bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Portrayal of the Aging
Authors: Greenberg Bradley S. , Korzenny Felipe , Atkin Charles K.
Published: March 2007

This study assesses the frequency, attributes, and manifest social behaviors of the elderly on network fictional television series in 1975, 1976, and 1977. The content analysis shows that the aging represent a small and decreasing proportion of all television characters, with a decline from 4% to 2% across the three seasons studied. Elderly characters appear disproportionately in situation comedies; compared to other age groups, the aging are more likely to be male and lower class, and less likely to break the law. The elderly tend to be low in physical aggression but high in verbal abusiveness. The implications of these depictions for social learning by both young and old viewers are discussed.
Sexual Activity among Older Persons
Authors: Roff Lucinda Lee , Klemmack David L.
Published: March 2007

Perceptions of the appropriateness of a variety of sexual behaviors for older persons and individuals in general are compared using data gathered from a stratified, random sample of 210 residents of a mid-sized Southern city. Contrary to our expectations, sexual activity among older persons was not perceived to be less appropriate than sexual activity in the general population.
Who Knows How Much about Aging?
Authors: Klemmack David L. , Roff Lucinda Lee , Durand Richard M.
Published: March 2007

Common misconceptions regarding the facts of aging are identified using data gathered from a probability sample of 1012 adult Alabama residents. Sociodemographic and attitudinal correlates of both knowledge and bias in knowledge about aging are isolated.
Did Social Security Attempt to Regulate the Poor?
Authors: Achenbaum W. Andrew
Published: March 2007

Nearly a decade after its publication, Regulating the Poor remains a provocative and widely read book. This essay discusses the strengths and weaknesses of Piven and Cloward's argument about the formative years of Social Security. It then suggests ways that researchers can build upon the conceptual framework set forth in the book as they evaluate current old-age policies and debate policy options for the aging and the aged in the future.
Apprehension, Memory, and Fluid Intelligence Decline in Adulthood
Authors: Horn John L. , Donaldson Gary , Engstrom Robert
Published: March 2007

The principal results of three separate studies are described within the context of a recent formulation of the theory of fluid (Gf) and crystalized (Gc) intelligence. The focus of the report is on the adulthood decline of Gf. This decline is found to be in the vicinity of between 3 and 7 IQ points per decade over a period between roughly 30 and 60 years of age. The studies were designed to indicate the extert to which this decline could be explained as due to aging defects in processes of sensory detection, immediate apprehension, short-term memory, en-coding organization, attentiveness, concentration, hypothesis generation, speediness, carefulness, and persistence. The results suggested that Gf decline is associated mainly with defects in processes of organizing information; becoming alert to new information; ignoring irrelevancies; concentrating, maintaining, and dividing attention; and holding information in working memory. It seems that Gf decline mainly reflects loss of capacity, but decrease in inclination to "get up" for difficult tasks may also be involved, and there are possibilities that the results reflect, in part, cohort differences.
Women's and Men's Retirement Income Status
Authors: O'Rand Angela M. , Landerman Richard
Published: March 2007

The effects of work history and early family roles on prospective economic (income) status at retirement are examined using the Earnings Records and Longitudinal Retirement History Study of the Social Security Administration. Regression analyses show that early family roles have greater direct and indirect effects on women's preretirement economic status than on men's. These effects present themselves as costs to women in retirement dollars. Sex differences are especially evident when observing the intervening effects of assets (net worth) and estimated retirement incomes from private and government pensions.
Health Psychology and Late Life
Authors: Rakowski William
Published: March 2007

Literature pertinent to understanding the health psychology and health behaviors of older adults is reviewed. It is proposed that judgments of health and illness status be viewed as separate domains of personal health psychology rather than as endpoints of a single continuum. A process is described in which individuals collect and evaluate information about their "healthiness" and "unhealthiness," that in turn influences health behavior decision making. Emphasis is placed on the process of health behavior, on the need to view health behaviors from a noncrisis perspective, and on the importance of recognizing that ambiguity and uncertainty can legitimately reflect one's situation.
Citizen Input and Aging Policy
Authors: Franke James L.
Published: March 2007

This research assesses the relevance of citizen input to support for age-related policy among local public officials. Viewed in terms of the manner in which citizens and public officials characteristically interact, there is no evidence of direct influence by elderly citizens upon local public officials. Regardless, these local officials are supportive of policy intervention on behalf of the elderly. It is therefore argued that greater research emphasis needs to be given to other considerations and other actors affecting public officials' positions concerning age-related policy.
Health Services for Asian Elderly
Authors: Liu William T.
Published: March 2007

