Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Gay Parenthood And The Revolution Of The Modern Family: An Examination Of The Unique Barriers Confronting Gay Adoptive Parents, Nicholas Arntsen

Nicholas Benedict Arntsen

Abstract: In recent decades, the structure of the American family has been revolutionized to incorporate families of diverse and unconventional compositions. Gay and lesbian couples have undoubtedly played a crucial role in this revolution by establishing families through the tool of adoption. Eleven adoptive parents from the state of Connecticut were interviewed to better conceptualize the unique barriers gay couples encounter in the process adoption. Both the scholarly research and the interview data illustrate that although gay couples face enormous legal barriers, the majority of their hardship comes through social interactions. As a result, the cultural myths and legal restrictions …

Crafting Qualitative Research Articles On Marriages And Families, Sarah H. Matthews

Sarah Matthews

This paper aims to assist those who do qualitative research in the field of marriage and family to reduce the number of rejections received in response to article submissions. Recurring shortcomings identified by reviewers and suggestions made to authors about revising papers are organized using headings traditionally used in a research article—introduction and literature review, method, results, and discussion. Considerations stemming from the fact that data on marriages and families are produced largely through interviews also are addressed.

Women’S Entry Into Self-Employment In Urban China: The Role Of Family In Creating Gendered Mobility Patterns, Qian Forrest Zhang, Zi Pan

Qian Forrest ZHANG

How did family characteristics affect women and men differently in self-employment participation in urban China? Analyses of national data show dual marriage penalties for women. Marketization made married women more vulnerable to lay-offs from state-sector jobs; their likelihood of being pushed into unskilled self-employment surpassed that of any other groups. The revitalized patriarchal family tradition favored men in family businesses and resulted in their higher rates of entering entrepreneurial self-employment. Married women who had the education to pursue entrepreneurial self-employment were constrained by family responsibilities to state-sector jobs for access to family services, and had much lower rates in entering …

Gender Disparities In Self-Employment In Urban China's Market Transition: Income Inequality, Occupational Segregation And Mobility Processes, Qian (Forrest) Zhang

Qian Forrest ZHANG

This paper presents the first quantitative analysis of gender disparities in selfemployment in urban China. It documents the extent of gender income inequality in selfemployment. By disaggregating self-employment into three occupational classes, it shows the gender segregation within self-employment—women were concentrated in the financially least rewarding segment—and identifies it as a main source of the gender income inequality. It examines a range of determinants of participation in self employment—family structure, family background, and career history—and how their gender-specific effects contributed to gender segregation. Although using data from a 1996 national survey, this study captures two key processes that shaped the …

Household Allocation Of Time And Church Attendance, Corry Azzi, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

This paper presents the first systematic attempt by economists to analyze the determinants of individuals' participation in religious activities. A multiperiod utility-maximizing model of household behavior is developed which includes among its implications the shape of a house-hold's life-cycle religious-participation profile and the division of religious participation between husband and wife. The theory is empirically tested using statewide church-membership data and survey data on individuals' frequency of church attendance. The paper concludes by discussing several extensions of the model which lead to additional potentially testable hypotheses.

Household Allocation Of Time And Religiosity: Replication And Extension, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Stephen Long and Russell Settle's (1977) empirical tests of the economic theory of religiosity presented by Corry Azzi and myself (1975) in this Journal tend to be less supportive of our theory than were our original results. As such, I welcome the opportunity to trot out some further replications and extensions that I have conducted and I leave it to the reader to judge the relative merits of the two new contributions.

Review Of Sex Cells: The Medical Market For Eggs And Sperm, By Rene Almeling., Medora Barnes

Medora W. Barnes

The Fundamental Question When Applying The Welfare Principle: "Who Will Be The Better Parent Or Guardian"?, Siyuan Chen

Siyuan CHEN

The welfare principle – that is, when making a custody-related decision, the best interests of the child form the first and paramount consideration – is probably one of the cardinal principles of family law in many common law jurisdictions. While the welfare principle is generally considered a wide concept with no exhaustive definition or list of factors, it is submitted that there is an important question – sometimes neglected or misunderstood – that should actually feature most prominently when applying the welfare principle, particularly when joint or no order custody orders seem impossible. The question is simply that of “who …

江戸時代女性の噂話 第一部: 都会の庶民の女性 (町の女1), Cecilia (淑子） S. Seigle (瀬川） Ph.D.

