Social Class and Family Life, 1959

A central question in this work was how and why methods of socialization vary from class to class, using father's occupation to define social class. This is one of the earliest studies to investigate issues of work and family, especially focused on fathers.

Questionnaires were administered to students in three high schools in and near Boston by the contributor and an assistant to groups of 30 to 40 boys and took 50 to 60 minutes to complete. The questionnaire contained general background questions on the boy and his parents, and questions on the behavior of different family members, his work plans, and on his father's work situation. Information was obtained about parenting style, emotional support, and identification with parents.