bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Struggle Against Ignorance: John Blacking Remembered
Authors: Donnan Hastings
Published: October 2019

This paper examines the relationship between fertility and mode of mate selection in Urban Nigeria. Data for the study were derived from a 1987/88 survey of nine cities in the North, South-east and Southwest of Nigeria. Ever married women, aged 15 to 49 years, in selected households were interviewed. In addition to information on socio-economic characteristics, respondents also provided information on modes of mate selection, on perceptions of roles within marriage, on desired and achieved family sizes, and on childrearing practices.

Distributions of women. by mode of mate selection (family or selt) and socioeconomic variables show that women in family arranged unions marry much earlier (and hence have longer duration of exposure to childbearing oriented sexual relations), have lower levels of education before marriage, marry much older men and are less disposed to the use of contraception. With respect to fertility, our results show that the fertility of women in family arranged unions is generally higher than that of women in self arranged unions. In order to understand more adequately how mode of mate selection relates to fertility, regression models, in which three sets of test variables were controlled, were estimated. Separate estimates were obtained for women aged 15 to 24 years, 25 to 34 years and 35 years and above, respectively. The results show that the difference in fertility between the two groups of women is statistically significant and that the difference is attributable mainly to differences in prenuptial levels of education and in duration of marriage.

The findings reinforce - the call for improved education of women and programs of public education that encourage higher ages at marriage.
Are “Worlds of Pain” Crosscultural? Korean Working Class Marriages
Authors: Choi Sook-Hyun , Keith Patricia M.
Published: October 2019

Household survey data and family histories from three highland Philippine communities are analyzed in terms of the contributions adult children living apart from parents make to parents. Differential among the contributions of adult children are related to developmental variation within sibling sets and to occupational diversity promoted by differential educational attainment. This diversity within the sibling set is treated as a reflection of family and household strategies to reduce economic risk. These household and family strategies can be expected to vary among communities and may run counter to the aims of national educational and family planning policies.
Dynamics of Childbearing Statistics in Twentieth Century Developing and Developed Countries
Authors: El-Khorazaty M. Nabil , Horne Amelia Dale
Published: October 2019

The paper presents the dynamics of childbearing indices in the twentieth century for 23 developing and 35 developed countries. The childbearing process over time is measured by projected ages at first and last birth, and length of reproductive life span, using the model derived by Home, El-Khorazaty, and Suchindran (1990). A time series for each of the three childbearing indices for each country is obtained, using only data on age-specific fertility rates. Two distinct general patterns characterizing childbearing transition are identified, according to variations over time of each index, which simultaneously reflect changes in fertility levels. Future childbearing behavior is forecasted to the year 2000 using ARIMA time series modeling.
Societal Response to Familial Role Change in Australia: Marginalisation or Social Change?
Authors: Grbich Carolyn
Published: October 2019

Over the past ten years researchers have noted changes in parental roles. The movement of women into the workforce, equal opportunity, ideals of egalitarianism and the greater emphasis on the role of the father has resulted in a reassessment of the home situation.

This study of twenty five long term primary caregiver males, who reared their pre-school children while their wives/part-ners become the primary breadwinners, examined the perceived societal response to persons in this situation.

Although the self select groups currently available for study can only allow the generation of hypotheses regarding primary caregiver males, early responses from this group indicated that considerable pressure was being brought to bear on these couples to revert to more traditional roles, while later responses showed a more positive orientation suggesting that individual and group negotiation, media and research interests appeared to be part of a process of change in the attitudes of the wider society.

