bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prevention of Dental Caries
Authors: Gift Helen C.
Published: March 2007

The focus of this article is how the primary prevention of dental caries has been effected utilizing a combination of community, professional, and individual efforts. The review demonstrates that improvements have been made in the dental caries level and that a complex offactors are implicated in the disease process. The information presented demonstrates that measures are available currently to prevent dental caries. Based on what is known, this article shows that a combination of water fluoridation, professionally applied sealants, and individually or professionally applied topical fluorides (including dentifrices) provides the best opportunityforpopulations to be caries-free or have a low caries rate. Basic to the success of these approaches is awareness and compliance at both the professional and individual levels. Further acceptance is shown to be more dependent on social and psychologicalprocesses than on the actual efficacy of any mechanical, immunologic, or chemical techniques, existing or developing. This is the basis of future research directions.
Medical Assistants
Authors: Fidler James R.
Published: March 2007

A task analysis and demographic inquiry were conducted for registered medical assistants (medical assistants certified by American Medical Technologists) working in practical settings. A mail survey methodology was utilized to administer questionnaires to a national sample of medical assistants. Data were gathered on the performance status of 128 administrative and clinical tasks as well as several general task areas. Respondents also provided information regarding characteristics of their employment setting. Results from the survey suggest that medical assistants perform a wide variety of tasks. Particularly salient are those tasks involving patient management, patient contact, and handling of clinical materials. Results also suggest that medical assistants are employed in a wide variety of practical settings. Overall registered medical assistants constitute a heterogeneous group, in terms of both duties performed and employment situation.
Translating a Health Professional Certification Test to Another Language
Authors: Gross Leon J. , Scott Joanne W.
Published: March 2007

There has been increased pressure in recent years for examinations used for occupational and profe ssional credentialing to be offered in several languages. When credentialing programs are international in scope, rather than national, examination translation may be a necessity, and a validation of the translation will be required. Yet, few candidates may sit for the translated version, jeopardizing the power and generalizability of statistical analysis. How should a board proceed in meeting its linguistic responsibility wheui faced with a small n? This article describes such a situation, and the linguistic and psychometric procedures that were developed and applied on a pilot translation by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE).
Clinical Outcomes Management and Disease Staging
Authors: Markson Leona E. , Nash David B. , Louis Daniel Z. , Gonnella Joseph S.
Published: March 2007

Clinical outcomes management includes multiple approaches for evaluating and improving the quality and cost effectiveness of medical care. The usefulness of outcomes assessments depends, in part, on how well the clinical issues have been specified and whether the analyses are sensitive to the diverse clinical characteristics of the patients receiving the medical care in question. Measures of severity of illness and, in particular, Disease Staging, have an important role in outcomes assessment by classifying diseases along dimensions that have prognostic significance. This article reviews current applications of Disease Staging for outcomes assessment and management.
Targeting Markets for Effective College Health Programs under Tight Budget Constraints
Authors: Mccaughrin William Cass , Zielasko Janet I. , Sarris Robin A.
Published: March 2007

Targeting college health programs to student market segments to increase effectiveness is being driven by declining overall college and university budgets. Carefully designed and implemented panel surveys of students' health beliefs and practices inform policymakers about trends, as well as specific pockets of need for health interventions. Results from a panel survey conducted in 1988 and 1991 at a large midwestern university illustrate these points. Specifically, student market segments such as gender, class standing, and level of sexual activity reveal particular needs in the areas of knowledge about alcohol, drugs, AIDS, STDs, safer sex practices, and comfort with purchasing condoms. Implications for more effective and efficient program planning are discussed.
A Comparison of Multiple Indicators
Authors: Lusk Sally Lechlitner , Ronis David L. , Baer Leslie Martel
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to compare multiple indicators of behavior and identify the most viable measure of blue-collar workers 'use of hearing protection. Three measures of use were employed: observations, supervisor report, and self-report. Supervisor report was highly discrepant from both self-report and observed use; self-report and observations were highly correlated, and discrepancies between the two were slight. These results suggest that, for this type of measurement, self-report is an appropriate measure and may be the best choice when time and monetary resources restrict measurement to one indicator
Research Synthesis
Authors: Stock William A. , Benito Juana GÓmez , Lasa Nekane Balluerka
Published: March 2007

In meta-analyses the extraction and coding of information from primary research reports has to be completed in a competent way because these tasks implicate most of the decisions that determine the usefulness of thefinal product. The authors offer guidelines that make it more likely that high-quality information is reliably extracted and codedfrom primary research reports. These guidelines address issues ranging from the selection of items and construction of coding materials to sustaining reliability and vigilance across extended periods of coding. Thereafter; the authors note how the methodology of metaanalysis results in pressure to change the type of information that appears in primary research reports, and close by offering a few conjectures about the future of meta-analysis.
USMLE Step 1 Examination Legal Vulnerability
Authors: Templeton Bryce
Published: March 2007