Between 1970 and 1980, there has been an increase of more than 140% of Asians in America, mainly through the influx of new immigrants as a result of the 1965 legislative amendment to the old national quota immigration law. Along with the increase of new immigrants and their families, we experienced a sudden awareness of the problems of the immigrant elderly in addition to those who came during the first decade of the present century as farm labor from China and the Philippines, as well as the very old Issei (first generation) and the aging Nisei (second generation) from Japan. Our data showed that not all elderly Asians are taken care of by their kin or the ethnic community facilities. Compared with the general American population, such elderly populations have problems associated with economic conditions, cultural mismatch, as well as the structural factors of ethnic communities that left many elderly living alone or with nonrelatives. The myths of the support group have not been rigorously investigated in such ethnic communities.
Credit-Splitting and Private Pension Awards in Divorce
Authors: Tracy Martin B.
Published: March 2007

This study examines the experience of earnings-splitting under the Canada Pension Plan and private pension assignments in British Columbia. The findings indicate that the low take-up rate of shared public pensions is primarily a result of the voluntary nature of the program. A comparably low incidence of future private pension awards to women as part of the property settlement is related to prevailing judicial attitudes, length of marriage, and the preference of women for immediate payment of cash or in-kind benefits.
The Retirement Process among Older Women in the United States
Authors: Hayward Mark D. , Grady William R. , McLaughlin Steven D.
Published: March 2007

Recent changes in the retirement patterns of older women in the United States are examined and the uniformity of changes across occupations is evaluated. Results indicate that both the volume of retirement and labor force reentry increased; women increasingly experienced their first retirement at younger ages; and women's working life expectancy declined while nonworking life expectancy increased due to both declining working life expectancy and lower mortality. Many of these changes were fairly uniform across the occupational structure, maintaining the generally higher levels of working life expectancy in primary occupations. These patterns are compared to those previously observed for older men.
Death Taxes and Elderly Interstate Migration
Authors: Voss Paul R. , Gunderson Ronald J. , Manchin Robert
Published: March 2007

This study was undertaken to test the proposition that the relative levels of death taxes in the different states contribute to the interstate migration flows of the U.S. elderly population. A statistical model incorporating state-to-state elderly migration flows and the state death tax levels for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia was tested. The results of the analysis point to a separation of the decision made to leave a state of origin from the decision regarding where to move. The data do not support the idea that the level of death taxes within a given state contributes to the out-migration of elderly residents; however, once the decision to migrate has been made, there is evidence that the destination area will have lower death tax rates, but the effect is considerably less important than the impact of climate and other factors measured by the model.
Advancing the Dependency Ratio Concept and Avoiding the Malthusian Trap
Authors: Gibson Donald E.
Published: March 2007

It is argued that further advances in the usefulness of the age dependency ratio will be made only if we begin to take into account changes in economic productivity and real income. Such a change from current practice will improve understanding of the social and economic dynamics of aging populations and prevent the introduction of Malthusian ideology into discussions of aging trends.
Sources of Emotional Strain among the Oldest Caregivers
Authors: Mui Ada C. , Morrow-Howell Nancy
Published: March 2007

The sources of emotional strain experienced by both sibling and spouse caregivers were examined from a role theory perspective. Both spouses and siblings are at risk of emotional strain associated with caregiving. Role demand overload, role conflict, and resources availability variables are important in understanding the impact of caregiving on these oldest caregiving groups; however, the variables had a differential effect on sibling versus spouse caregivers. The quality of the relationship with the care recipient was more salient for siblings. Physical health was more critical to spouses.
Evaluation of Primary Care Nursing in Long-Term Care
Authors: Teresi Jeanne , Holmes Douglas , Benenson Esther , Monaco Charlene , Barrett Virginia , Koren Mary Jane
Published: March 2007

A primary care model of delivering nursing attendant care was evaluated using two samples of aides and of residents from a large, urban and a small, rural long-term care facility. Measures of staff morale and attitudes toward primary care, and resident satisfaction with care and attitudes toward primary care were obtained from comparison and experimental group units pre- and postimplementation of the primary care nursing intervention. For both samples, there was a significant group effect on staff attitudes toward primary care: Experimental staff members were significantly more positive (than the comparison staff members) toward primary care following the intervention. At the large urban facility, there was a significant group effect on both resident satisfaction with care and resident attitude toward primary care: Experimental residents were more satisfied and had a more positive attitude after the primary care intervention than did comparison group residents.
Racial Differences in the Division of Labor between Primary and Secondary Caregivers
Authors: Stommel Manfred , Given Charles W. , Given Barbara A.
Published: March 2007