Further research using random sampling of a wider population is necessary to confirm these tentative indications.
Chinese Fisher Families: Variations on Chinese Themes
Authors: Anderson E. N.
Published: October 2019

Recent accounts of Chinese families, e.g. in the cross-cultural family therapy literature, perpetuate a rather negative and oversimplified stereotype of “the Chinese family”. Extreme patriarchal, conservative patterns of behavior are said to lead to poor communication, tensions, bitterness and psychological problems. South Chinese fishing families work according to a different ideal of behavior, and the ideal is often approximated in practice. It allows good communication and flexible interpersonal behavior in a traditional context. Other such traditional yet humane ideals are noted. Chinese families can draw on theirown traditions for good models, rather than needing to adopt western models of family behaviour, as some family therapists advise.
Income, Work and Marital Dissolution: Canadian Experimental Evidence
Authors: Hum Derek P. J. , Choudhry Saud
Published: October 2019

Marital dissolutions occur for a variety of reasons. Among low income families, the added stress of inadequate earnings, intermittent job spells, and high unemployment may contribute to the decision to end a marriage. One approach to end poverty and marital instability is to give income assistance to the poor. At the same time, cash transfers might foster family breakups, intentionally or otherwise. For example, if the welfare system is designed such that individuals are better off living separately than together, there will be a financial incentive to split.

The effect of income transfers on family structure is theoretically ambiguous. On the one hand, low income families may become more stable if stress factors associated with low earnings, intermittent job spells and the like are lessened by the receipt of assistance. On the other hand, unstable marriages held together strictly for economic convenience may have their bonds weakened if individuals, when separated, are eligible for support. Consequently, whether income assistance engenders, on balance, effects which are stabilising or destabilising is an empirical question which depends upon the specific population group and the assistance program under consideration.

This paper employs microdata from MINCOME (Canada’s experimental test of guaranteed income) to examine the effect of various income transfers on family dissolution. Employing a path model, we find that family income level is principally an intervening rather than a direct factor in determining whether or not a family will stay intact. Our results suggest that whether or not the male head has a stable work pattern, and whether or not the female head works at all, or earns more than her spouse, are more direct contributors to marital instability than the level of family income itself.
Family and Social Networks among Elderly Italians in Gippsland
Authors: Roy Parimal , Hamilton Ian
Published: October 2019

This paper examines the importance of family and social networks among elderly Italians in Gippsland in South-Eastern Australia. Support received by respondents from kin was highly valued and was most frequently provided in the areas of advice, general information, emotional problems and episodes of minor illness. The strength of these networks was based on the preservation of a cultural pattern which places a high value on the role of the extended family. Despite the widespread provision of formal community services designed to meet the needs of the aged, differences in culture and language present barriers to the use of main stream community services for the elderly. A small group was identified who were socially isolated and potentially vulnerable due to absence of kin and lack of confidence in using English.
Divorce Trends and Differentials in China
Authors: Liao Cailian , Heaton Tim B.
Published: October 2019

Due to strong cultural norms and associated social pressures, divorce has been a rare occurrence in china. Since 1950, new marriage laws have altered the legal context for marriage and divorce, and social change has altered the nature of family life. This study examines divorce differentials using the Chine In-Depth Fertility Survey conducted in 1985. Divorce is more common among urban residents, those with more education, those who are still young, and those whose marriages are arranged. After other variables are controlled, work status and time period have little impact on divorce. Divorce remains an unusual occurrence in China, but important sociodemographic differentials are evident.
Intergenerational Relations: Grievances of the Elderly in Rural China
Authors: Yang Haiou , Chhandler David
Published: October 2019

This research focuses on intergenerational disputes and grievances in the family since the China’s rural economic reform of the 1980s. A sample of 158 elderly persons in two rural villages of South China were surveyed (30 of them interviewed in depth) in 1987. Findings indicate that mother-inlaw and daughter-in-law disputes are still common but power has shifted to the young compared with the past. Ideological and life style differences between generations are not significant issues. Household expenditure and the care of grandchildren are grievances for a few. Most of intergenerational grievances occur in the type and amount of economic support the elderly receive from their sons, and the property division among their sons. The elderly reported that most of disputes and grievances are endured or avoided and this may reflect the loss of power for the older generation under the decollectivization. There are no mediation or other institutionalized dispute resolution mechanisms available in these villages.
Iraqi Rural Women’s Participation in Domestic Decision-Making
Authors: Al-Nouri Qais N.
Published: October 2019

This paper proposes to focus on the area of domestic decision-making which is believed to reveal some of the salient shifts encountered in the Iraqi rural family. Notwithstanding the vast array of problems to be anticipated here, I suggest to confine my inquiry to the contextual processes and trends re-defining and re-organizing feminist autonomy.

