DIFFERENCES IN FAMILY-OF-ORIGIN FUNCTIONING AMONG GRADUATE-STUDENTS OF DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES

Compared the degree of dysfunction in the family of origin of psycholo gy graduate students to that of graduate students in the disciplines o f business, education, engineering, and health sciences. Students were accessed through University of Alaska Anchorage graduate departments. Family background was assessed with the Index of Family Relations (IF R; Hudson, 1990a), the Self-Report Family Inventory (SFI; Beavers, Ham pson, & Hulgus, 1990), and relevant demographics obtained from a biogr aphical questionnaire. Results indicated significant differences among the student groups; psychology graduate students demonstrated higher degrees of family dysfunction than students in other disciplines. Impl ications of these findings for psychology graduate training programs a re discussed.