In this study, Black and White family caregivers are compared in terms of the division of labor among primary caregivers and secondary helpers. Three patterns of the division of labor were distinguished: (1) the primary caregiver as exclusive provider of care, (2) supplemental care (at least some care tasks are shared among at least two providers), and (3) specialization (different tasks are carried out by different providers). Employing both matching (by care recipients' diagnosis and number of functional impairments) and statistical controls of relevant confounders (income, employment, gender, type of residency, etc.), African American caregivers were found to be significantly less likely to provide all care alone without the help of secondary helpers.
Voluntary Social Participation and Health
Authors: Young Frank W. , Glasgow Nina
Published: March 2007

The importance of participation in voluntary formal associations for enhancing health is supported by four kinds of evidence. (1) Seven prospective studies of social relations and mortality show the independent effect of formal social participation, net of informal ties. (2) Conceptual analysis demonstrates that voluntary formal associations constitute a separate class of social causation. (3) Our factor analysis of data from a sample of 629 nonmetropolitan elderly identified two types of formal social participation: "instrumental," as in associations that are community oriented, and "expressive," as in those that exist for the benefit of the members. (4) Regression analysis showed that the instrumental participation factor is linked, net of controls, to the perceived health of both men and women, whereas the expressive factor predicts for women only.
Assessing Change in Social Support During Late Life
Authors: Krause Neal
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study is to evaluate change in 14 measures of social support with data provided by a nationwide longitudinal study of older adults. The findings reveal that fairly substantial change took place during the three-year follow-up period. More important, the data indicate that change is not uniform or systematic across the entire study sample. Instead, there appears to be considerable individual-level change taking place. The implications of these findings for the development of conceptual models as well as support-based interventions are discussed.
Time and News: The Media's Limitations as an Instrument of Democracy
Authors: Patterson Thomas E.
Published: March 2007

As traditional institutions have weakened, the news media have been expected to carry more of the burden of organizing public opinion and debate. In general, however, the news agenda is an unsuitable basis for political action. There are always critical problems facing society, but whether they play a large or small part in the news, and do so in a true or distorted form, depends significantly on how they conform to the time-driven demands of the news cycle. The news is deliberately shortsighted, is rooted in novelty rather than precision, and focuses on fastbreaking events rather than enduring issues.
Women's Part-Time Employment and Gender Inequality in the Family
Authors: STIER HAYA , LEWIN-EPSTEIN NOAH
Published: March 2007

This article examines the effects of full- and part-time employment of women on various aspects of a household's arrangements. It argues that only full-time employment represents a significant transformation in women's roles, thus providing the bargaining resources that allow them to affect the household's arrangements. The authors see part-time involvement in market work as a way to maintain, rather than change, the traditional division of labor. Based on data collected in the fall of 1994 from a representative sample of the Israeli Jewish population, the authors find that although full-time employment contributes to gender equality within the household, part-time employment does not. Husbands of fully employed wives are more likely to participate in housework chores that are female-dominated, and full-time employed women are more likely than part-time employed or housewives to take part in the household's financial and expenditure responsibilities. Part-time workers gain no advantage over housewives within their families.
Workplace Subordination and Men's Avoidance of Housework
Authors: ARRIGHI BARBARA A. , MAUME DAVID J.
Published: March 2007

Understanding the determinants of men's participation in housework has been the focus of much research in the past two decades. Increasingly, scholars argue that men's reluctance to do family work is because they associate it with “women's work” and thus a threat to their masculinity. The authors extend this idea by considering the link between challenges to men's identities in the workplace and their behavior in the home. Using data collected for the Class Structure and Class Consciousness Survey, it was found that the extent of men's workplace subordination was negatively related to their performance of “feminine” tasks in the home. Moreover, this relationship was stronger in families in which wives' earnings approached those of their husbands'. The theoretical implications of the results are discussed, and a call is made for more longitudinal studies to understand the complex and evolving relationship between work and family.
Low-Income Families in Their New Neighborhoods
Authors: ROSENBAUM EMILY , HARRIS LAURA E.
Published: March 2007

This article investigates short-term changes in neighborhood conditions for families moving from Chicago public housing as part of the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) demonstration program. MTO features a controlled experimental design and thus may be better suited, in the long run, than recent survey-based studies to elucidate the effects of neighborhood conditions on family and children's well-being. We focus on five key aspects of family well-being: neighborhood conditions, feelings of safety, experiences with crime, opportunities and risks for teenagers, and access to services. All mover families experienced significant improvements on each measure, yet those that were required to move to low-poverty neighborhoods experienced the greatest improvements. The only drawback to these low-poverty moves appears to be the relative isolation of the destination, particularly concerning access to public transportation; however, more intensive housing counseling might help families choose neighborhoods with better access to transportation and closer to other services.
The Effect of Poverty on America's Families
Authors: RANK MARK R.
Published: March 2007

