The Selection M D Condition of Clothing of Low
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The selection and condition of clothing of low- income Mexican- American pre-school children Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Stanley, Memoree Sue Osborn, 1944- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 23/09/2021 15:14:17 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/347669 THE SELECTION M D CONDITION OF CLOTHING OF LOW-INCOME MEXICM-AMERICAN PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN by . Memoree Sue Stanley A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF HOME ECONOMICS In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY. OF ARIZONA 19 6 9 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR • This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of re quirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the' Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or re production of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judgment the proposed use of the material is in the in terests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be Obtained from the author. APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: DAWN Ho TUTTLE Assistant Professor of Family Economics Home Management ACKN WLEDGMENTS - Though the creation of the tool, the collection of data, and written report reflect the ideas .of the author, a thesis is not often produced by one individual alone. Many people are involved from the counseling to the mechanics. Now a special thank-you to those who helped with this thesis. To the Tucson School District Number 1 Head Start Program which ■ provided the population, thank you for your cooperation and support. To Lillian Hodkins (Mrs. Harvey), who provided families for the interview schedule pretest, thank you for your assistance and comments. To Dr. Dawn Tuttle, under whose superb guidance the paper was written, a special thanks for patience, faith,, and constructive criticism. ' To Miss Ruth Allen, who consulted with Dr. Tuttle on the de velopment of the questionnaire and on the writing of the paper, thank you for your steadfast support and encouragement. To Miss Dianna Lent, Miss Laura Black, and Angelita Toledo (Mrs. Ramon), who assisted in collecting the data, thank you for giving so generously of your time and energy. To Catherine Rodenkirch (Mrs. William), thank you for typing the final manuscript. TABLE OF CONTENTS . Page LIST OF' TABLES .................. vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .......... , viii ■ ABSTRACT . • ix INTRODUCTION ..... ................ 1 The Problem ......... 3 Statement of the Problem . 3 Basic Assumptions ...................... 4 Definition of Terms ..... .......... ......... 4 EEVIEW OF LITERATURE ............... ............ 6 Mexican Marriage and Family Practices ........... 6 Clothing Practices ...................... ,10 Low-lncome Clothing Practices . ................... 11 Clothing Values ........... ... 12 METHODOLOGY ........................... 13 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESPONDENTS 1% PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA ............. 25 Shopping Habits of Mothers ................. 25 Clothing Selection: by the Mother .............. 35 What Mothers Look For When Buying Their Children's Clothes ............... 35 Care of Clothing ............. ........ 35 Child's Likes ‘ . ............. 37 Favorite Garments ................... 4l Choice from Photographs- ................. 4l The Meaning of STYLE . ........... 46 Buying Recommendations for Mothers of Children in Stories ....... ............. 48 Clothing Inventory and Source of Clothing / . ......... 49 Number of C l o t h e s ......... 5.0 Condition of Clothes .................. 53 Source of Clothing in Wardrobes ■ 54 Care of Clothes .... 55 Values ....... ............... 58 iv V TABLE OF CONTENTS— Continued Page SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ..................... 62 Recommendations for Further Study ......... 63 .'Suggestions for Changes in the Interview Schedule ...... 63 APPENDIX A. INTER Vi m SCHEDULE ................. 65 APPENDIX :B.- ECONOMIC POVERTY AS DEFINED BY THE FEDERAL: GOVERNMENT ......... 77 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................... 79 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Persons Present During the Interview ......... 16 2 Size of Households' .................. 18 3 .: Composition of Households ......... 19 k Ages of Mothers and Fathers ........ ....... .20 5 Education Levels of Mothers, Fathers and Other Adults 21 6 Occupation of Mother and Father ........... 23 7 Condition of Dwelling Unit .............. 2k 8 Type of Store Mothers Liked B e s t ......... 27 9 Reasons for Choice of Store . 28 10 How Mothers Learn About Places to Shop . 29 11 Where Mothers Shop for Children's Clothes .30 12 When Mothers Bought Clothes ^ . 32 13 Mothers' Favorite Day to Shop ....... 33 Ik Time of Day Mothers Shop . .... ... ., . 3 V 15 : What Mothers Look for When Buying Their Children's Clothes . ......... 36 16 Relative Importance of Care Features of Children's Clothes to Mothers .... 38 17 Mother's Consideration of Child's Likes in the Purchase of Children's Clothes' . ... 39 18 Choice of Pictured Ensemble by Mother 44 / 19 Ensemble Photograph Choice According to Favorite Garment ........ 45 VI vii LIST OF TABLES--Continued Table Page 20 Mother's Ordering of COLOR, FIT, QUALITY, and STYLE According to Personal Preference..............U7 ■ 21 Boys' Clothing Inventory: Total Items,. Average Items per Child, High and Low Humber of Items for Each Child. Total Number of Boys: 37 • .. .. • « . « ® . « « . * 51 22 Girls' Clothing Inventory: -Total Items, Average Items per Child, High and Low Number of Items, for Each Child. Total Number of Girls: 31 ♦ • « ........... 52 23 .Condition of 62 Head Start Children's Clothing ....... 55 2k Similarity of Mothers' Shopping Place and Source of Children's Clothing ...... 56 25 How Mothers Wash Their Clothes ............... 57 26 Values According to the Number of Times Selected by the Mother ............... 59 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure . Page 1 Photographs of Ensembles Shown' to Mothers ......... 43 viii ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to discover the clothing selec tion, if any, employed by the low-income mothers of Mexican descent, the means used to obtain children's clothes, the number and condition of items in the children's wardrobes,.the stores mothers patronized, the care of clothing and the clothing values of the mothers. The Tucson School District Number One Head Start Program served as the population. All mothers were interviewed. The response of mothers of Mexican descent were used in this study. An interview schedule was devised and interviews were taken in the homes of the participants between December, 1968 and February, 1969• The mothers interviewed did select their children's clothing, based on quality, price, and fit. Department and variety stores were the mothers' preferences and were the stores where they actually shopped. Mothers paid cash for clothes. Wardrobes were small with an emphasis on basic outer wear, underwear, and shoes. Outer wraps were most predominant among the girls. Wardrobes were in good condi tion. The mothers' values were overwhelmingly economically oriented. INTRODUCTION In the war on poverty federal, state, and city governments within the United States are attempting to improve the educational level, nutrition, and housing, as well as personal and family manage ment and parent-child relationships of America's poor. The culturally disadvantaged family is a culturally unadapted family-~unadapted to the middle class urban industrial culture that dominates the American scene. The poverty family has the stability found in the old rural folk culture but such a culture does not function well in an urban society. Frustration is the natural outgrowth of life in places where jobs are scarce, housing is substandard and education is lim ited. The child in the poor family detects the sense of defeat; he feels the helplessness and despair projected by the parent. By law this child must attend school. He begins his education under the handicap of his residence, the lack of parental appreciation of aca demic achievement, and with teachers geared to the middle class urban industrial culture who label him incompetent. Defeats at school re inforce the attitude prevailing at home and the poverty cycle is complete. The proposals for breaking this cycle are plentiful, but the main goal must be to reinstate the self-respect, the dignity, the con fidence and the. social.acceptance of the families caught in this vicious cycle. If we are to totally break the poverty chain we need 1 to improve the self images of those involved. Our-clothing is part of the picture we present to the world and reflects our self to a large extent. Clothing is one of the basic tools of social acceptance, of self-confidence, self-respect and dignity for us all. Since clothing is one attribute of an individual that can be seen by everyone, it is one by which we tend to evaluate others,