Since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the courts have ruled that sponsors of job entry assessment procedures must demonstrate the absence of discrimination against minorities. If an assessment discriminates, the courts may prohibit the use of the assessment unless the assessment is linked to ajob analysis and exhibits validity. In 1994, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) instituted a three-step USMLE examination program as a single pathway for medical licensure. The Step I examination is not linked to a physician job analysis, exhibits lower scores for minority groups, and lacks construct validity. To avoid the chaos and expense of a protracted legal challenge, the FSMB and the NBME may need to revise the Step I examination, or discontinue it as a requirement of medical licensure.
Integrating Performance Measure Data into the Joint Commission Accreditation Process
Authors: Braun Barbara I. , Koss Richard G. , Loeb Jerod M.
Published: March 2007

This article describes the Joint Commission’s implementation plans, experience, and results to date of incorporating performance measurement data into the accreditation process. These plans have evolved in response to changes in the health care environment, feedback from accredited organizations, and both technical and political obstacles encountered. During the late 1980s, the Joint Commission developed a national performance measurement system, the IMSystem, to incorporate information about the process and outcomes of care into the accreditation process. In 1995, the ORYX initiative was introduced to offer health care organizations significant flexibility in selecting a measurement system and measures while promoting organizational self-improvement and accountability. Recently, the plans have evolved to incorporate standardized core measures that are known to be valid and reliable. These initiatives have moved the field much closer to the day when quality assessment will reflect a comprehensive view of organizational performance, based, in part, on performance measurement data.
Methods of measuring media concentration
Authors: Josifides Petros
Published: March 2007

Technological developments are breaking down the barriers between previously distinct media sectors. The current media ownership regulations are considered to be too inflexible to allow firms to take full advantage of the multimedia opportunities offered by the new technologies. Thus a search is on for new methodologies to measure and control concentration of media ownership, including cross-media ownership. Both the European Commission and various Member States favour a new ownership control regulatory regime which would reflect these market changes. A fresh framework of rules for calculating limits to concentration in the media market as a whole is now under consideration. The dual objective of such regulation is to allow the media industry to exploit the new opportunities, while at the same time safeguarding the public interest in media diversity. Various proposals have been put forward for the measurement of media market shares in the light of the two above objectives. These include measurement of audience share and of revenue share. This article assesses the feasibility and effects of these various proposals. It examines the problems associated with all types of concentration measures and assesses their appropriateness in the broad context of media concentration's impact on the public interest. At the end alternative proposals are put forward for a better measure.
State, media and democracy in Taiwan
Authors: Chen Sheue Yun
Published: March 2007

This article analyses the relations between media and state in Taiwan. Since the 1980s, progress towards democratization in Taiwan has affected the media. The highly controlled media regime operating under the Kuomintang government has gradually loosened its hold. The party-state, however, still has many means at its disposal to ensure compliance, despite the formally free capitalist ownership structure of much of the media. These include press ownership, economic incentives, controls over editors and the practice of self-censorship. However, market pressures and the presence of an increasingly legitimate political opposition have forced the regime to liberalize its control. The state's capacity to manage news has grown, however, even though the legislature is more accessible, the executive branch of the government still remains unaccountable. Journalism remains boxed in by a combination of state power and `market censorship'.
Effects of Posthospital Informal Care on Nursing Home Discharge
Authors: Penrod Joan D. , Kane Rosalie A. , Kane Robert L.
Published: March 2007

This study examines the effect of family caregiving on the probability that nursing home residents would be discharged to the community. The effect of the number of hours of informal care on the probability of nursing home discharge was estimated using a logistic regression of a 6-week postadmission location (home or institution) on the number of hours of informal care in the first 2 weeks in the nursing home, of caregiver visits, and other patient factors. The odds of being discharged to their home were higher for those who received more care that is informal. Informal care may increase the quality and the amount of care that residents receive, thus, influencing rehabilitation outcomes and returns to home. Caregiving families may advocate for residents and signal to nursing home staff that the resident has a well-functioning support system.
Beliefs, Attitudes, and Stereotypes about Old People
Authors: Kogan Nathan
Published: March 2007