The study of American poverty represents a major field of research within the academic and policy communities. Yet, it was not until 1964 that the United States began to officially measure poverty. This review examines what we have learned over the past four decades regarding the effect of poverty on America's families. The following five substantive areas are discussed: (a) the scope and dynamics of American poverty, (b) factors associated with poverty, (c) the effects and consequences of impoverishment, (d) policy strategies for assisting poor families, and (e) needed future research directions.
Household Expenditure Patterns
Authors: CHEN YUNG-PING , CHU KWANG-WEN
Published: March 2007

Family expenditures during different stages of the family life cycle (as indicated by the age of the family head) are analyzed to determine how consumer spending patterns vary. A model of expenditures for consumer goods is constructed, and a life cycle hypothesis of consumer spending is tested. Age of family head was found to have significant influence on expenditures for each of 17 budget items. Compared with nonaged groups, the aged spend more on food, household utilities, medical care, personal care, and gifts and contributions; they allocate less to clothing, house furnishings and equipment, automobile purchase and operations, education, and recreation. For shelter, household operations, and other transportation the patterns are mixed relative to expenditures by middle-aged and young groups. Some of the social and legislative implications of these findings—more accurate measurement of the effect of inflation on retirement benefits, for example—are suggested.
The Time Crunch
Authors: FOX KAREN D. , NICKOLS SHARON Y.
Published: March 2007

The relationship between patterns of time spent in household work and employment hours of the wife was examined in a sample of 206 families. Employment of the wife outside the home in paid work was significantly related to her time in housework, but had little effect on her husband's or children's time contributions to household tasks. A lessening of the time crunch for full-time employed wives and equalization of length of work days for husbands and wives was indicated when present data were compared with time budgets collected in the 1960s.
Divorced Mothers' Management of Responsibilities
Authors: JOHNSON PHYLLIS J.
Published: March 2007

Pleck's suggestion of asymmetrically permeable boundaries between employment and family (allowing family responsibilities to overlap employment ones) provided conceptual direction for this study on divorced mothers' management of situations that posed a conflict between employment and child care. The majority of the 381 respondents were employed full-time in clerical and sales positions and were recipients of minimal financial or other assistance from former spouse, friends, or relatives. The mothers allowed child care responsibilities to have precedence over employment demands in some, but not all of the conflict situations. The mother herself generally managed the situations related to her child's health or attendance at child's important activities. Experience with dual responsibilities, family life cycle stage, and ability to take time off from work for family matters without negative consequences were significant variables in determining whether the mother performed the child care herself or sought assistance.
The Impact of Support for Black Adolescent Mothers
Authors: COLLETTA NANCY DONOHUE , LEE DIANE
Published: March 2007

This exploratory study focused on the association between social support and adolescents' responses to early motherhood. Subjects were 64 Black adolescent mothers in three groups (High School, Program, and Dropout). Structured interviews were used to assess the young mothers' emotional stress as well as the amounts, sources, and kinds of support available. Self-esteem and sense of control were assessed via standarized instruments. A major finding was that support from individuals is related to a decrease in stress and an increase in self-esteem. The results are discussed in relation to the growing body of research documenting the impact of such support on maternal role performance.
Coping with Parental Problems
Authors: MENAGHAN ELIZABETH G.
Published: March 2007

Four parental coping efforts—punitive disciplinary efforts, optimistic comparisons, selective ignoring, and resignation—are examined for their effectiveness in reducing parental distress and difficulties. Data are drawn from two sets of interviews with a large metropolitan population; effectiveness is assessed net of gender, socioeconomic status, ongoing marital problems, age and number of children, and initial level of difficulty. For both behavior problems of younger children and the future direction of older children, more frequent punitive disciplinary efforts and less optimistic comparisons were associated with greater parental distress. A resigned, impotent stance was also associated with greater parental distress for outcome concerns but not for behavior problems. None of the coping efforts directly affected later parental problems; rather, the initial level of difficulty and the composition of one's family (ages, number, and residence) were the primary influence. Within the range of coping efforts examined, it seems that the effects of common parental efforts are largely limited to reducing parental distress.
Continued Attachment After Legal Divorce
Authors: BERMAN WILLIAM H.
Published: March 2007