In particular, my endeavour will be guided by three main considerations involving: 1. Iraqi women’s rising influence on structural checks and balances. 2. The normative implications associated with feminist expanding roles. 3. The communicative and behavioural adjustments discernible in male-female interaction.

We may correctly assume that the processes affecting women’s social life entail definite equilibrium of old and new forces. Moreover, the consequent compromise between spouses has been facilitated by mutual cognizance of the new realities. In many cases, women are expected to contribute to their family welfare through their gainful jobs. This trend is gaining momentum in view of the rapidly increasing costs of living. Urbanization in this specific context has cancelled many of the conditions exempting women from the task of family support. The emerging situation is largely dominated by spouses’ growing sense of realism. Viewed in this perspective, decision-making seems quite promising to unravel some of the vague complexities confroned in Iraqi urbanization.
Agricultural Reform and its Impact on Chinese Rural Families, 1978 - 1989
Authors: Zong Li
Published: October 2019

This paper analyzes changes in the Chinese rural family since the agricultural reform of 1978, with respect to production relations, income distribution, marriage, and occupational pattern. It is argued that although the agricultural reform has improved the rural economy and the living standard of rural families, it has also produced economic disparities among rural families. The emphasis on economic incentives and the reliance on market forces have resulted in a restructuring of the rural labour force and rural family relationships. There are indications of patriarchal values being strengthened, feudal practices of mercenary marriages being reinstated, and fertility policy being disregarded.
Immigrant Families in Australia
Authors: Collins Jock
Published: October 2019

Australia has relatively more immigrant families, of greater ethnic diversity, than most western societies. In order to understand the diversity of experiences of immigrant families in Australia it is necessary to reject simplistic “culturalist” explanations in favour of a political economy approach. The immigrant family in Australia is viewed as a social construct emerging in different ways at different times in response to changing structural, political, economic, cultural and ideological conditions at a national and international level. The dynamic intersection of ethnicity, class, gender, state practices and the racialisation of immigrant labour in Australia are the keys to understanding immigrant families in Australia.
Scientific Parenthood: The Mental Hygiene Movement and the Reform of Canadian Families,. 1925 - 1950
Authors: Dickinson Harley D.
Published: October 2019

Using both published and unpublished archival material this paper examines attempts of the scientific child study and parent education branches of the mental hygiene movement to influence child training practices in Canada throughout the inter-War period. Using Habermas’s concepts of the rationalization and colonization of the lifeworld it is concluded that the reform of families advocated had both oppressive and progressive consequences for individuals. This conclusion leads to the rejection of both one-sided celebrationist and social control interpretations as adequate conceptual frameworks for analyzing the mental hygiene attempt. to scientize child rearing knowledge and practices.
Violence Toward Black Women in a Nationally Representative Sample of Black Families
Authors: Hamptom Robert L. , Gelles Richard J.
Published: October 2019

This paper examines the incidence of violence toward women and risk factors for violence toward women in black families. Data from the Second National Family Violence Survey are analyzed. The Second National Family Violence Survey interviewed a nationally representative sample of 6,002 families in 1986, of which 580 respondents were black. Black women were 1.23 times more likely to experience minor violence and were more than twice as likely to experience severe violence compared to white women. Young age, low socioeconomic status, short length of time residing in the community, and unemployment or part time employment of the husband were risk factors for violence toward black women. A multivariate analysis found that age of respondent, respondent’s mother hit father, and respondent could approve of a wife slapping her husband were the three variables that best discriminated between women who experienced severe violence and those who did not. The finding support a structural-cultural theory of intimate violence. Intimate violence arises out of structural pressures and the dysfunctional adaptations to these pressures.
Parental Abduction of Children from Interracial and Cross-Cultural Marriages
Authors: Hegar Rebecca, L. , Greif Geoffrey L.
Published: October 2019