The study of beliefs, attitudes, and stereotypes about the old is impeded by a number of conceptual and methodological difficulties. These are discussed, and possible future alternative directions are outlined. Some of the major sources of difficulty include confusion between attitudes and beliefs, the neglect of attitude-behavior relations, the discrepant outcomes generated by within-Ss and between-Ss designs in the person-perception paradigm, and the inherent defects in generalized attitude scales. There is good reason to believe that investigators in the present domain are unaware of the degree to which their empirical outcomes reflect the specific methods employed rather than the construct under study. Greater methodological awareness and a more theoretical orientation are deemed essential to future progress in the field.
Correlates of Age
Authors: Borgatta Edgar F. , Foss Robert G.
Published: March 2007

The NORC General Social Survey represents the central social indicator data collection device that is not an enumeration or registration procedure. It has serious limitations in design, but offers useful data on social and psychological correlates of age. A framework for looking at these correlates is noted and an abbreviated summary of the correlates is presented.
Discriminators of Internal and External Locus of Control Orientation in the Elderly
Authors: Hunter Kathleen I. , Linn Margaret W. , Harris Rachel , Pratt Theodore C.
Published: March 2007

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of internal and external locus of control in the elderly to health and ability to function. Interviews were conducted with 258 men and women age 65 and over. Self-assessed health was found to be more favorable in the internal control group, and more restraints such as poor eyesight, loss of hearing, problems in recent memory, inability to do shopping, and need for assistance with finances were associated with the elderly who were controlled more by external factors. Internally controlled elderly were also more active in organizations and volunteer work. The findings suggest that internal and external locus of control orientation may be influenced in the elderly by environmental and physical restraints.
Future Directions for Elderly Migration Research
Authors: Golant Stephen M.
Published: March 2007

An assessment is provided of the directions in which future research should proceed on the patterns, causes, and consequences of elderly migration. Needed research is identified within six major areas of conceptual inquiry: Who moves among the elderly and where they move; the signficance of period and cohort effects; the local environmental context of residential adjustments; the significance of elderly individuals' life-long versus stage-in-life attributes as explanations of migration; the decision-making processes underlying migration behavior; and the specification and evaluation of relationships between public policy, social planning, and elderly migration.
Stress, Strain, Coping, and Defense
Authors: Stagner Ross
Published: March 2007

Discussions of stress, especially as this is relevant to aging, have been confused because of lack of uniformity in terminology. The history of stress research is briefly sketched to develop the concept of stress as an external event. Strain is proposed as a suitable term for the affective, physiological, and cognitive changes induced by stress. Although stress is always external, the degree of strain is moderated by the individual's perception of the stressor. Thus, "objective" lists of life-stress units have limited value. Coping has also been used in a variety of ways. It is proposed that coping be conceptualized as voluntary activity directed against the external stress or protecting the individual against the stress. Defense would then be restricted to unconscious changes which reduce the immediate strain without modifying the person-stressor relation-ship. Use of relaxation and desensitization as coping tactics for the elderly is evaluated favorably.
Age and Satisfaction
Authors: Herzog A. Regula , Rodgers Willard L.
Published: March 2007

The authors studied the relationship between age and variables measuring satisfactions with specific domains of life as well as global satisfaction and happiness. Data from several large, mostly national, surveys of American adults were utilized. The results showed an increase in satisfaction with housing, community, work, and, somewhat less consistently, with finances/income, standard of living, and leisure/spare time. The increase was less clear for family, marriage, friends, and global well-being. Various explanations for the relationship were tested by multiple regression procedures, using two national surveys. Higher religiosity of the aged, increased desire to respond in a socially acceptable manner, and a lessening of change in life conditions appear to contribute to higher satisfaction. Although these factors individually represent only partial explanations, a combination of them accounts for a substantial part of the relationship. On the other hand, certain aspects of older people's lives are actually worse and, as such, suppress an even more substantial association between age and satisfactions.
Sex Differences in Fear of Crime among Older People
Authors: Lee Gary R.
Published: March 2007

This study tests the hypothesis that women are more fearful of crime than are men among a sample of persons aged 55 and over. Although this hypothesis has been supported by many previous studies of both elderly and general populations, the meaning and explanation of this relationship have not been successfully ascertained. Fear of crime is measured here by thirteen separate items. The results show that women are not more fearful of crime in general, but rather express greater apprehension of walking alone in their neighborhoods at night. This may be related to women's lower self-assessed abilities to protect themselves against assault. Sex differences on all other dimensions of fear of crime are negligible.
Explanations of Housing Satisfaction of Older Homeowners and Renters
Authors: O'Bryant Shirley L. , Wolf Susan M.
Published: March 2007