A major aspect of the divorce process is the psychological divorce: detachment from the ex-spouse and formation of a new life with new emotional bonds and commitments. Many people complete this process promptly, but at least 25% of the divorced population have significant difficulty completing the psychological divorce and remain attached to their ex-spouses for significant periods of time. The present study examined demographic, personality, and relational characteristics of this population. No personality traits were found to be related to attachment. Several socioeconomic variables were found to be significantly related to ongoing attachment, and characteristics of the relationship to the ex-spouse prior to and following the separation were found to predict ongoing attachment.
An Alternate Standard for Evaluating American Fathers
Authors: DAY RANDAL D. , MACKEY WADE C.
Published: March 2007

Since the mid-1970s social scientists have given unprecedented attention to American fathers. As birth rates have declined and more women have entered the labor force, expectations for men to assume parenting duties and responsibilities have increased, and numerous studies have compared the parenting of men and women. The studies have generally shown that the parenting of fathers is deficient in comparison to that of mothers. In the study reported here a different standard, the parenting of fathers in other societies, is used to evaluate the performance of U.S. fathers. Viewed from a cross-cultural perspective, American fathers seem typical rather than deficient.
Spouse Attributes and Spousal Interactions as Dimensions of Relationship Quality in First-Married and Remarried Newlywed Men and Women
Authors: KURDEK LAWRENCE A.
Published: March 2007

The independence of two dimensions of relationship quality was examined by factor analyzing the correlations among five self-report scores. Two of the scores evaluated attributes of the spouse, and three evaluated interactions between the spouses. The generalizability of factor solutions was assessed by comparing findings across four groups of newlywed couples: first-married husbands, first-married wives, remarried husbands, and remarried wives ( ns = 308, 290, 150, and 168, respectively). For each subject group, a maximum likelihood factor analysis indicated that only one factor, accounting for between 51% to 61% of the total variance, provided the best fit to the data. Thus there was no evidence that newlyweds' evaluations of spouse attributes and spousal interactions are independent of each other.
Gender Differences in Expectations of Self and Future Partner
Authors: GANONG LAWRENCE H. , COLEMAN MARILYN
Published: March 2007

The expectations that 131 single female and 103 male college students had for themselves and their future marital partners were investigated using a combination of open-ended items and Likert-type scales. Although the students did not differ on expectations for personal success, they did differ on expectations for the success of their future marital partner. Young women expected more success for their future husbands than young men expected for their future wives. In addition, women expected their future husbands to make significantly more money and have higher educational achievements, and to be more intelligent, more successful, and better able to handle things than themselves. The implications of these findings for intimate relationships are discussed.
Patterns of Maternal Employment and Child Care for a Sample of Two-Year-Olds
Authors: CARUSO GRACE-ANN L.
Published: March 2007

This article describes survey responses of 476 parents of two-year-olds regarding maternal employment and child care. Families were randomly selected from published birth announcements and contacted by phone. A total of 60% of mothers were employed and 40% of toddlers received nonparental care. About 20% of couples worked alternate shifts to share parenting. Maternal employment and child care were typically part-time. Patterns suggest that (a) many children of employed mothers are cared for exclusively by family members and (b) the more hours mothers are employed, the more likely children are to receive nonfamilial care.
Beyond Maternal Blame
Authors: MARGOLIN LESLIE
Published: March 2007

This study begins with an examination of why men have been left out of physical child abuse research. An attempt is then made to include them by focusing on the motivational processes and social structures that differentiate men's physical child abuse from women's. It is argued that widespread gender imbalances in power, men's lack of role models and rewards for nurturant activity, and their socialization to violence, bear a direct relationship to children's risk of physical abuse. The methodological problems involved in accurately comparing male and female caregivers' rates of physical child abuse are discussed and a strategy for assessing these gender differences is introduced.
Maternal Employment and Child Behavioral Outcomes
Authors: GREENSTEIN THEODORE N.
Published: March 2007

This research employs the household economics approach to study the effects of maternal employment and substitute child care on the social behavior of a national sample of 4- and 5-year-old children. Mothers from the National Longitudinal Survey's youth cohort were asked to rate their child's social behavior using items from the Behavioral Problems Index. The household economics approach predicts that behavioral outcomes for children of employed mothers will differ from those of children whose mothers were not employed to the extent that the substitution of market goods and services for nonmarket goods and services is imperfect. The study tests three hypotheses analyzing the interactions of family income and emotional support level with indicators of maternal employment and use of substitute child care. In general, the findings do not support the contention that maternal employment is associated with negative behavioral outcomes for young children. The findings of this and related studies suggest redirecting the research agenda on maternal employment and families to include analyses of the beneficial aspects of maternal employment for child well-being and to develop policies designed to promote the well-being of children with employed parents.
Balancing Work and Family:
Authors: SEYLER DIAN L. , MONROE PAMELA A. , GARAND JAMES C.
Published: March 2007

