THE CALIFORNIA-FAMILY-HEALTH-PROJECT .7. SUMMARY AND INTEGRATION OF FINDINGS

In a series of reports, we have observed the relationships between fou r domains of family life (World View, Emotion Management, Structure/Or ganization, Problem Solving), and the health of husbands and wives in a community-based sample of 225 families. In this final article of the series, we provide an overview and summary of the results, by gender, including the structure and patterning of variables both within each family domain and among all four family domains analyzed together. In addition, we review the associations between each family domain and ad ult health (unidomain analyses), and among all four family domains tak en together and adult health (multidomain analyses). Prominent differe nces in family and health relationships based on gender are described from the perspective of socially and culturally supported sex-role exp ectations and behavior. The results support the use of a multidimensio nal family assessment framework in health research that can lead to th e further development of empirically based models of family process.