The relationship of personal and social adjustment to clothing attitudes of 4-H boys and girls

The study used the theoretical model of Horn (1968) and Symbolic Interaction Theory to examine personal and social adjustment variables which were hypothesized to be related to attitudes held about clothing. The sample included 368 randomly selected 4-H boys and girls from 13 prominently mid-western states. Data were analyzed by a one-way analysis of variance on the total clothing attitude survey (TCAS) score by the independent variables. Correlation coefficients were calculated between components of the TCAS and the independent variables. Chi-square and a stepwise multiple linear regression model were also used to analyze the data.

Findings indicated that the personal adjustment variables of sex, self-concept, socioeconomic status did impact on attitudes toward clothing. Females and persons of high socio-economic status and high self-concept were more concerned about all aspects of clothing. Social adjustment variables did not show such clear indications.