The stress of balancing work and family demands has increased as more wives and mothers have entered the workforce. One way to alleviate that stress is through employer-supported, family-related benefits and policies. The purpose of this research is to determine what family-oriented benefits and policy options are being offered by businesses in one state, as well as the circumstances or conditions under which such benefits are offered. The human resources directors of a stratified random sample of businesses were mailed a questionnaire and asked to report the types of benefits they offered. Demographic data on the companies and employees also were collected. Generally, companies offered few benefits, but the number of benefits offered is found to be related significantly to company size and the percentage of women in the company workforce. These findings are consistent with the rational-choice interpretation underlying the authors' model.
The Effect of Parenting Stress on Marital Quality
Authors: LAVEE YOAV , SHARLIN SHLOMO , KATZ RUTH
Published: March 2007

This study examines the hypothesis that the effect children have on their parents' marriages is due to stress in the parental role. A multivariate model was specified to assess the relationship between fathers' and mothers' parenting stress and their psychological well-being and perception of marital quality. In addition, the effects of 6 other variables were assessed: 2 competing roles (mother's employment and household division of labor), 2 children-related variables (number and age composition), marital duration, and economic distress. Data were collected from both the husband and the wife in 287 intact couples who had children living at home. Using structural equation modeling, data from both parents were analyzed jointly to assess the mutual effect of the spouses on one another. The findings indicated that, for both fathers and mothers, parenting stress was affected by the number of children and economic distress, but not by other roles (wife's employment and household division of labor). For both spouses, psychological well-being and perceived marital quality were affected negatively by parenting stress. Significant association was found between husbands' and wives' parenting stress, as well as a mutual effect of their perceived marital quality on each other. Some theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Parenting Values, Attitudes, Behaviors, and Goals of African American Mothers from a Low-Income Population in Relation to Social and Societal Contexts
Authors: ABELL ELLEN , CLAWSON MELLISA , WASHINGTON WANDA NEWELL , BOST KELLY K. , VAUGHN BRIAN E.
Published: March 2007

There is broad consensus among family and child development researchers that variations in parenting styles and practices contribute to individual differences along a range of child outcomes. Although the literature implies a continuum of parenting styles, research on ethnic minority and low-income families has often implied that these groups are homogeneous with respect to parenting practices and has compared them to standard samples (usually ethnic majority and middle class). In rejecting these assumptions, we examined the diversity of parenting styles in a sample of a low-income, African American families served by Head Start. Analyses revealed a range of child-rearing beliefs yielding discrete patterns of parenting that were distinguished in terms of beliefs about desirable child attributes and community-level attributes, and were associated with children's social competence. Findings suggest that crude group comparisons are inadequate to describe or explain the effects of parenting values and parent-child interactions in low-income, minority ethnic status samples.
Paradigm Shifts in Family Sociology? Evidence From Three Decades of Family Textbooks
Authors: MANN SUSAN A. , GRIMES MICHAEL D. , KEMP ALICE ABEL , JENKINS PAMELA J.
Published: March 2007

This article explores paradigm shifts in family sociology from the 1960s to the 1990s using a thematic content analysis of 7 multiple-edition texts. Two competing views on theoretical developments are examined. David Cheal claims that challenges posed to structural functionalist hegemony resulted in theoretical pluralism and an end to this hegemony. Dorothy Smith argues that Parson's theoretical assumptions are so deeply embedded in the discourse of family sociology that they continue to govern major issues and debates. As late as the 1990s, we found that structural functionalism continued to frame many topics and debates in the majority of texts even when new concepts and more critical literature were added. Notable exceptions were textbook treatments of African American families and gender issues. This suggests that the relative success of social movements in institutionalizing their goals may be an important factor in determining paradigm shifts.
Recent Changes in U.S. Young Adult Living Arrangements in Comparative Perspective
Authors: GOLDSCHEIDER FRANCES
Published: March 2007

This article reviews research from the 1990s on trends in leaving home in the United States and presents new research on trends in returning home. These trends are placed within the context of two key theoretical considerations: changes in family roles and changes in the economic opportunities of young adults. The leaving home process in early adulthood is tied to changes in the core nuclear family relationships because those between parents and children shape the launch and those between men and women help to shape the destinations. The economic considerations include variation in income sources, particularly wages and transfers, and the costs of independent residence. These considerations underline the importance of taking a comparative perspective to the process of leaving home in the transition to adulthood.
Estimating a Proposed Family Policy's Effects
Authors: MEYER DANIEL R. , KIM REBECCA Y.
Published: March 2007

