bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Social Resources on the Alzheimer's Disease Caregiving Experience
Authors: Stuckey Jon C. , Smyth Kathleen A.
Published: March 2007

Research that has examined the linkages between social resources and health out-comes has been hindered by a lack of clarity in the conceptualizations of key social resources such as social ties and social support. This article presents evidence that social ties and social support are separate constructs and should be treated as such. In a study of 203 family caregivers, measures of social resources were only moderately to weakly intercorrelated. The social resource measures behaved differently as predictors of caregiver burden, physical well-being, and emotional well-being in a path analysis, and the subjective perception of adequacy of social ties was more germane to explaining health outcomes than was an objective number of social ties. Researchers must clearly and consistently operationally define measures used to examine relationships between social resources and health outcomes if these enigmatic connections are to be fully understood.
Age and Depression in the Post-Communist Czech Republic
Authors: Hraba Joseph , Lorenz Frederick O. , Pechacova Zdenka
Published: March 2007

Depression increases with old age in the United States. Three sources of stress are thought to account for this relationship: economic stress, poor health, and social isolation. The relation between these sources of stress and depression may be direct or mediated by mastery. This pattern is tested in the 1994 Czech republic. The data from 740 households in the Czech republic provided the 647 women and 554 men included in this analysis. Age is related to the three sources of stress and they are associated with depression. After controls for mastery, the effect of poor health on depression remains strong for both women and men. The relation between economic stress and depression also remains strong for Czech men. It is their sense of deprivation relative to the Communist past rather than absolute economic hardship that is depressing for men. For Czech women, the effect of economic hardship is mediated by mastery. Mastery also mediated the effect of social isolation on women's depression, but for men social isolation was directly as well as indirectly depressing. The discussion ends on the note that the relation between age, economic stress, and depression in the Czech republic may change in the future.
The Effects of For-Profit and Not-for-Profit Facility Status on the Quality of Care for Nursing Home Residents with Mental Illnesses
Authors: Castle Nicholas G. , Shea Dennis G.
Published: March 2007

This article examines whether a relationship exists between ownership status (for-profit and not-for-profit) of nursing homes and the quality of care for residents who are mentally ill. Rather than looking for an overall indicator of differences in quality between these ownership types, as other studies have done, three quality indicators are examined: structure, process, and outcome. Also, different types of nursing homes are examined by size and certification level. The authors fail to find consistent evidence that for-profit nursing homes provide poorer quality care to mentally ill residents using measures of structure, process, and outcome; they did find, however, that nursing homes may modify their approach to caring for these residents. That is, the size of the facility and the certification level could be important factors in the quality of the mental health care of nursing home residents.
Education, Personal Control, Lifestyle and Health
Authors: Mirowsky John , Ross Catherine E.
Published: March 2007

The concept of human capital implies that education improves health because it increases effective agency. We propose that education's positive effects extend beyond jobs and earnings. Through education, individuals gain the ability to be effective agents in their own lives. Education improves physical functioning and self-reported health because it enhances a sense of personal control that encourages and enables a healthy lifestyle. We test three specific variants of the human-capital and learned-effectiveness hypothesis: (1) education enables people to coalesce health-producing behaviors into a coherent lifestyle, (2) a sense of control over outcomes in one's own life encourages a healthy lifestyle and conveys much of education's effect, and (3) educated parents inspire a healthy lifestyle in their children. Using data from a 1995 national telephone probability sample of U.S. households with 2,592 respondents, ages 18 to 95, a covariance structure model produces results consistent with the three hypotheses.
HIV/AIDS and Aging Minority Populations
Authors: Brown Diane R. , Sankar Andrea
Published: March 2007

This article focuses on emerging issues associated with HIV/AIDS in aging minoritypopulations. Based on a review of the literature as well as available national surveillance data, this article discusses current knowledge about HIV/AIDS in agingminority populations, particularly as they relate to sociodemographic, cultural, andhealth status factors. The authors not only examine the circumstances of older personsinfected by HIV/AIDS but also those affected by HIV/AIDS as a result of additionalof caregiving responsibilities. Recommendations for future research are provided.
The Regional Demographics of the Elderly Foreign-Born and Native-Born Populations in the United States Since 1950
Authors: Rogers Andrei , Raymer James
Published: March 2007