A national U.S. survey of 371 parents whose children were abducted by the other parent reveals an over-representation of interracial and cross-cultural (international) marriages among the families involved in parental kidnapping. This article reviews the literature concerning marital conflict, particularly over childrearing, in intermarried families. It next presents the methodology and relevant findings of the national study of parental kidnapping. The final section explores implications of the literature and research findings for professionals providing psychosocial services to interracial and cross-cultural couples.
Polygyny and Marital Life Satisfaction: an Exploratory Study from Rural Cameroon
Authors: Gwanfogbe Philomina N. , Schumm Walter R. , Smith Meredith , Furrow James L.
Published: October 2019

Although some research has focused on the relationships of polygyny to fertility and to divorce, very little recent research has assessed relationships between polygyny and marital or life satisfaction. Using data collected in the spring of 1992 from a survey of 300 maternal-child dyads in rural zones of the Wes tern Province of Cameroon, measures of life and marital satisfaction were correlated with maternal marital status. There was a slight tendency for junior wives to be more satisfied with life, though not with marriage. However, an interaction effect between marital status and wife’s age was discovered, in which older senior wives were more satisfied with marriage than younger senior wives. A further analysis found a quadratic relationship between number of live children and life satisfaction for these rural mothers.
Political and Economic Conflict within extended Kin Groups and its Effects on the Household in a North Jordanian Village
Authors: Shunnaq Mohammed
Published: October 2019

This article deals with socio-cultural change in a rural, tribal vi11age. It also clarifies the status or the vi11age ’s highest official and explains how it was transformed from the role of a traditional village strongman into that of a mayor who governs by virtue of state authority. Current political conflicts motivated by the struggle to control the mayor’s office form one aspect of this study; the other concerns conflict over land.

Fights broke out among the villagers over landholdings in the urbanized center of the village which had been held collectively by families but which were divided into individual parcels in 1989. These landholdings fell into three categories; nearby threshing fields where crops were collected during summers; fields on the outskirts of the village; and undeveloped lands used only for grazing livestock.

Some of the study’s conclusions are: that the domestic groups of this village do not resemble each other. Nor do they resemble the romantic and traditional groups of other Arab villages as they are described in the anthropological and sociological accounts written by Arab researchers.

During my fieldwork I observed that each individual had his own peculiarities and his own social relations. Thus the solidarity of the kinship group is weakening or is in the process of disappearing.
Female Heads of Patriarchal Households The Baggara
Authors: Michael Barbara
Published: October 2019

This paper presents a case study of Baggara nomadic pastoralists which questions some assumptions about patrilineal and patriarchal societies. The goal is to better understand the dynamics of gender-segregated societies and the position of managerial and economically powerful women. The paper examines women’s networks, economic activities, and the outcome of behaviors that seem at one level contradictory to traditionally held understandings of patriarchal societies: The case study demonstrates how contradictory behaviors are reconcilled between the public and private domains so that women’s economic autonomy and power are real, viable, and fostered within the broader sociocultural context.
The Impact of Male Migration on Domestic Budgeting: Egyptian Women Striving for an Islamic Budgeting Pattern
Authors: Hoodfar Homa
Published: October 2019

Apart from studies of the economic impact of large-scale male migration from Egypt to the Arab oil-producing countries, little scholary attention has been paid to this social phenomenon and the creation of a significant number of de facto female headed households. This article focuses on the influence of male migration on domestic budgeting and the position of wives within low-income Cairence households. The data, drawn from a sample of 42 households which includes income-earning women and non-wage earning women, indicate that less educated women and those who were primarily homemakers frequently managed to renegotiate a more favourable financial arrangement with their husbands during and after migration, and raise their status and decision-making power within the household. On the other hand, contrary to commonsense assumptions, educated and income-earning women were more likely to lose access to their husbands’ income and to major decision-making opportunities, resulting in lowered status within the household. To protect their interests, many women in these groups appealed to the traditional and Islamic division of domestic responsibilities which hold men financially responsible for the family’s upkeep.
Men, Marriage, And Ideal Family Size In Francophone Africa
Authors: Speizer Ilene
Published: October 2019