The purposes of this study are: (1) to investigate the usefulness of three types of variables in predicting the housing satisfaction of older homeowners and older renters; and (2) to determine whether these types of variables would function in similar ways in explaining the housing satisfaction of these two tenure groups. Personal-demographic variables, housing characteristics, and a group of subjective factors measuring "attachment to home" are examined. Participants were 464 older persons who completed a survey. Data analyses indicate that the attachment to home factors are more useful in understanding homeowners' housing satisfaction than the other two sets of variables, whereas physical housing characteristics are more relevant to renters' satisfaction. These findings suggest the importance of considering a wide variety of variables, including subjective ones, when assessing older persons' housing.
Determinants of State- To-State Flows of Elderly Migrants
Authors: McLeod Karen D. , Parker Jan R. , Serow William J. , Rives Norfleet W.
Published: March 2007

By capitalizing on the age detail available in interstate migration data, models have been designed to explain variation in migration streams as well as in areal variation in the volume or rate of migration. These models may be divided into three general classes: (1) gravity models; (2) intervening opportunities models; (3) aggregate ecological models incorporating "push-pull" mechanisms. This article reports efforts to analyze specific state-to-state flows of all older (55+) interstate migrants during the 1965-1970 period using a combination of these approaches.
P- Technique Comes of Age
Authors: Nesselroade John R. , Ford Donald H.
Published: March 2007

The complexity of human behavior demands that research methods be capable of dealing with multivariate, multioccasion, multisubject data if successful explanatory accounts of behavior are to be constructed. When the research focus is on developmental phenomena such as aging, the complexity of the task is even greater because of the difficulties of modeling and accounting for systematic changes in behavior. Proper decisions about which research methods to use rest on four principal concerns: (1) general orientation of the research; (2) theoretical assumptions concerning the nature of the phenomenon being studied; (3) data collection strategy; and (4) data analysis tactics.

Replicated, multivariate, single-subject research designs such as P-technique involve assessment with multiple variables at each of many times of measurement. The resulting data, which are analyzed to determine the nature of occasion-to-occasion changes in the variables, can inform about both covariation patterns and level. Such designs have not been exploited by researchers in aging even though concern with a variety of intraindividual changes in older adulthood is evident in the literature. The rationale of such designs and their potential utility for the study of adult development and aging are examined and discussed.
Selectivity among Nonmetropolitan-Bound Male Migrants in the Middle and Later Years
Authors: Stinner William F. , Khosrashahin Mehdi
Published: March 2007

Middle-aged and elderly individuals have played a prominent role in the non-metropolitan turnaround. The data for this study are drawn from the older men cohort of the National Longitudinal Study, and the analysis is focused on a pooled sample of two-year migration intervals extending from 1967 to 1975. Nonmetropolitan-bound migrants do not differ substantially from metropolitan nonmigrants, but differences observed are along life-cycle lines. In contrast, metropolitan to nonmetropolitan migrants differ from nonmetropolitan non migrants on both socioeconomic status and life-cycle attributes.
Markers of Aging
Authors: Featherman David L. , Petersen Trond
Published: March 2007

From a life span perspective, aging occurs from birth to death, may involve reversible changes, and is a complex process that occurs interactively at the biological, psychosocial, and societal levels for historical cohorts. This article offers new conceptual distinctions among types of aging processes and argues for the application of specific dynamic models that permit the analysis of these multiple clocks that time us.
Strategies of Coping and Postinstitutional Outcomes
Authors: Kahana Eva F. , Kahana Boaz , Young Rosalie
Published: March 2007

This study investigated the relationship between diverse self-reported coping strategies and well-being among 253 older adults entering 14 long-term care facilities. Data were also obtained about the nature of coping and the stability of coping strategies from the preinstitutional to three-months postinstitutional period. Results based on a 22-item coping scale revealed three underlying coping dimensions: instrumental, affective, and escape.
A Profile of Alaska's Seniors
Authors: Montgomery Rhonda J.V. , Seccombe Karen , Borgatta Edgar F. , Kamo Yoshinori
Published: March 2007

This research reports the demographic and social characteristics of elderly Alaskans from the first comprehensive population-based study of all elderly residents (N = 9,897). Comparisons to the U.S. census indicate that the sample is representative of state population characteristics. Highlighted here are the unique facets of aging in the state of Alaska compared with the rest of the United States and a descriptive profile of Alaska's seniors, a small but growing portion of the Alaskan population.
The Status Attainment Model and Income
Authors: Farmer Yvetfite M. , Ries Lynn M. , Nickinovich David G. , Kamo Yoshinori , Borgaita Edgar F.
Published: March 2007