Cecilia S Seigle Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

江戸時代女性の噂話:第一部: 都会の庶民の女性 : 町の女 2, Cecilia (淑子） S. Seigle (瀬川）江戸時代女性の噂話:第一部: 都会の庶民の女性 : 町の女 2 江戸時代女性の噂話:第一部: 都会の庶民の女性 : 町の女 2 Ph.D.

Cecilia S Seigle Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

The Female Fear / Book Review, Emily Adler

Emily S. Adler

These four books written by feminists with both academic and activist credentials contribute to our understanding of how violence against women forms an integral aspect of male dominance. They challenge the myths of home as haven and of men as protectors of women.

Victimology, Emily Adler

Emily S. Adler

Until recently, the family sociology literature has been characterized by a conspicuous absence of research on marital violence. Efforts to fill this gap are evidenced by a growing body of material in the area. It is in this context that Victimology's Special Issue on Spouse Abuse and Domestic Violence makes a worthwhile contribution to the effort to expose the problem and propose solutions.

Incidence Of Four-Generation Family Lineages: Is Timing Of Fertility Or Mortality A Better Explanation?, Sarah H. Matthews, Rongjun Sun

Sarah Matthews

Objectives. This article estimates the percentage of lineages that include four or more generations for a sample of the U.S. population and explores how social status and race are related to lineage depth. Methods. We assembled data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households in order to estimate the proportion of adults in four or more generations for the Wave 2 sample (1992-1994). When necessary, we used various decision rules to overcome an absence of information about specific generations. We examine relationships between lineage depth and sociodemographic variables by using logistic regressions. Results. The …

Old Age Support In Contemporary Urban China From Both Parents’ And Children’S Perspectives, Rongjun Sun

Rongjun Sun

This article explores the links between old age support and the characteristics of both parents and children drawing on survey data collected in Baoding, China, in 1994. Three specific forms of support are examined: monetary transfers, in-kind gifts, and help with daily activities. Hierarchical modeling is applied to the analysis from children’s perspective to control for the unobserved family heterogeneity. Results indicate that intergenerational support within families is currently the major source of old age security in Chinese society. Analyses from both parents’ and children’s perspectives support the corporate group/mutual aid model, which largely sees the provision of help as …

Diversity And Structure Of Intergenerational Relationships: Elderly Parent–Adult Child Relations In Korea, Keong-Suk Park, Voonchin Phua, James Mcnally, Rongjun Sun

Rongjun Sun

Korean society has undergone a rapid demographic transition that has challenged traditional patterns of family exchanges. The structure and directions of support flows have become more complex as multiple generations coexist. This article examines the complexity of contemporary Korean intergenerational relationships. The study analyzed two different samples to address anticipated differences in perceptions of and attitudes toward relationships between adult children and elderly parents. The researchers used maximum likelihood latent structure analysis to discover the latent patterns of the association among three main subdimensions of intergenerational relationships: geographic proximity, exchange of support, and cultural norms of family support. Results show …

Incidence Of Four-Generation Family Lineages: Is Timing Of Fertility Or Mortality A Better Explanation?, Sarah H. Matthews, Rongjun Sun

Rongjun Sun

Objectives. This article estimates the percentage of lineages that include four or more generations for a sample of the U.S. population and explores how social status and race are related to lineage depth. Methods. We assembled data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households in order to estimate the proportion of adults in four or more generations for the Wave 2 sample (1992-1994). When necessary, we used various decision rules to overcome an absence of information about specific generations. We examine relationships between lineage depth and sociodemographic variables by using logistic regressions. Results. The …

Older Workers: An Essential Resource For Massachusetts, Peter B. Doeringer, Andrew Sum, David Terkla

Andrew Sum

The Massachusetts Jobs Council, the Governor’s principal advisory board on workforce development, established the Blue Ribbon Commission on Older Workers in 1997 to analyze the labor market for older workers in the Commonwealth and to recommend policies to improve the economic status of the older labor force. The Commission held numerous hearings, town meetings, and focus groups to solicit the views of older workers, employers, labor organizations, and training professionals, and it reviewed the findings of extensive research on older workers in Massachusetts.

Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren: Impact Of The Transition From A Traditional Grandparent Role To A Grandparent-As-Parent Role, Jan Backhouse

Jan Backhouse

In many Western societies grandparents take on the role of occasional or short-term care providers of their grandchildren. However, recent years have witnessed a significant increase, both in Australia and overseas, in the number of children being raised by their grandparents due to the inability of the children’s parents to effectively meet their parenting responsibilities.

This study is an interpretive inquiry that seeks to understand the meanings grandparents attach to their experiences of the grandparent-as-parent role, rather than the traditional grandparent role. The study also investigates how assuming the non-traditional grandparent role has influenced the identity of grandparent caregivers. A …

Infertility Help Seeking And Social Support: Do Conventional Theories Explain Internet Behaviors And Outcomes, Kathleen S. Slauson-Blevins

Kathleen S. Slauson-Blevins

This dissertation uses data from the National Survey of Fertility Barriers (NSFB), a nationally representative sample, to assess factors associated with face-to-face and internet help seeking (study 1) and perceived social support (study 2). In study one, I examine whether the General Help Seeking Model, a theory that has been used to explain in-person help seeking, generalizes to internet help seeking. I assess four types of help seeking: (1) no help seeking, (2) only internet help seeking, (3)only medical help seeking, and (4) both online and medical help seeking. Results suggest that online help seeking is differentiated from in person …

Open Adoption And Adolescence, Deborah Siegel

Deborah H Siegel

In open adoptions, birth and adoptive families exchange identifying information and have contact. Although most adoptions today include some form of openness, much of the public remains wary of this. The purpose of this study was to explore, longitudinally, adoptive parents' perceptions of their children's open adoptions. This article reports the findings of tape-recorded interviews with 31 adoptive parents who were first interviewed when their children were infants and toddlers, again 7 years later, and a third time when their children were adolescents. The study found adoptive parents were committed to maintaining contact with the birth family even when discomforts …

Open Adoption Of Infants, Deborah Siegel

Deborah H Siegel

As the frequency of open adoptions of infants increases, furious debate continues between those who argue that open adoption is a grave mistake and those who assert that it is a long-overdue innovation. This ankle defines open adoption, summarizes the open adoption controversy, and presents a qualitative descriptive study of adoptive parents' reactions to the recent open adoptions of their infants. Findings indicate overwhelmingly positive feelings about open adoption and some issues and concerns unique to the open adoption experience. The ankle concludes that social workers involved in adoptions should move from their traditional stance in directing and defining the …

Open Adoption Of Infants, Deborah Siegel

Deborah H Siegel

Adoptions today increasingly include contact between adoptive and birth families. What do these "open adoptions" look like? How do the participants feel about them? This article, based on part of a longitudinal study that first examined adoptive parents' perceptions of their infants' open adoptions seven years ago, explores the parents' reactions now that their children are school age. This qualitative descriptive research revealed changes in the openness in the adoptions over time and identified four dimensions along which open adoptions vary. Findings showed parents' enthusiasm for the openness in their adoptions, regardless of the type and extent of openness. Implications …

Economic Transition And New Patterns Of Parent-Adult Child Coresidence In Urban China, Qian Forrest Zhang

Qian Forrest ZHANG

This study uses national data from the 1996 Life History and Social change in Contemporary China survey (N = 3,087) to gauge the effect of the economic transition on parent-adult child coresidence in urban China. Previous studies find that, thanks to state actions, traditional patterns in coresidence persisted in post-Mao urban China. This study still finds high levels of coresidence. China's aging population, coupled with an underdeveloped social security system, means that the traditional role of family will remain strong. It also uncovers three new patterns, however, best explained as caused by changes in the economic realm. First, the coresidence …