Assured child support benefits are an important component of many proposals to reform the child support system. The authors estimate costs and the likely effects of assured benefits on poverty and welfare participation under two scenarios: with and without incorporating the labor supply changes of custodial parents. They find that in each situation assured benefits will reduce poverty rates and the poverty gap; welfare caseloads and expenditures will also fall. When parents are allowed to change the number of hours they work, the impact of assured benefits will be about the same, but the costs of the assured benefit program will increase.
A Patriarchal Perspective of Beliefs About Wife Beating Among Palestinian Men From the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Authors: HAJ-YAHIA MUHAMMAD M.
Published: March 2007

Based on a patriarchal perspective, the article presents a pioneer study of Palestinian husbands' beliefs in the following areas: justifying wife beating, holding violent husbands responsible for their behavior, and blaming the battered wives for violence against them. The results revealed the following trends: (a) High percentages of respondents tend to justify wife beating under different circumstances (e.g., the wife's “sexual unfaithfulness”); (b) although the majority of respondents held violent husbands responsible for their behavior, there was a concomitant tendency to understand the husband; and (c) a high percentage of respondents blamed the wife for violence against her. Patriarchal ideology provided a conceptual framework for presentation and discussion of the findings obtained through regression and multiple regression analyses. The implications of the results for future research as well as for prevention and intervention activities are also discussed.
Living the Postmodern Dream
Authors: LAMANNA MARY ANN
Published: March 2007

Why do teen women risk pregnancy in a social context calling for deferred parenthood? A postmodern perspective makes sense of this behavior in a way that conventional policy analysis does not. Interviews with 63 adolescent women (Black and White, ever-pregnant, and never-pregnant) and focus group sessions with 225 teens are used to construct four discourse schemas: Accidental, Pair Bond, Developmental, and Protective. Teens use discourse from “the modern family,” psychotherapy, and other cultural resources to give meaning to their everyday life experiences of sex, pregnancy, and parenthood. Contradictions abound. Implications for the study of the family are briefly addressed.
Understanding Noncustodial Fathers' Family and Life Satisfaction From Resource Theory Perspective
Authors: RETTIG KATHRYN D. , LEICHTENTRITT RONIT D. , STANTON LAURA M.
Published: March 2007

The study is an exploratory attempt to examine family and life satisfaction of 212 noncustodial fathers 3 years following divorce, using path analysis to validate the hypothesized ordering among six dependent variables suggested by resource theory. Results indicated the significant predictors of family and life satisfaction were perceived economic well-being, cooperative communication during conflict and during coparenting, low importance of resource deprivation, and low frequency of conflict. Involvement with children was not a significant predictor of family and life satisfaction. Resource theory was helpful in generating the variables for the study and explaining noncustodial fathers' perceptions of the relationship dynamics between former spouses who are coparenting children.
Marriage and Family Law in a Changing Vietnam
Authors: WISENSALE STEVEN K.
Published: March 2007

Marriage and family law in Vietnam has been greatly influenced by important historical events over the past 40 years. As a result, three major reforms have been implemented. The Marriage and Family Law of 1959 ended arranged marriages and polygamy and addressed the issue of gender equity. The Law on Marriage and the Family of 1986 clarified the legal obligations of married partners, identified more clearly parental responsibilities, and established new procedures for divorce. And, the 1994 Decree on Marriage and the Family was enacted to protect Vietnam's families from external influences and address concerns about rapid modernization. Lessons learned from Vietnam's experience may inform those researchers who are interested in studying family policy in other developing nations.
Franchise Relocation and Fan Allegiance
Authors: Lewis Michael
Published: March 2007

This article examines how the fans of four sports teams reacted when their favorite team relocated to another city: the Houston Oilers to Nashville, the Quebec Nordiques to Denver, the Hartford Whalers to Raleigh, and the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix. Drawing on conversations among fans of these teams on Web sites, it was found that, despite the differences in sports, teams, and cities across these four franchises, the people studied expressed similar feelings about the importance of the teams in their lives and of their desire for the franchises to return. In addition, differences were found among fans as to what aspect of the team they were expressing continued allegiance to. Some fans pledged to continue to fight for a team for their city, whereas another group pledged allegiance to the team name and logo. The article concludes with a discussion suggesting some future directions for research on fan allegiance to sports teams.
Leveling the Playing Field
Authors: Wachs Faye Linda
Published: March 2007