Predicated on their earlier work, the authors expand their consideration of the status attainment model to note variations in total income. In the analysis of data provided by the 1973-1988 NORC General Social Surveys it was noted that for all respondents, with minor exceptions, race/ethnic and gender categories show deficits in income compared to white males. Further, consistent effects were registered for age, marital status, family, and education variables. For married respondents, the previously noted negative impact among white females for the three youngest age groups proves to be insignificant, while the effects for black males and black females remain essentially unchanged.
Pension Benefits for State, Local, and Teacher Retirees
Authors: Crown William H. , Mutschler Phyllis H.
Published: March 2007

Approximately-95% of state and local government employees are in pension plans that have adjusted for cost-of-living increases either automatically and/or in an ad hoc manner. These cost-of-living adjustments, however, seldom keep pace with inflation. This study gathered information on the actual adjustments provided to retirees during the period of 1982 to 1987, through telephone interviews with all 76 state teacher and public employee plans in the country. In-depth interviews, conducted in eight states, also assessed the political and economic factors influencing decisions about cost-of-living adjustments. Our research indicates a clear upward trend in replacement rates provided by most state pension plans between 1969 and 1982. This trend can be traced to specific changes in plan provisions that, in turn, result from interactions between the process of proposing and legislating changes to pension plan provisions and economic conditions at the time that such proposals are made.
Ethnic and Sociodemographic Correlates of the Use of Proxy Respondents
Authors: Zsembik Barbara A.
Published: March 2007

The goal of this research is to examine the ethnic and sociodemographic correlates of older Latino adults who report for themselves in survey research, and those who use a spouse, child, or other adult as a proxy respondent. Multivariate analysis of the National Survey of Hispanic Elderly People identifies specific ethnic and sociodemographic factors that are significant correlates to sources of information. Researchers collecting data on an older, immigrant population might consider use of a proxy respondent to reduce nonresponse rates.
The Relationship of Personality Trait Variables to Subjective Age Identity in Older Adults
Authors: Hubley Anita M. , Hultsch David F.
Published: March 2007

The present study examines the relationship between personality trait variables and subjective age identity with two elderly samples. Subjects were asked both the age they feel (feel age) and the age they would like to be (ideal age). In Sample 1, which consisted of 241 community-dwelling adults aged 55 to 75 years, the traits of locus of control and social desirability were examined. In Sample 2, neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience were examined with 355 community-dwelling adults aged 55 to 85 years. Internal locus of control and extraversion were related to the feel age measure, whereas powerful-others locus of control, neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience were related to the ideal age measure. Trait variables did not moderate the relationships between the feel age measure and either self-reported health or affective state variables. However, both neuroticism and openness to experience were found to alter the relationship between the ideal age measure and affective state variables.
Community Size Differences in Senior Center Resources, Programming, and Participation
Authors: Krout John A.
Published: March 2007

Analyzed are longitudinal data for the 1980s on community size differences in senior center resources, programming, attendance, and participant characteristics for a 31 -state sample. More rural centers were found to have smaller facilities, staffs, budgets, and numbers of programs and participants and, overall, were less likely to have experienced growth during the 1980s. Their participants were older and poorer, and rural centers were less likely to report increases in participant incomes and health during the 1980s. The implications of these findings for rural center programming and funding are discussed.
Quality of Life in Older Adults with HIV Disease
Authors: Avis Nancy E. , Smith Kevin W.
Published: March 2007

Quality-of-life (QOL) measures have become valuable additions to traditional morbidity and mortality outcomes in evaluating the progression of disease or the efficacy of medical interventions. With significant increases in longevity and an expanding treatment repertoire, QOL issues for people with HIV/AIDS have become increasingly important. Furthermore, as people are living longer with HIV/AIDS and the population in general ages, the number of persons older than age 50 who have HIV/AIDS is increasing. As QOL issues become more important for people with HIV/AIDS and as the population with HIV/AIDS ages, several issues related to QOL among older people arise. These include conceptual issues related to QOL and aging, as well as methodological issues of QOL assessments among older persons. This article begins with a brief discussion of why QOL is important to measure, various measurement strategies, and QOL comparisons between HIV/AIDS populations and other chronic disease groups. This is followed by a discussion of conceptual and methodological issues in measuring QOL among older persons. Finally, the authors conclude with recommendations for future research.
Abiding Sovereignty
Authors: Krasner Stephen D.
Published: March 2007