Building Democracy In Japan, Mary Alice Haddad

Mary Alice Haddad

How is democracy made real? How does an undemocratic country create new institutions and transform its polity such that democratic values and practices become integral parts of its political culture? These are some of the most pressing questions of our times, and they are the central inquiry of Building Democracy in Japan. Using the Japanese experience as starting point, this book develops a new approach to the study of democratization that examines state-society interactions as a country adjusts its existing political culture to accommodate new democratic values, institutions and practices. With reference to the country's history, the book focuses on …

“Inheriting The Homeland? Intergenerational Transmission Of Cross-Border Ties In Migrant Families,”, Thomas Soehl, Roger Waldinger

Roger D Waldinger

Theories of migrant transnationalism emphasize the enduring imprint of the premigration connections that the newcomers bring with them. But how do the children of migrants raised in the parents’ adopted country develop ties to the parental home country? Using a structural equation model and data from a recent survey of adult immigrant offspring in Los Angeles, this article shows that second generation cross-border activities are strongly affected by earlier experiences of and exposure to home country influences. Socialization in the parental household is powerful, transmitting distinct home country competencies, loyalties, and ties, but not a coherent package of transnationalism. Our …

Maintaining Friendships In Early Stage Dementia: Factors To Consider, Phyllis Harris

Phyllis Braudy Harris

Friendships and the importance of social connectiveness play a critical role in aging well, regardless of gender, race, social class, or impairment. Yet, dementia takes its toll on social relationships, and many friends withdraw and ‘disappear’, because they can no longer bear to see the changes that are taking place in their diagnosed friend. The dementia care literature documents this abandonment; however, this study examines the opposite occurrence. In order to understand more clearly the role of long-term friendships and how such friendships remain and continue, despite the diagnosis of dementia, this qualitative study examines in depth eight people in …

The Interplay Of Family Formation And Criminal Behavior, Terence P. Thornberry, Marvin D. Krohn, Megan Bears Augustyn, Molly Buchanan, Sarah J. Greenman

Sarah Greenman

No abstract provided.

The Role Of ‘Workplace Family’ Support On Worker Health, Exhaustion And Pain, Linda A. Treiber, Shannon N. Davis

Linda A. Treiber

Acolhimento Familiar: Os Resultados De Um Estudo, Seus Desafios E Avanços, Susy Cristina Rodrigues

Susy Cristina Rodrigues

Esta contribuição ilustra os resultados quantitativos e qualitativos de um Serviço de acolhimento familiar. O escopo do trabalho desenvolvido fundamenta-se na perspectiva da proteção integral à criança vítima de violência doméstica, sob os cuidados da família acolhedora, enquanto medida excepcional e provisória. Os resultados obtidos nesta pesquisa documental demonstram que as estratégias metodológicas desenvolvidas na intervenção interdisciplinar junto às famílias de origem das referidas crianças comprovam seu sucesso na reintegração familiar. O artigo finaliza com reflexões relacionadas aos limites e desafios enfrentados no trabalho com famílias atendidas na Alta Complexidade da Assistência Social, enfatizando a dificuldade em encontrar famílias acolhedoras …

Some Observations On The Weddings Of Tokugawa Shogun’S Daughters – Part 1, Cecilia S. Seigle Ph.D.

Cecilia S Seigle Ph.D.

In this study I shall discuss the marriage politics of Japan's early ruling families (mainly from the 6th to the 12th centuries) and the adaptation of these practices to new circumstances by the leaders of the following centuries. Marriage politics culminated with the founder of the Edo bakufu, the first shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616). To show how practices continued to change, I shall discuss the weddings given by the fifth shogun Tsunayoshi (1646-1709) and the eighth shogun Yoshimune (1684-1751). The marriages of Tsunayoshi's natural and adopted daughters reveal his motivations for the adoptions and for his choice of the daughters’ …