Sub-Saharan African marriage analyses typically ignore the fact that many monogamous men may intend to become polygynous in the future. Analyses using data from the Niger, Burkina Faso, and Senegal Demographic and Health Surveys illustrate that I) currently monogamous men can be divided into two distinct marriage groups based on their future marriage intentions, and 2) future marriage intentions may be associated with reported ideal family size desires. Hence researchers need to consider sub-Saharan African men’s unique roles and relationships in the development of survey questions for men, and in the planning of family planning program initiatives targeted to men.
The Post-Migration Survival of Traditional Marriage Patterns: Consanguineous Marriages among Turks and Moroccans in Belgium
Authors: Reniers Georges
Published: October 2019

In Turkey and Morocco, as in most regions of the Muslim world, consanguineous or kin marriage is part of a long-standing tradition of matrimonial practices. As modernisation brings with it higher levels of education, urbanisation and an increasing geographical mobility, these practices are coming under pressure. Similarly, it could be expected that the support of young people for kin marriages would decline through migration to Europe and the integration in their host society. However, a comparison of the prevalence of consanguineous marriages in the immigrant communities in Belgium and the countries of origin provides evidence of the contrary.

Through an in depth analysis of the evolution of kin marriages over different migrant and minority cohorts in Belgium, explanations are sought for this unexpected development. The analyses reveal that consanguineous marriages are often crossborder marriages and thus intimately linked to the facilitation of new migrations. In the new setting created by migration and restrictive migration policies, a new logic or rationale seems to support the practice of kin marriages. Once more a proof is found that matrimonial strategies and practices are highly adaptable to changing contexts and opportunities.

Together with the increasing number of kin marriages among Turks and Moroccans, the analyses disclose an apparently opposing trend, i.e. that of a declining number of marriages with friends of the family (practical kin). It is argued that the trade-off in marriages between practical kin and relatives is a first indication of the weakness of cross-border matrimonial practices; practices that link marriage to migration and immigrants to their regions of origin.

The analyses are based on log-linear techniques. The data come from two representative surveys of Turks and Moroccans in Belgium, and the household records of the Demographic and Health Surveys for Turkey and Morocco.
Marital Happiness and Inter-Racial Marriage: A Study in a Multi-Ethnic Community in Hawaii
Authors: Fu Xuanning , Tora Jessika , Kendall Heather
Published: October 2019

Inter-racial marriages are often reported as less stable and less happy than intra-racial marriages, but the effect of race and culture is difficult to separate. This paper examines self-reported marital happiness among a sample of married couples in a multi-racial, multi-cultural but homoreligious community. Findings suggest that even after controlling religion and many other demographic variables, inter-racially married individuals report lower happiness than those in intraracial unions, especially women. When couples are used as unit of analysis and husband and wife’s responses are controlled for each other, wives’ happiness is significantly affected by interracial marriage. Husbands’ happiness is not related to their type of marriage.
Parenthood and Psychological Well-being in Finland: Does Public Policy make a difference?
Authors: Savolainen Jukka , Lahelma Eero , Silventionen Karri , Gauthier Anne Hélène
Published: October 2019

Research based on American data indicates that the presence of children in the family tends to have a negative effect on the mental well being of adults. According to McLanahan and Adams (1987 and 1989), this relationship is explained by the temporal and monetary constraints associated with contemporary parenting. In order to alleviate the problem, they advocate public policy solutions such as child allowance and state- subsidized childcare. To evaluate the salience of such programs, we examine the relationship between parenthood and psychological well-being in Finland, a country that supplies the kind of support systems that McLanahan and Adams have in mind, yet where other conditions related to parental stress are very similar to the U.S. The results from our research indicate that children tend to have no effect on the psychological well being of Finnish women and a positive effect on Finnish men. This pattern of findings supports the “weak” version of the hypothesis derived from the policy conjecture by McLanahan and Adams.
Female Cooperation and Conflict in Rural Mali: Effects on Infant and Child Survival
Authors: Madhavan Sangeetha
Published: October 2019

