial to their stability as adults.

My research examined whether responsible and mature adults were yielded from a disciplined upbringing. The study asked to what extent children have a significantly stronger likelihood of living a more responsible adult life, having had to do chores and follow a structured environment while growing up. In short, I researched several factors that define a stable adult and measured them against differing levels of discipline in the home, chores serving as the primary explanatory variable.

I hypothesized that a discipline-enforced lifestyle would undeniably render a more responsible adult. It was predicted that a child raised in such a monitored environment would certainly imitate the same pattern into adulthood by leading the same structured lifestyle. It was also important to establish the specific demographic information behind the chores and who enforces such tasks. Demographic region, culture, family structure, age, grade, siblings, after school employment and parental education all serve as factors that could affect the level of discipline present in a child’s home.

Data was used from Brigham Young University’s recent study of national youth delinquency conducted by its Sociology Department. The dataset had specific variables describing the participants’ childhood environment including levels of discipline enforced in the home, amount of daily chores required, and detailed biographical information necessary to more accurately portray their background. All statistical analysis of the data was performed using the SPSS software package.

The analysis of the data concluded interesting facts concerning exactly which children are being raised with chores. Ethnically, there was a distinct difference in which children are raised in the presence of daily tasks. The Caucasian population ranked highest with 83 percent answering yes when asked if chores were present while being raised. The Asian community followed second with 70 percent reporting daily tasks and the Hispanic population ranked third with over 60 percent claiming the same.

Gender, however, did not have a significant difference in children as 83 percent of all females and 83 percent of all males surveyed confirmed having had chores required of them in their youth. The same could not be said for parents, however. Over 83 percent those raised by their mother only answered yes to the chore question yet only 63 percent of those who were raised by their father only had chores required growing up, implying a gender difference only amongst parents.

There were further differences in family structure, however. Of those who answered yes when asked if they had to complete chores as youth, the number of siblings present in the home had a distinct significance. For homes containing at least 3 children, chores were present far more frequently than with homes containing only one child. Unexpectedly, over 57 percent of participants who did chores had anywhere from 3-5 siblings present in the home while growing up, not less, yet even not more. It was predicted that large families would have a higher presence of chores, as there is clearly far more to do.

Academic studies also play a part in whether or not chores are asked of our youth surveyed as the percentage of people claiming that they did in fact have daily tasks required of them peaked at 10th grade and became substantially less as students enter 11th and 12th grades. I had predicted that those teenagers with after school jobs would not be asked to help out around the house as much as those kids who did not uphold jobs while in high school. My predictions were not validated, however as 60 percent of those claiming they had chores growing up did in fact have a job after school and only 40 percent of those students who did not work had chores asked of them.

Once the demographic information was established concerning which children are raised with chores, the analysis concentrated on determining if in fact, the chores that these particular children were required to do growing up, did actually influence them to live more responsible lives as adults. As the data describes young adults that are still in school, grades served as a key determinant in depicting their responsibility as they enter adulthood. With only 15 percent of those who did no chores earning mostly A’s in school and over 83 percent who did have daily tasks earning the same high scores, it is clear that the discipline in home is mimicked in academics. The same pattern was found when examining promiscuity. Over 86 percent of those who participated in chores had remained chaste as young adults, whereas only 10 percent of those who didn’t have such structure in the home could say they same for their physical morality.

In conclusion, it is evident from the analysis that my hypothesis is strongly supported; that a disciplined home in which children are required to do chores truly does have a positive impact in yielding responsible adults. By instilling in our youth structured lifestyle patterns, we are building up a generation of comprised of responsible, dependable adults. The research performed in this study has found a direct path to solve a problem that is ever increasing in our society today, it has shown a way to children of responsibility and integrity.

I am honored to have had the opportunity to conduct a final research study as my undergraduate career was coming to a close. I am indebted to ORCA for entrusting me with the funds necessary to carry a project from proposal to report, an invaluable experience to a future researcher. It was also an honor to have one last opportunity to work with my mentor, Dr. Chadwick, a man who has taught me nearly everything I know about research methodology. He has not only prepared me for my graduate studies this fall not to mention a satisfying career in research, but he has also shown me how to love what it is that you do for a living.