Over the several hundred years during which the rules of sovereignty including non-intervention and the exclusion of external authority have been widely understood, state control could never be taken for granted. States could never isolate themselves from the external environment. Globalization and intrusive international norms are old, not new, phenomena. Some aspects of the contemporary environment are unique—the number of transnational nongovernmental organizations has grown dramatically, international organizations are more prominent; cyber crime could not exist without cyber space. These developments challenge state control. A loss of control can precipitate a crisis of authority, but even a crisis of authority is only a necessary but not a sufficient condition for developing new authority structures. New rules could emerge in an evolutionary way as a result of trial and error by rational but myopic actors. But these arrangements, for instance international policing, are likely to coexist with rather than to supplant conventional sovereign structures. Sovereignty’s resilience is, if nothing else, a reflection of its tolerance for alternatives.
Characteristics of Families That Function Well
Authors: GREEFF A. P.
Published: March 2007

The objective of this study was to identify those family variables that would possibly explain variances in family functioning. Variables investigated were marital and family strengths, satisfaction, and quality of life; family cohesion and adaptability was used as an index for family functioning. A cross-sectional study was undertaken with 119 families representing four different stages of the family life cycle. Only 4 of the 39 variables were associated with significant differences between family stages. For 6 of the 39 variables, significant differences were found between the genders. Variables that contributed substantially to the level of family functioning were family satisfaction, spouse's satisfaction with the sexual relationship, satisfaction with general quality of life, family strengths, flexibility in the way free time is spent in the marital relationship, sound relationships with family and friends, conflict management and resolution, and communication within the marriage.
Role Taking and Socialization in Single-Parent Families
Authors: TSUSHIMA TERESA , GECAS VIKTOR
Published: March 2007

This article examines the conditions and consequences of role taking in single-parent families. First, the authors discuss the theoretical relevance of role taking for parent-child interaction. Second, they suggest some conditions for parental role taking. Third, the authors consider how social class and family structure affect role taking in single-parent families. They propose that in addition to role taking in the dyadic parent-child relationship, two other forms of role taking are consequential for child socialization and family relations. One is specific to triadic relationships, the other to the family unit. Second-order role taking occurs when a parent elicits the perspective of the spouse in understanding the child. Third-order role taking, similar to Mead's concept of the “generalized other” as the vantage point for role taking, occurs when a parent elicits the perspective of the family as a whole. The authors explore these ideas in a qualitative study of single and married parents.
Feminist Visions for Transforming Families
Authors: ALLEN KATHERINE R.
Published: March 2007

Using a social-historical perspective, the author provides a synthesis of key feminist ideas that have been influential in the lives of women and their families. The author addresses a variety of feminist theories and strategies for knowledge production. These ideas are illustrated with examples from her own life course as a way to demonstrate the transformative value of feminist insights for family studies.
Community Effects on the Resolution of Adolescent Premarital Pregnancy
Authors: SOUTH SCOTT J. , BAUMER ERIC P.
Published: March 2007

Although prior research demonstrates that residence in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood increases young women's risk of bearing a child out of wedlock, few studies have explored the sequence of events accounting for this relationship. Analyzing data from the National Survey of Children using a multivariate nested logit model, the authors find that community socioeconomic status has little effect on the likelihood that unmarried adolescent women will become pregnant but that premaritally pregnant adolescents in poor communities are less likely than those in wealthier neighborhoods to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy. Thus, differences in premarital fertility rates across neighborhoods of varying socioeconomic status appear to result largely from differences in abortion rates. Compared to White women, Black women are more likely to become premaritally pregnant and less likely to marry before childbirth. Parent's education reduces premarital fertility rates both by reducing rates of premarital pregnancy and by increasing the likelihood of abortion.
Women's Nonmarket Labor
Authors: SMITH JEANNE WIELAGE , BENINGER ELIZABETH SMITH
Published: March 2007

Recent divorce law reforms have resulted in reduced spousal support payments of limited duration as attorneys and judges focus on equal treatment of spouses. Traditional family patterns persist, however, leaving husbands and wives in unequal positions to support themselves at divorce. Couples in long-term marriages maintain established roles and younger couples continue to choose the traditional division of labor. Wives invest in their husbands' careers by engaging in full- or part-time housekeeping and child care. Women's discontinuous labor force participation leads to skill depreciation and loss of seniority, accompanied by decreased earning power. Equal treatment at divorce requires that wives be compensated for the opportunity cost of these years spent in nonmarket labor. Family economists are encouraged to further develop formulas for opportunity cost calculation. Specialists in family management and relations are challenged to initiate programs to help couples in the process of assessing long-term effects of the allocation of human resources. Judges and attorneys are urged to recognize the economic value of wives' career opportunity cost and to develop divorce settlements that compensate women for their decreased earning power.
The Influence of Television Viewing on Family Interactions
Authors: BRODY GENE H. , STONEMAN ZOLINDA
Published: March 2007