This article is an examination of the influence of birthplace on the internal migration and spatial redistribution patterns of elderly foreign-born and native-born populations in the United States during 1950 to 1990. Using data drawn largely from the U.S. Census Bureau’s published and unpublished records and from various Public Use Micro-data Sample (PUMS) files of the Censuses of Population, the authors consider the following questions: (1) What have been the regional age compositions and geographies of U.S. elderly foreign-born and native-born populations over the past several decades? (2) What have been the demographic sources of growth that shaped those age compositions and geographies? (3) What have been the interregional migration patterns of elderly foreign-born populations, and how have they differed from those of elderly native-born populations? (4) Are recent interregional migration patterns of foreign-born and native-born elderly persons likely to generate increased or decreased regional concentrations of their respective populations?
The Influence of Organizational Context on Quitting Intention
Authors: Jinnett Kimberly , Alexander Jeffrey A.
Published: March 2007

This study uses multilevel methods to investigate the effects of organizational context on job satisfaction and quitting intention among staff working in long-term mental health care settings. Two types of organizational features are examined: group job satisfaction and structural features of the work unit (unit size, workload, and level of client functioning on the unit). A review of the organizational literature reveals that most empirical research has investigated job satisfaction at the individual level of analysis rather than the group level. The authors argue that the affective context of a group has real and measurable consequences for individual attitudes and behavior, independent of individual attitudes toward the job. Using multilevel modeling, study findings support the premise that group job satisfaction exercises effects on intention to quit independent of individuals’ dispositions toward their jobs. These effects are both direct and interactive. The findings underscore the importance of affective context in shaping individual attitudes and behavioral intentions.
Political Support for Incomplete Democracies: Realist vs. Idealist Theories and Measures
Authors: Mishler William , Rose Richard
Published: March 2007

Democratic regimes depend for their survival and effective functioning on the public's willing acquiescence and support; however, the measurement of support is problematic. The failure to appreciate the difference between established democracies and new regimes that may (or may not) be in the process of democratizing has prompted scholars to mismeasure support by relying on idealist measures. We propose a realist conception of political support and realist measures. We test these measures with data from the 1995-97 World Values Surveys, comparing their ability to describe and explain variations in support for both old and new regimes. Realist measures perform substantially better in all contexts and in ways that suggest the rationality of realist support.
European Union Conditionality and the Acquis Communautaire
Authors: Grabbe Heather
Published: March 2007

The eu's conditions for the central and east European applicants look deceptively straightforward: they comprise stable democracy, a competitive market economy, and the capacity to implement eu laws and policies (the so called acquis communautaire). However, they are very general and not amenable to quantitative assessment, leaving ambiguity about exactly when they have been met. This ambiguity increases the eu's power in accession negotiations, but the accompanying uncertainty diffuses its influence in shaping institutional and policy choices. This article examines the eu's accession conditionality levers and the constraints on their use. It concludes that readiness for membership depends not only on technical progress in negotiations, but also on when the current member-states are politically ready for enlargement.
The Gender Gap and the Changing Woman Voter in Canada
Authors: Erickson Lynda , O'Neill Brenda
Published: March 2007

The realignment thesis on gender voting in postindustrial societies argues that traditional voting patterns, where women compared to men were more supportive of center-right parties, are being replaced by a modern gender gap, where women are more likely than men to support parties of the left. Although this transformation is said to be driven by both structural and cultural factors, findings suggest value changes are the more important element. This article explores the realignment thesis in the Canadian context where realignment has been complicated by a multi-party system, brokerage politics, and differences between Quebec and the rest of Canada. Voting patterns from 1965 to 1997 suggest women's realignment from right to left has not been straightforward. However, in the 1990s we find more indication of a modern gender gap in Canada outside Quebec and findings that support the value thesis. In Quebec, gender differences did not conform to the modern gender gap model and overall, variability across elections in the pattern and correlates of gender voting illustrate the contingent character of this phenomenon.
Democratic Elitism and the Autonomy of Elites
Authors: Bealey Frank
Published: March 2007

Commentators have been divided about the degree to which democracy can be reconciled with the existence of elites. Some have seen them as a threat to democracy; others, the “democratic elitists,” have perceived their autonomy as a necessary ingredient of a democratic polity. This article contends that it is not possible to generalize about the attitude of elites to democracy. Some of them, like the military, by virtue of their functions, have values which are unlikely to foster democracy; others have values and procedures which are congenial to the democratic ethos. Elite autonomy cannot be a meta-principle of democracy.
From Statism to Federalism—A Paradigm Shift
Authors: Elazar Daniel J.
Published: March 2007