Despite notable demographic contributions to the study of social organization and infant and child survival in sub-Saharan Africa, there is a paucity in research on the relationship between household discord and child survival. Using qualitative and survey data from two ethnic groups in the West African country of Mali, this study examines the possible effects of female cooperation and conflict on infant and child survival. Results suggest that cultural norms that stress the importance of cooperation do not necessarily translate into collective childcare strategies nor increase survival chances of infants and children. Conversely, household living arrangements marked by conflict do not negatively impact child welfare. Through an innovative methodology, this study underscores the need for a more sophisticated use of anthropological theory and methods in understanding the role of culture in demographic processes.
Living In Migration In Austria
Authors: Richter Rudolf , Pflegerl Johannes
Published: October 2019

Despite the breakdown of Apartheid urban policies in South Africa, the migrant labor system continues to be a reality affecting African family life extensively. This article is based on qualitative research focusing on the impact of the migrant labor system on the family life of Black South Africans, in terms of both the marital and parental relationships. Rather than focusing only on the negative impact of labor migration on the relationships in African families, such as the experience of marital and familial dissolution and breakdown, the research also sheds light on the way in which these families utilize cultural values and survival strategies to ensure that the oscillating nature of the immigrant labor system does not completely uproot them from their traditional way of life.
Kinship Ties of Mexican Migrant Women on the United States/Mexico Border
Authors: Bastida Elena
Published: October 2019

This paper explored the migration processes and cross-cultural experiences of female Japanese settlers in British society. The motivations of the women to migrate to Britain varied widely but were driven least by economic incentives. Many women moved on their own and of their own will in order to maximise their well-being and enhance their life chances. The Japanese social system, emphasising gender roles and family-orientation, was one of the strongest reasons for encouraging the women to seek alternative lifestyles.

This paper also aimed the link with current issues facing an ageing society - in particular, the women’s views concerning their old age and factors influencing their decision-making processes. Their choice of residence in later life between Japan and Britain was likely to reflect their family relations and social networks as well as their employment history in both countries. Also, as they grew older in a foreign society, care issues were increasingly of their concern. The expectation for family support from their adult children who were brought up in British society were not great, reflecting the value of independence and the available social security systems and services. The paper concluded with various thoughts of how their ‘ethnic needs’ could be met in the host society.

The study explored the effect of three social factors - immigration, ethnicity and religiosity on cohabitation and attitudes toward cohabitation, in Israel. Additionally, it examined the linkage between attitudes toward cohabitation and reported cohabiting behavior. Data was based on a national representative sample of 1,180 longterm Israeli residents and 870 immigrants from the Former Soviet Union. Immigration and religiosity were found to impact on behavior and attitudes regarding cohabitation,’ whereas ethnicity had no such effect. An interaction effect between immigration and ethnicity indicated that ethnicity has a stronger influence on migrant attitudes. Attitudes were found to have a mediating effect on the Impact of immigration and religiosity on cohabitation. Explanations for the findings are based on the divergence between the cultural contexts of both countries - Israel and the Former Soviet Union - and on immigration as a stressful life-event for the individual and his family.
Factors Affecting Birth Spacing among the Agrarian Families in a North Jordanian Village
Authors: Alakkam Abdulla
Published: October 2019

Increasing the world population in the poor countries who have limited food resources and a limited number of economic strategies has become a matter of interest, especially in the last two decades. This study has been done to illuminate the factors that affected birth spacing and then the total population number among the agrarian families in al-Mazar village in north Jordan. This site was chosen because of its unique historical and economic situation.

