Causal Relationship Model of Family Strength in the Context of Thai Society

Abstract

The objective of this research was mainly to develop the causal relationship model of family strength in the context of Thai society as applied to the social environment and living conditions of Thais from 1977 until the present, using a quantitative research approach. The samples under study were 300 family heads, who were aged 40-70 years and domiciled in Bangkok and its environs. The variables consisted of eleven causal variables and one dependent variable. The research instruments were twelve sets of questionnaires created by the Group of Researchers, which had a reliability in the range of .64 - .98 and applied a Structural Equation Model (SEM) for data analysis using package software. After adjusting the model, it was found that it aligned with the empirical data, which can explain the variance of family strength at 96%. The family strength was found to exert a significant influence, both directly and indirectly, according to six external and internal factors at the statistical value of .001 Those six factors were social support, opportunity to build family strength, role model on family strength, leadership in the family, intention to build family strength, and awareness of social changes.