Since the end of World War II and most particularly since the late 1970s, the world has been in the midst of a paradigm shift from a world of states modeled after the idea of the nation-state developed in the seventeenth century to a world of diminished state sovereignty and increasingly constitutionalized interstate linkages of a federal character. This paradigm shift has been noted by students of both federalism and international relations. It has been most strongly manifested in the economic sphere. Worldwide and regional economic arrangements have become essential to the peace and prosperity of the world and while formally voluntary, no state can remain outside the increasingly more demanding economic networks. Thus, those networks have acquired an increasingly confederal dimension. Foremost among them is that of Western Europe which, since the Maastricht Treaty, has been transformed into a confederation in fact if not in name. Other arrangements approach the EU in varying degrees. In this new paradigm, existing states will not disappear; rather they will be overlaid by a variety of federal arrangements of a confederal character that will tie them ever closer to each other.
The Idea of State Sovereignty and the Right of Humanitarian Intervention
Authors: Charvet John
Published: March 2007

Does the recognition of human rights in international law undermine the traditional conception of international society as a society of sovereign states? The internal jurisdictional sovereignty of states is limited by those provisions and the non-intervention rule appears to be breached, but the most fundamental notion of sovereignty for international society is the absolute sense of not being subject to a superior authority. The notion of absolute sovereignty is examined with regard to the individual state on its own and it is argued that the only acceptable notion of absolute sovereignty is that of the general will of a political association, which is an ideal entity with a built-in moral structure of equal rights. Applied to international society, it is argued that the constitutional sovereign can only be the collective of states; this constitutional authority must itself be grounded in the sovereignty of the general will of international society, whose constituents are immediately the states but ultimately the general will of all the members of the different states. Since the general will is ideal with a built-in structure of equal rights of the human rights type, the recognition of human rights in international law is not a curtailment of this sovereignty but an expression of it.
The Effects of Incorporation into World-Systems on Ethnic Processes: Lessons from the Ancient World for the Contemporary World
Authors: Hall Thomas D.
Published: March 2007

This article discusses how incorporation into a world-system (ancient or contemporary) can create, transform, or destroy ethnic groups. It suggests that: (1) ethnically homogeneous states have never been common; (2) ethnicity has always been fluid with respect to identity, boundaries, cultural content, and membership; (3) ethnic processes cannot be understood without careful consideration of their interstate, or world-systemic, context; (4) contemporary ethnic conflicts have contemporary roots; (5) the differences between the contemporary and ancient worlds need further study; (7) the origin of the ideal of the ethnically homogeneous state and shifts in ethnic processes in the twentieth century lack adequate explanation.
Eldercare and the Changing Family in Puerto Rico
Authors: ZSEMBIK BARBARA A. , BONILLA ZOBEIDA
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this research is to reveal the range and depth of older island-dwelling Puerto Ricans' perceptions of viable long-term care alternatives and to evaluate the demographic and cultural underpinnings of their attitudes, preferences, and expectations for particular care options. Data from the census and sample surveys show demographic changes that simultaneously expand the numbers of older adults and reduce the numbers of potential family caregivers. Focus group data reveal cultural changes concurrent with demographic shift. Older Puerto Ricans see that the traditional intergenerational contract that promotes family care to older adults is being rewritten to accommodate the demographic changes of the late 20th century and cultural changes observed in the younger generations. They strive to retain some measure of self-management and to more flexibly integrate informal and formal services, creating a dynamic and individualized plan of care for themselves.
Culture, Age, and Subjective Well-Being
Authors: FRY CHRISTINE L.
Published: March 2007

Health and functionality are main factors promoting well-being across the life course and especially in old age. However, health and functionality are subject to cultural interpretation and are by no means universal in meaning and in their impacts on human lives. Data from Africa, Ireland, the United States, and Hong Kong demonstrate the complexities in the relationships between culture, aging, health, functionality, and well-being. Implications for eldercare in specific contexts of differing wealth, levels of technology, and a political economy of aging are discussed.
All My Children
Authors: MIZELL C. ANDRÉ , STEELMAN LALA CARR
Published: March 2007

In this research, we investigate how children shape maternal marital happiness. The findings reveal that the otherwise negative effects of sibship size are altered by the gender composition of the sibling group. Having sons tends to reduce the negative impact of sibling group size. Solving for main effects in the interactions that include sibship size by the gender composition of the sibling group, we find that having all sons affords the most beneficial consequences for marital happiness. The daughter-only groups have nonsignificant effects, and the mixed-gender sibships have the most deleterious influence on maternal marital happiness. Within a subsample of mixed-gender sibships only, we further find that mothers who have more boys than girls are more likely to report higher marital gratification. Generally speaking, our research demonstrates the need to examine both main and interaction effects of family structure on marital happiness.
Adolescent Interactions With Gangs, Family, and Neighborhoods
Authors: REIBOLDT WENDY
Published: March 2007