The agrarian families in al-Mazar village had faced severe economic and political difficulties especially before 1973 by depending only on agriculture as the main economic strategy. They were forced to cultivate as much land as they could to obtain optimal yields. This study concluded that frequent births were practiced by families that owned large areas of agricultural lands to increase family size and the size of the yearly harvest by having more potential workers in the fields. This study shows that the abandonment of land by the farmers from 1940-1948 produced long interbirth intervals and the same thing had happened after 1973 (the last Arab-Israeli war) when the economic situation had started to improve. Short birth spacing was achieved by practicing early infant weaning, food supplementation to infants during breastfeeding and by the abandonment of breastfeeding for long hours of the day when mothers had worked in the field and left their infants at home.
Daughters and Wives as Informal Care Givers of the Chronically Ill Elderly in Trinidad
Authors: Rawlins Joan M. , Spencer Michele
Published: October 2019

The main objective of this research was to determine the health and social situations of persons in Trinidad who were providing informal care for the chronically ill elderly during the period, March to August 1998. The research also sought to ascertain the main concerns of the care givers in their care giving role. One hundred care givers in North, Central and South Trinidad were chosen using the convenience sampling method. Care givers selected had to be at least eighteen (18) years old and residing in their own homes or in the home of the.cared. The care givers ranged in age from 20-89 years. Eighty two percent (82%) of the care givers were females with wives, daughters and daughters-in-law being the main care givers. The differences in care giving relationships by ethnic groups were statistically significant (p=0.021) Fifty percent (50%) of the care givers reported their health to be good. The main health conditions the others reported were hypertension (14%), diabetes (9%) and arthritis (18%). The main concern which the care givers reported was stress (50%). The study revealed that care-giving was perceived by most of these care givers to be extremely stressful. Daughters, daughters-in-law and wives bore the greatest burden of care and desired greater assistance from family members and friends.
Working Women/Cloistered Men: A Family Development Approach to Marriage Arrangements among Ultra-orthodox Jews
Authors: Shai Donna
Published: October 2019

Concern about stress in women’s lives arises from increasing levels of women’s labor force participation while meeting the demands of family life. Using a family development perspective, this study focuses on ultra-Orthodox Jewish women in the United States who are the main economic support of their families during the first years of marriage. The economic and normative pressures on these woman are examined as well as the adaptive strategies they use in coping with multiple roles. The data are based on participant observation and interviews with 30 present and past kollel wives from three ultra-Orthodox groups. The larger implications for adaptive strategies and variable sequencing of life events are discussed.
Parental Leave and Father Involvement in Child Care: Sweden and the United States
Authors: Seward Rudy Ray , E.Yeatts Dale , Zoitarelli Lisa K.
Published: October 2019

To promote men’s greater involvement with their children, many industrialized nations have mandated employment leave benefits for fathers. Sweden was the first nation to provide paid parental leave to all employed fathers, while in the United States unpaid parental leave has only recently become available from larger employers. Fathers’ parental leave patterns are described and parental leave as a means of getting fathers more involved in child care is assessed for these two very different nations. Government and research sources detail the development and use of parental leave. In 1998, one hundred parents in the U.S. completed questionnaires on their work schedule changes after the arrival of a baby, reactions to these changes, and child care activities. These parents’ data are compared to findings from previous studies in both nations, especially Linda Haas’ 1986 study of parental leave in Sweden. Swedish fathers took more formal parental leave and for longer periods than U.S. fathers. In both nations, fathers who took leave spent more time with their children than fathers who did not take leave, but the differences were not significant. Swedish fathers who took leave consistently shared child care tasks and responsibility for child care with mothers more than Swedish fathers who did not take leave and most of the differences were significant. Among U.S. fathers, those who did not take leave were more likely to share child care tasks and responsibility with mothers, although most of the differences were not significant.
Female and Male Medical Students’ Exposure to Violence: Impact on Well Being and Perceived Capacity to Help Battered Women
Authors: Ambuel Bruce , Buller Dennis , Hamberger L. Kevin , Lawrence Steve , Guse Claree.
Published: October 2019

This paper contributes to the literature on domestic violence in several ways. First, the analysis explicitly models the endogeneity of the decision to leave. Second, the sample of abuse victims is nationally representative and includes both women who temporarily leave and women who never leave their abusers. Finally, the analyses test the prediction that the mere presence of shelters will decrease violence within intact relationships. While the results do not support this hypothesis, this may be due to the imperfect (state-level) measure of support services used.
The Associations Among Male - Perpetrated Partner Violence, Wives’ Psychological Distress and Children’s Behavior Problems: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis
Authors: Street Amye. , King Lynda A. , King Daniel W. , Riggs Davids.
Published: October 2019