A contextual framework for studying the influence of television viewing on family interactions was described. Family interactions in this context are hypothesized to vary as a function of program salience for each family member. Salience is determined by a combination of person and context variables. The person variables are information-processing skills, role expectations, state and emotional factors, and the interest of the viewer in the program content. The context variables are competing activities, arrangement of physical milieu, persons present, and perceptual program features. Salience of the television program is hypothesized to have an impact on amount of family interactions in the spouse, sibling, and parent-child family subsystems. To the extent that a program is judged to be salient, lower levels of contingent responsiveness are expected between family members within and between subsystems. Low levels of contingent responsiveness are expected to depress amounts of family interaction.
The Family in an Aging Society
Authors: RILEY MATILDA WHITE
Published: March 2007

Because of unprecedented increases in longevity, the kinship structure has been transformed. Linkages among family members have been prolonged, and the surviving generations in a family have increased in number and complexity. Today's kinship structure (which has no parallel in history) can be viewed in a new way: as a latent web of continually shifting linkages that provide the potential for activating and intensifying close family relationships. These relationships are no longer prescribed as strict obligations, but must be earned—created and recreated by family members over their lives. Such changes in the structure and dynamics of family relationships raise many questions and issues for students of the family including the development of special research approaches needed to understand the complexity of these relationships and the nature of older people's family relationships in the future.
The Role of Mothers in the Lives of Outstanding Scholars
Authors: WILLIE CHARLES V.
Published: March 2007

Social science studies tend to provide information on linkages between achievement of male offspring and fathers. Usually, nothing is said about mothers. The idea that mothers may be fundamental in the achievement of their children was advanced as a hypothesis. Particular attention was given to the association, if any, between the education of mothers and the achievement of male offspring. Based on an analysis of the achievement of five outstanding black scholars, a conclusion was reached that the encouragement of mothers was a constant experience.
His and Her Marriage Revisited
Authors: SCHUMM WALTER R. , JURICH ANTHONY P. , BOLLMAN STEPHAN R. , BUGAIGHIS MARGARET A.
Published: March 2007

Glenn (1975) and Bernard (1975) have debated the relative benefits of marriage for men and women. An analysis of data from three samples of midwestern married couples yielded partial support for both positions. While men and women were equally happy on the average, when there was an extremely wide difference in marital satisfaction, it was almost always the woman who was less satisfied—“her” marriage was quite different from “his”—much worse.
The Effect of the Transition to Parenthood on the Marriage Relationship
Authors: McHALE SUSAN M. , HUSTON TED L.
Published: March 2007

A longitudinal study of newlyweds explored the impact of parenthood on marriages. Couples who became parents during the first year of marriage were compared with couples who remained childless during the year. Data were collected about two months after the couples' weddings and again about a year later. Data concerning the behavioral properties of marriage (e.g., amount of companionship, sex roles) were gathered by phone interviews; data pertaining to the partners' satisfaction were obtained during face-to-face interviews. The results confirmed earlier research in showing that the transition to parenthood affects companionship and marital role patterns, but no evidence was found to support the idea that parenthood is associated with a decline in the partners' evaluations of one another (love) or their marriage (marital satisfaction). Both the parent and nonparent groups showed significant declines in love and satisfaction. Moreover, the properties of the marriages and the evaluations by the partners of one another were equally stable during the year for the two groups. The data show that many of the changes attributed to parenthood also occur among nonparents and thus indicate the importance of using comparison groups of nonparents in research on the transition to parenthood.
Husbands' And Wives' Adjustment to Pregnancy And First Parenthood
Authors: GOLDBERG WENDY A. , MICHAELS GERALD Y. , LAMB MICHAEL E.
Published: March 2007

There are conflicting reports regarding type and extent of the change in couples' lives due to the arrival of a first baby. The present short-term longitudinal study of 39 volunteer couples had two major objectives: (1) to examine changes in couples' division of labor during the transition to parenthood, and (2) to investigate husband-wife differences in the associations between indices of marital and parental adjustment during the early postpartum months. Individual questionnaires and interviews were administered in couples' homes on three occasions: early pregnancy, late pregnancy, and 3-4 months postpartum. Repeated measure analyses of changes in feminine and masculine household tasks did not confirm a linear shift toward more sex-typed arrangement but rather demonstrated a curvilinear pattern with the least sex-typed arrangements occurring in late pregnancy. These results indicate that the pregnancy period needs to be viewed as a time of changes in instrumental roles. There were several wife-husband differences in associations between marriage quality and parenting in the postpartum period. Notably, greater involvement with the baby was positively associated with paternal adjustment but negatively related to wives' marital adjustment. These findings underscore the complex associations among husbands' and wives' household roles, marital adjustment, involvement with baby, and adjustment to parenthood.
Long-Term Effects of Perinatal Loss
Authors: ROSENBLATT PAUL G. , BURNS LINDA HAMMER
Published: March 2007