This qualitative article explores the experiences of two Mexican American families. Both families live in impoverished urban neighborhoods where violence and gang activity are common. Both families have adolescent sons, with varying degrees of interactions with gangs. In-depth interviews with the two adolescent males, enhanced with other family member interviews, are central to this investigation. The purpose of this article is to explore themes and expand on issues surrounding these two adolescents and their families. Specific issues to be uncovered include neighborhood and family dynamics and the adolescents' relationships and interactions with peers and gangs. More specifically, this article will provide insight into the lives of two contrasting adolescents who are embedded in these poor urban neighborhoods. Their stories elucidate the degree to which households and families are connected, or disconnected, with their surrounding neighborhood, community, and gang presence.
Grandfathers' Perceptions and Expectations of Relationships With Their Adult Grandchildren
Authors: ROBERTO KAREN A. , ALLEN KATHERINE R. , BLIESZNER ROSEMARY
Published: March 2007

Combining life course, feminist, and social-constructivist approaches with an inductive qualitative methodology, the authors explored the relationships of older men with their grandchildren. In-depth interviews were conducted with 11 men, ranging in age from 59 to 82, who were part of a larger sample of 45 older adult grandparents. From their analyses of the men's perceptions of their family relationships, three main themes emerged: Geographic proximity affected closeness and distance in grandfather-grandchild relationships; challenging family circumstances created situations in which men became more actively involved in their grandchildren's lives; and although grandfathers relied on the traditional male role discourse when describing their family roles and relationships, several transcended traditional expectations for a remote relationship with grandchildren and actively constructed loving, agentic relationships with their grandchildren. Grandfathers' relationships with their grandchildren were continually reshaped as both the men and their family members proceeded through the life course.
Grandparent Visitation Rights
Authors: HENDERSON TAMMY L. , MORAN PATRICIA B.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this research was to examine mostly state supreme and appellant court cases from across the country that were brought under state grandparent visitation right statutes. We systematically analyzed justices' legal reasoning in 67 cases that favored parents. Themes derived from the data explained why parental rights superceded the rights of grandparents. Grandparent visitation that unfairly intruded on parental rights and failed to serve the best interest of the child were two themes that explained justices' legal reasoning. That grandparents failed to follow legal requirements including those in state grandparent visitation statutes was the predominate theme that explained how justices protected parental rights over that of grandparents.
Early Marriage, Premarital Fertility, and Marital Dissolution
Authors: TEACHMAN JAY D.
Published: March 2007

This research investigates the impact of age at first marriage and premarital fertility status on subsequent marital dissolution for both black women and white women first married between 1950 and 1970. Results, using multivariate proportional hazards models, indicate that (1) premarital births, but not premarital pregnancies, increase the risk of marital dissolution; (2) an increasing age at the first marriage reduces the risk of marital separation and divorce, but not monotonically; (3) blacks differ from whites in that they are less responsive to the effects of a premarital birth or a young age at first marriage in increasing the likelihood of marital instability; and (4) an older age a first marriage offsets somewhat the destabilizing effects of a premarital birth.
Adult Children's Helping Behavior to Elderly Parents
Authors: CICIRELLI VICTOR G.
Published: March 2007

Based on attachment theory, a path model was constructed in which adult children's feelings of attachment led to their attachment behaviors, and in turn to their present help to elderly mothers and commitment to provide future help. Also included in the model were marital status of the adult child, filial obligation, mother's dependency, and interpersonal conflict with the mother. Data were obtained from 134 adult children with intact marriages and 91 who were divorced. Results indicated that attachment behaviors, feelings of attachment, and present help had the strongest influence on commitment to help in the future. In the model, marital status had both direct and indirect effects on future help to elderly mothers, with divorce leading directly to greater commitment to future help, but indirectly to less future help through its effect on attachment behaviors and present help.
The Method of Multiple Hypotheses
Authors: LARZELERE ROBERT E. , SKEEN JOHN H.
Published: March 2007

The field of family studies would be enhanced by more systematic use of the method of multiple hypotheses. Multiple interpretations of family phenomena need to be considered routinely. Conceptual hypotheses should more frequently be designed to disconfirm theoretical expectations or to pit competing explanations against one another. Theories need to be bolder, particularly in the sense that they should aim to make counterintuitive and more precise predictions. This article elaborates such a view and relates it to philosophy of science (especially Popper and Kuhn), to current practice in family studies, to factors that inhibit attempts to disconfirm existing interpretations, and to implications for research and for theory development in family studies.
The Relative Deprivation of Husbands in Dual-Earner Households
Authors: STANLEY SANDRA C. , HUNT JANET G. , HUNT LARRY L.
Published: March 2007