At the turn of the millennium, gender relations are in a state of flux. Increasingly, separate gendered spheres and roles are being challenged and negotiated in many areas of social life. At the same time, many gendered ideologies are also reproduced, continuing longstanding inequities. Recreational sporting subworlds provide a context to explore how gendered rule structures contribute to and redress such inequities. Coed softball provides an example of a sport in which equal participation by gender is a legislated goal. However, such rules must be critically evaluated. Given the history of gender inequity in sports, one must ask how, through the rules and their enforcement, is gender equality conceptualized by participants, umpires, and rule makers? Through participant observation and analysis of the text of the rules, this article explores the providing of equality by defining and legislating difference that simultaneously challenges and reifies gender difference and ultimately gender inequity.
Myth, Legitimation, and Stress in Formal Sport Organizations
Authors: Santomier James
Published: March 2007

Myths permeate formal sport organizations and are reflected in their practices, pro cedures, techniques, and policies. Institutionalized myths and their relationship to: (1) the legitimation of formal sport organizations; (2) the production of cynical knowledge by members of formal sport organizations; and (3) the reduction of occupational stress among sport professionals were examined. It was concluded that institutionalized myths may serve to legitimatize formal sport organizations, but may also act to constrain organizational and individual behavior.

"Like all social institutions, sport has legitimations which justify its ex istence, [and] rules which guide the interaction of individuals holding posi tions within its structure" (Ingham and Loy, 1973:3). These institutionalized rules, which function as potent myths, may have significant effects upon the structure and upon the athletes, coaches, and administrators of formal sport organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of institutionaliz ed myths to: (1) the legitimation of formal sport organizations; (2) the produc tion of cynical knowledge by members of formal sport organizations; and (3) the reduction of occupational stress among sport professionals.
Sport and Juvenile Delinquency: a Theoretical Base
Authors: Sugden John , Yiannakis Andrew
Published: March 2007

This paper offers a critical re-examination of the prevalent notion of sport as a panacea for juvenile delinquency. By examining the structural and phenomenological set ting of delinquency, the authors suggest that since most conventional sports are institu tional replicas of mainstream society, they are of little value as alternative systems to the delinquent subculture. On the other hand less conventional sport forms falling under the broad rubric Outward Bound because they provide alternative coping strategies to prob lems of personal adjustment and identity, may be a more effective means of reaching and helping delinquent and predelinquent children.
Athletic Scholarships as Contracts of Employment: the Rensing Decisions and the Future of College Sports
Authors: Porto Brian L.
Published: March 2007

In 1982 and 1983, the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court, respective ly, reached opposite answers to the question: Is an athletic scholarship an employment contract which entitles an injured athlete to workers' compensation? Both decisions, in Rensing v. Indiana State University, highlight the inability of narrowly drawn judicial rulings to recognize and remedy the most egregious manifestations of professionalism in college athletics.

The following article draws two lessons from the limitations of the Rensing decisions. First, judicial involvement is necessary when due process or procedural fairness are implicated, but when the athlete's "conditions of participation" (based upon the scholarship agreement) are at issue, judges must permit educators to make necessary policy choices. Second, the existing system of college athletics is beset by a host of problems which derive from the "employment- like" conditions under which the scholarship athlete lives. Several means of diminishing the resemblance between athletic participation and employment are suggested.
Sponsorship of Sport By Tobacco and Alcohol Companies: a Review of the Issues
Authors: Crompton John L.
Published: March 2007

The self-interest of sports managers and players concerned with survival of their events, and of the media concerned with protecting advertising revenue, has resulted in little discussion on the appropriateness of tobacco and alcohol companies sponsoring sport. Three central factors in the controversy over permitting tobacco sponsorship of sport are discussed: (1) the obscuring of the connection between tobacco products and disease; (2) the enabling of companies to penetrate the youth market; and (3) the circumvention of the ban on cigarette advertising and promotion in broadcast media. The tobacco industry's case for sponsorship revolves around freedom of speech and the argument that its activities do not lead to increased smoking, only to brand switching. The central issue in alcohol company sponsorship is that it encourages alcohol addiction and abuse.
MALE STUDENT-ATHLETES REPORTED FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT: A SURVEY OF CAMPUS POLICE DEPARTMENTS AND JUDICIAL AFFAIRS OFFICES
Authors: Crosset Todd W. , Benedict Jeffrey R. , McDonald Mark A.
Published: March 2007

This article examines the relationship between collegiate athletic participation and reported sexual assaults at Division I institutions. The research is based on the police records at 20 institutions during the 1992-1993 school year and the records of 10 judicial affairs offices over a 3-year period from 1991 through 1993. Although the findings indicate that male student-athletes are overrepresented in reports of sexual assault in both locations, the differences between student-athletes and other male students are statistically significant only when it comes to the number of incidents reported to judicial affairs.