Family Decision-Making Patterns and How They Relate to the Members' Clothing Preferences

Abstract

The study aimed to find the relationship between decision-making patterns and clothing preferences in the family. Specifically, it aimed to determine the spheres of influence of family members and the factors that relate to the individual's clothing preferences. The themes and topics that came out of two focus group discussions guided the formulation of interview questions for the case study of 10 purposively selected families/households. This study showed that the parents, particularly the mother, play the most influential role in allocating funds for clothes and in deciding the frequency of purchase of clothes. The sphere of influence of parents, however, vary as fathers are more concerned about modesty and cost while mothers are concerned with cost and other practical matters like comfort and durability. While parental influence is still important in matters related to dressing, this study shows the increasing role of children in decision-making. This important finding reflects a possible change in the structure of Filipino families towards a more egalitarian and consultative direction.