Evidence from a large national survey indicates that dual-earner men are satisfied with their work, marriages, and personal lives than single-earner men (conventional breadwinners). Dual-earner men report higher perceived well-being and marital satisfaction but lower work and personal satisfaction than dual-earner women. The differences between dual-earner and single-earner men are observed primarily among the young, highly educated, and occupationally successful, and they do not appear for men without children in the home. Reference group theory is used to interpret these apparent effects. Dual-earner men appear to compare themselves to single-earner men and experience relative deprivation with respect to conventional gender expectations regarding the provider role and the services of a nonemployed wife.
Parental Satisfaction
Authors: GOETTING ANN
Published: March 2007

Parental satisfaction in the United States has been largely ignored by social scientists. This article attempts to review, criticize, and integrate relevant materials into constructive insights and recommendations for researchers committed to explaining the subject, and for practitioners devoted to improving the institution of parenthood.
Communication Paradoxes and the Maintenance of Living Relationships with the Dying
Authors: MILLER VERNON D. , KNAPP MARK L.
Published: March 2007

Analysis of communication patterns in the face of dying stresses the presence of contradictory and interrelated factors. Issues of contact (involved/uninvolved), feelings (hide/reveal), and the handling of information (exercise control/abdicate control) are discussed as dialectical tensions that need to be assessed from the perspective of multiactor involvement.
Remarriage Following Divorce
Authors: BUEHLER CHERYL , HOGAN M. JANICE , ROBINSON BEATRICE , LEVY ROBERT J.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between (1) remarriage status and former spouses' divorce-related stressors and (2) remarriage status and former spouses' current well-being. Divorce-related stressors were classified as economic, housing, legal, parent-child, or former spouse. Self-esteem, parenting satisfaction, and economic well-being were used to measure current well-being. A sample of 125 former couples (250 individuals) was divided into four remarriage groups: neither former spouse had remarried, only the husband had remarried, only the wife had remarried, and both had remarried. Using multivariate analysis of variance, divorce-related stressors, self-esteem, and parenting satisfaction were not related to remarriage status, whereas economic well-being was related. These findings are discussed and the relationship between the divorce and remarriage transitions is explored.
Long-Term Implications of Parental Divorce for Adult Self-Concept
Authors: AMATO PAUL R.
Published: March 2007

Adult respondents who experienced parental divorce or death as children were compared with respondents who grew up in continuously intact families on two measures of self-concept: self-esteem and sense of power. No differences in self-esteem were observed across the three groups. Respondents who experienced parental divorce scored significantly lower on sense of power than did respondents from intact families. However, this difference was no longer significant when controls were introduced for respondents' education. Further analysis indicated that low educational attainment largely mediated the relationship between parental divorce during childhood and low sense of power as an adult.
Human Capital, Marital and Birth Timing, and the Postnatal Labor Force Participation of Married Women
Authors: GREENSTEIN THEODORE
Published: March 2007

Using materials from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience of Young Women, this article analyzes postnatal labor force participation data for married husband-present women over a 15-year period in order to study factors associated with the length of time out of the labor force following the first birth. Survival analyses and proportional hazards models indicate that human capital variables (education, prebirth work experience, and income) and marital and birth-timing variables (age at first marriage and age at first birth) have significant estimated effects on the rate and timing of reentry into the paid labor force.
Life Strains and Depressive Affect Among Women
Authors: LADEWIG BECKY HEATH , McGEE GAIL W. , NEWELL WANDA
Published: March 2007

This study examined the role of social support provided by spouse, friends, and relatives on relationships between strains and depressive affect among women. Strains from three life domains - financial, marital, and parental - were included. Moderated multiple regression analyses addressed main effect, buffering, and coping hypotheses regarding the role of social support. Results indicated that social support operated differently depending on the source of support and type of strain experienced. Generally, results were consistent with main effect and coping hypotheses. Only support provided by relatives played a significant moderating role in the strain - outcome relationship.
Child Support Guidelines
Authors: GARFINKEL IRWIN , OELLERICH DONALD , ROBINS PHILIP K.
Published: March 2007

This article uses data from the Current Population Survey to examine the extent to which the new child support guidelines being developed by the states in response to the Child Support Amendments of 1984 and the Family Support Act of 1988 can be expected to increase child support awards and payments. The analysis focuses on the guidelines being developed in Wisconsin, Colorado, and Delaware, which are representative of those being implemented nationwide. The results suggest that the new guidelines will increase child support payments by somewhere between 47% and 54%. Child support awards are predicted to increase by between 77% and 88%, depending on the guideline being considered. Compliance with the new guidelines is predicted to be modest, averaging 61% across marital status groups, but this evidence on compliance is very tentative because it is based on an analysis of the current system and the results may not carry over to the new system.
Gender of Children and Receipt of Assistance From Absent Fathers
Authors: PAASCH KATHLEEN M. , TEACHMAN JAY D.
Published: March 2007