A small-scale interview study of 34 randomly identified adults who had experienced amongst them 55 instances of perinatal loss explored the memory of the event and the personal meaning ascribed to it, the nature of support involved, and ways of dealing with grief that had lasted over periods as long as 44 years. Individuality of experience, and interpretation of it, changes over time, dissonance between spouses' reactions, mourning for disappointment with husbands' supportiveness, and lack of use or usefulness of professional support systems are primary findings.
Couple Decision Making
Authors: GODWIN DEBORAH D. , SCANZONI JOHN
Published: March 2007

This study addresses the question of potential differences in the processes and outcomes of joint decision making in terms of the particular issue being negotiated by spouses, and the partner's behavior or assessment being examined. The proposition is tested and verified that decision-making processes vary by both spouse and the issue being discussed. Husbands' and wives' assessments of the outcomes of decision making do not differ within couples, but their assessments do vary across issues. A further proposition-that the importance of getting one's own way regarding the particular issue influences decision dynamics and outcomes-receives much less support. Future research should take into account emerging contemporary issues and avoid treating couple decision-making processes and outcomes as unidimensional. Further work on the reasons for observed differences across issues in couple decision making is needed.
Child-Care Use Among Welfare Mothers
Authors: WOLF DOUGLAS A. , SONENSTEIN FREYA L.
Published: March 2007

The current welfare policy environment places considerable emphasis on employment as a means for reducing welfare dependency. Policy provisions that subsidize child-care use are aimed at encouraging work, exit from welfare, and sustained independence from public support. Yet there has been very little research on the child-care usage patterns of welfare mothers, particularly with respect to factors associated with the persistence of such patterns. This study analyzes the durability of child-care arrangements, using data from a 1983-1984 longitudinal survey of welfare mothers conducted in three cities. The specific questions addressed included the following: What are the correlates of durability of a child-care arrangement, especially those related to type and cost of care; and, how are a mother's subjective ratings of child-care quality related to the probability of ending or changing her current arrangement? The findings indicate that family day-care arrangements are the least durable; however, care in a center is not more durable than care provided by a child's relatives. Among several dimensions along which mothers rated their child-care arrangements, only convenience — with respect to location and timing — emerged as a significant correlate of durability.
Starting Over
Authors: BOOTH ALAN , EDWARDS JOHN N.
Published: March 2007

Using interview data from a national sample of married persons, the extent to which people in remarriages have attributes that adversely influence marital quality and stability is examined. Five models linking remarriage-induced attributes to an increased probability of a decline in marital quality and divorce are evaluated. Persons in remarriages are more likely to be poorly integrated with parents and in-laws, willing to leave the marriage, be poor marriage material, and to have lower socioeconomic status and age-heterogeneous marriages. All but socioeconomic status are found to explain declines in marital quality and higher levels of marital instability. Together the remaining four models explain major portions of the remarriage/marital-quality and remarriage/divorce relationships.
Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Perceptions of Fairness
Authors: JOHN DAPHNE , SHELTON BETH ANNE , LUSCHEN KRISTEN
Published: March 2007

In this article we examine the determinants of Black, Hispanic, and Anglo women's and men's views of the fairness of the division of housework. Using the 1987-1988 National Survey of Families and Households, we find that men's proportional share of time spent on female-typed tasks affects both women's and men's views of how fairly housework is divided, although the effect is stronger for women. The frequency of arguments about housework also is positively associated with perceptions of fairness for both women and men, again with a stronger effect for women. Moreover, Black men are less likely to report that housework is divided unfairly than are Anglo men, suggesting that reference group comparisons among men by race and ethnicity may affect perceptions of family entitlement.
Parent-Child Relationships During the Transition to Adulthood
Authors: THORNTON ARLAND , ORBUCH TERRI L. , AXINN WILLIAM G.
Published: March 2007

This article uses a panel study of children and mothers to examine how parents and children conceptualize, perceive, and report on their relationships with each other during the children's transition to adulthood years. The article provides strong support for the reliability and validity of reports of parent-child relationships. The article documents generally positive and supportive relationships between parents and children, more positive relationships with mothers than with fathers, and an improvement in relationships as children mature from age 18 to 23. Further, parent-child relationships are perceived differently by parents and children in that there is not just one perception of the relationship between child and parent, but a relationship as perceived by the child and a relationship as perceived by the parent.