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972, the authors examine the extent to which absent fathers provide various forms of assistance to their children. They also focus on the gender of children as one factor influencing transfers from absent fathers. The results indicate that absent fathers are much more likely to make child support payments than to provide other forms of assistance, especially when their direct participation is required. The authors also find that the gender of children does not influence the provision of most forms of assistance. They conclude with implications for policy.
Remarriages
Authors: WILSON BARBARA FOLEY , CLARKE SALLY CUNINGHAM
Published: March 2007

This article presents descriptive statistics for remarriages according to the combined marital histories of brides and grooms. In 1988, 745,000 divorced men and 748,000 divorced women remarried. For each sex, 61% married divorced, 35% married single, and 4% married widowed partners. On average, the grooms were 39 and the brides were 35 years of age, but those who married single partners were younger (35 and 31, respectively) and better educated than average. In 1988, 72,000 widowed men and 77,000 widowed women remarried, at ages 61 and 53. They married widowed or divorced partners in similar proportions. By 1988, husbands and wives who jointly remarried at ages 25 to 44 in 1972 had lower divorce levels than did those who were first married as teenagers. This indicates that marrying at a young age was a stronger determinant of divorce than was a previous marriage of either or both spouses.
Financing Child Care Through Local Taxes
Authors: YEAGER KENNETH E. , STROBER MYRA H.
Published: March 2007

The Fremont, California, City Council placed a measure on the June 1989 ballot asking residents whether a tax should be levied to pay for child-care services. It was the nation's first city election ever held on the issue, and it brought the policy debate on child care into the political arena. Reporting on interviews with local policymakers and the results of an exit poll conducted on election day, this article concludes that the reasons the measure lost by a 3.5 to 1 margin were that the city overestimated the shortage of child-care slots, that supporters of the measure underestimated the opposition, and that the city council and public opinion polls overestimated the willingness of the voting population to pay for public support of child care.
Working Models of Childhood Attachment and Couple Relationships
Authors: COHN DEBORAH A. , SILVER DANIEL H. , COWAN CAROLYN P. , COWAN PHILIP A. , PEARSON JANE
Published: March 2007

Previous research has documented connections between adults' working models of childhood attachment relationships and the quality of parent-child relationships, but less attention has been devoted to examining such links for intimate adult relationships. Twenty-seven married couples were given George, Kaplan, and Main's Adult Attachment Interview and each person was rated as either secure or insecure with respect to attachment. Self-report measures of satisfaction with couple communication and marital relations and laboratory observations of couple interactions were collected. Results showed that self-reported marital satisfaction was not related to adult attachment classifications for either husbands or wives. However, observational ratings of couple interaction yielded differences for husbands. As compared to husbands classified as insecure, secure husbands were likely to be in better-functioning couples who engaged in more positive and fewer conflictual behaviors. In addition, couples' joint attachment classifications were related to observed couple behavior. Insecure-secure and secure-secure dyads did not differ, but both groups showed less conflict and were rated as better functioning than were insecure-insecure dyads. These findings suggest that a secure partner may buffer the negative effects of insecure attachment on the marital relationship.
Premarital Cohabitation and Postmarital Cohabiting Union Formation
Authors: WU ZHENG
Published: March 2007

Previous research has indicated that premarital cohabitation decreases marital stability. This study examined the role of premarital cohabitation as a determinant of cohabitation after marital disruption. The author proposed that people who cohabited with their first spouse prior to marriage have a greater propensity to cohabit after marital disruption than people who did not cohabit before their first marriage. Event history analysis of the postmarital union experiences of women and men from the Canadian 1990 Family and Friends Survey (FFS) supports this proposition. It was found that the hazard rate of postmarital cohabitation was over 50% higher for premarital cohabitants than for noncohabitants. This was the case for both women and men. The implications of these results are discussed.
Children's Impact on Stress and Employability of Mothers in Poverty
Authors: ORTHNER DENNIS K. , NEENAN PETER A.
Published: March 2007

This study explores the relationship between stress in the parent-child relationship and successful pursuit of education and training activities for a sample of female JOBS participants in North Carolina whose children had attained at least preschool age. Using probit regression techniques, a significant negative relationship was found to exist between parent-child stress and successful component completion for these participants. Further assessment probed the contribution of study participants' personal and social strengths and problem-child behaviors as contributors to stress: Lower levels of mastery and higher perceived levels of child problem behaviors were found to be associated with the level of stress in the parent-child relationship. Findings, although preliminary, suggest the desirability of further research examining family dynamics as potential contributors to successful employability outcomes for this and similar populations.
Party Politics and Family Policy
Authors: MARKS MICHELLE ROSE
Published: March 2007

The Family and Medical Leave Act offers an excellent case study of a family policy that became embroiled in partisan conflict. The Democratic authors of the bill proposed an extensive leave period available to most workers. Arguing that the policy would pose hardships for businesses, Republicans severely diluted the original legislation, reducing the leave period and eliminating many workers from coverage. The resulting bill offered less support to working parents than leave policies in most other countries. The article opens with a description of problematic features of the bill that derive from partisan politics and then places the drafting of the bill in historical context. The story of the bill's passage is then discussed, highlighting the role of parties and interest groups, especially business organizations. The article concludes by providing a larger analysis of the leave debate.
The Political Process and the Failure of the Child Labor Amendment
Authors: ALDOUS JOAN
Published: March 2007

Using the proposed Child Labor Amendment of 1924 as an example of family policy, this article analyzes the reasons for its failure to be ratified in a Massachusetts referendum. This failure had much to do with its later nonacceptance in other states. The discussion begins with the Congressional hearings and the arguments for and against the amendment. The following description of the movement for its ratification in the states and the Massachusetts referendum focuses on the factors involved in the outcome of the political process. After a summary of the political campaign leading to the amendment's loss, the article concludes with its implications for present-day family policy initiatives.
Family Secrets
Authors: BROWN-SMITH NAIMA
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the literature that reveals extensive classifications of the family secrets. The review includes definitions, comparisons of family secrecy to family privacy, types of family secrets, reasons why families avoid exposing certain activities, and factors contributing to the maintenance of a secret. The disclosing of hidden information is discussed with emphasis on how such revelations occur, factors influencing exposition as well as the functions and negative consequences of such openness. The article concludes with suggestions for further research.
The Effects of Family Structure and Maternal Employment on the Development of Gender-Related Attitudes Among Men and Women
Authors: WRIGHT DAVID W. , YOUNG ROBERT
Published: March 2007

This article investigates the influence of family structure and maternal employment on the development of attitudes among children, regarding the extent to which children endorse traditional or egalitarian gender role behavior among women. Two hypotheses are tested: father-absence hypothesis and role-restructuring hypothesis. Findings indicate that at the aggregate level, children from father-headed families have more traditional gender-related attitudes than mother-headed families, providing support for the father-absence hypotheses. However, substantial differences exist when controlling for maternal employment and sex of the respondent. Inclusion of maternal employment lends support to the role-restructuring hypothesis. For male respondents, support exists for the role-restructuring hypothesis, but there is no support for the father-absence hypothesis. However, for female respondents, there exists support for both the father-absence and role-restructuring hypotheses.
The Effects of Economic Hardship on Family Relationships Among African American, Latino, and Euro-American Families
Authors: GOMEL JESSICA N. , TINSLEY BARBARA J. , PARKE ROSS D. , CLARK KATHLEEN M.
Published: March 2007

The relations between economic hardship, coping, and family relationships in African American, Latino, and Euro-American families were investigated using a multimethod design incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data-collection procedures. Survey data regarding the effects of economic hardship on individuals' lifestyles were collected from parents in the three ethnic groups. Simultaneously, focus group discussions with mothers from each of the ethnic groups examined the effects of economic hardship on different facets of their family relationships. Results indicate that although there were certain similarities in the families' experiences of economic distress, there were significant differences in the overall pattern of relations among the three ethnic groups. The findings underscore the importance of considering ethnic and cultural factors when investigating the effects of economic hardship on family functioning, as well as the utility of employing both qualitative and quantitative methods to further researchers' understanding of the impact of economic conditions on families.
Gender Stratification and the Contemporary Marriage Market in India
Authors: BANERJEE KAKOLI
Published: March 2007

In the past several decades, the marriage system in India has experienced a number of changes, including increases in women's age at marriage and the near universal adoption of dowry as a condition of marriage. Both these changes have been attributed to changes in the demographic conditions of the marriage market and, in particular, to the deficit of marriage-able men. This article proposes an alternative view of marriage change, and suggests that gender-stratified marriage rules operating in the context of hierarchical society have shaped women's marriage opportunities historically and contemporaneously. Using marriage indices from the 1921 and 1981 Indian censuses, the article argues that demographic conditions do not completely explain historical or contemporary features of India's marriage system. The article links women's marriage age and the institution of dowry to female disadvantage in the marriage market and to gender-stratified marriage rules.
The Standard North American Family
Authors: SMITH DOROTHY E.
Published: March 2007

This article describes the “Standard North American Family” or SNAF as an ideological code. An ideological code is analogous to a genetic code, reproducing its characteristic forms and order in multiple and various discursive settings. Its operation in two settings is explored. The first is the writer's experience (shared with Alison Griffith) of designing and carrying out a study of the work that women do as mothers in relation to their children's schooling. Although the researchers were committed to feminist methods and to a critical perspective, SNAF reproduced itself in their conceptualization, their interview practices, and in how women responded to them. The second is William Julius Wilson's consideration of the Black family in his study The Truly Disadvantaged. An analysis of his text demonstrates its SNAF-governed order and how its representational credibility is sustained by the SNAF-generated statistics of government agencies such as the U.S. Bureau of Census. It is suggested that such ideological codes may have a significant political effect by importing representational order even into the texts of those who are overtly opposed to the representations they generate.
Family from a Dyadic Perspective
Authors: TROST JAN
Published: March 2007

There are a great number of concepts connected to the term family. These concepts are quite different from one another and many are unclear. The term and the concept dyad are used to sort the differences to provide greater understanding. To demonstrate how the dyadic approach can successfully be used, some illustrative data are presented. The data come from legislation as well as from qualitative and quantitative studies.
Psychological Well-Being and Marital Dissolution
Authors: MASTEKAASA ARNE
Published: March 2007

The low psychological well-being of the divorced and separated could be due to the hardships of the divorce process, more general problems of unmarried living, or differential selection for divorce. Using combined questionnaire and register data on 39,000 Norwegian men and women, it is shown that psychological well-being is a strong predictor of subsequent marital dissolution over a 2-to 4-year period. The strength of the relationship is particularly strong in the short run, but remains significant throughout the period of observation. The strong short-term relationship is most probably due to hardships associated with the divorce process. The somewhat weaker long-term relationship could be due to selection effects, but the possibility that low well-being many years before the separation may be due to persistent marital problems cannot be ruled out.
Overseas Sweetheart
Authors: Ben-Porat Amir
Published: March 2007

British football is popular in Israel. By means of TV channels, almost every Israeli can watch—directly—a game from the British league. However, committed fans of British football are special people: They are highly committed to “their” British club, much more than to their local club. This article presents the basic profiles of the committed Israeli fan. It is concluded that for these fans, the club is an “overseas sweetheart,” far away but close to the heart.
“Get the Puck Outta Here!”
Authors: Mason Daniel S.
Published: March 2007

In 1994, Fox television entered into a network broadcasting agreement with the National Hockey League (NHL). To make hockey more viewer friendly for new audiences in underexploited U.S. media markets, the Fox Trax puck debuted during the 1996 NHL All-Star Game. The puck enjoyed a brief and controversial existence and was widely vilified by established hockey fans. More specifically, response to the puck in Canada was framed within a broader discourse that Jackson described as a “crisis of identity,” as the Fox Trax puck became a vehicle to articulate Canadian concerns related to the economic and cultural influence of the United States. This article reviews the design and implementation of the puck, the conditions relating hockey to Canadian identity, and the reaction the puck engendered in popular media coverage. In doing so, reaction to the Fox Trax puck provides an example of the contestation of global-local relations in a sporting context.
Cuba's Political Involvement in Sport Since the Socialist Revolution
Authors: Slack Trevor
Published: March 2007

Cuba's position in the international sport arena has improved dramatically since the 1959 socialist revolution. This improvement has lead to the Cuban government's use of sport as a means of reinforcing, both internally and internationally, the socialist ideologies of the Marxist-Leninist Regime. This paper examines how sport is used internally in Cuba as a political tool. It also examines several controversial incidents that have involved Cuban athletes and sport teams.
The Positive Social and Self Concept Consequences of Sports Team Identification
Authors: Branscombe Nyla R. , Wann Daniel L.
Published: March 2007

As a result of increased geographic mobility, industrialization, and the like, traditional social and community ties have declined. Conversely, sports spectatorship has continued to flourish. We argue that strong identification with a specific sports team provides a buffer from feelings of depression and alienation, and at the same time, fosters feelings of belongingness and self worth. In effect, sports team identification replaces more traditional family and community-based attachments to the larger social structure. Three studies find support for these notions, using basketball and baseball fans. The relationship between degree of team identification and team success was also examined; it was only significant for individuals who identify with teams geographically removed from themselves. Discussion focuses on the positive implications of sports team identification for self-esteem maintenance and the social ties it creates.