The purpose of this investigation was to test a multivariate family model in order to gain insight into the consequences of male-perpetrated marital violence, specifically the effects of this violence on the wife’s mental health and their children’s behavior problems. Data from 260 male veteranfemale partner dyads who had one or more children were drawn from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study and analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. The five latent variables in the structural model were the husband’s report of family functioning, the wife’s report of family functioning, husband-to-wife marital violence, wife’s psychological distress, and child behavior problems. In the structural model of best fit, male-perpetrated marital violence was associated with the wife’s level of psychological distress. However, most of this association flowed indirectly through the intermediary variable of wife’s assessment of family functioning. Additionally, the wife’s psychological distress was the sole path that linked marital violence to the child’s behavior. A series of followup analyses revealed that these findings were invariant across child behavior problem type (i.e., internalizing vs. externalizing problems) and child gender. These findings suggest that interparental violence does impact children, but that it does so through its effect on the psychological state of the mother. Accordingly, these findings reinforce the importance of programs that provide services to women and their children who are living in violent households.
Wife Beating and the Link with Poor Sexual Health and Risk Behavior Among Men in Urban Slums in India
Authors: Verma Ravi K. , Collumbien Martine
Published: October 2019

Recent research evidence on domestic and sexual violence have linked violence with increased risk of acquiring HTV and adverse health in women. This paper explores the link between wife abuse and different aspects of male sexual health using data from 2 surveys among 1279 married men and 553 married women in a Mumbai slum community. Three categories of sexual health problems were considered: symptoms indicative of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), performance related problems and the prevalent South Asian semen anxiety. Ten percent of both men and women reported wife beating in the last year. The severity of abuse reported by women is clearly correlated with the prevalence of all three categories of the husband’s sexual problems as perceived by the wife. Among perpetrators of abuse we show the expected correlation of reported STI symptoms, extramarital sex and domestic violence. However, the semen-related problems are also associated with increased risk behaviour. Performance related problems are shown to be strongly associated with domestic violence among perpetrators. Other important correlates of abuse are related to personal history. Both perpetrators of violence and beaten women were more likely to come from families with a history of abuse. Having in-laws who were dissatisfied with the dowry increased the likelihood of experiencing physical abuse by nearly 4 times. Husbands and wife’s sexual and reproductive health are clearly related in complex ways, and pathways not limited to sexual risk behaviour and transmission of STIs only. Wife beating is an important factor affecting women’s health, and importantly linked with the sexual fears and inadequacies in men.
The Cessation of Assaults on Wives
Authors: Johnson Holly
Published: October 2019

While it is often assumed that violence against wives continues, increasing in frequency and intensity over time, representative sample studies show that cessation of violence occurs in a substantial proportion of cases. Using a nationally representative sample of Canadian women, this study tests for the importance of variables related to the frequency and severity of assaults, isolation of female partners, male partners’ beliefs in male dominance, as well as selected socio-economic variables for predicting the cessation of assaults on wives. Zero-order odds ratios and logistic regression analyses are used to test for the significance of the effects. The results suggest that a continuation of assaults on wives is predicted by the frequency of previous assaults, the youth of male perpetrators, living in a common-law relationship, the duration of the union, and higher education for female victims. Attempts to isolate victims from contact with family and friends and to prevent access to the family income elevated the risk of continued violence, as did behavioural demonstrations of beliefs in the right to degrade female partners through name-calling and put-downs.
The Impact on Subsequent Violence of Returning to an Abusive Partner
Authors: Anderson Deborah J.
Published: October 2019

This paper examines the consequences, measured by subsequent violence, of returning to a previously abusive relationship. Two stage least squares estimation is used to control for the effect of prior violence on the probability of leaving, thus isolating the independent effect of leaving on later violence. The theoretically expected result is ambiguous: On the one hand, if aggressors view the attempt to leave as disobedience, then violence should increase upon return. If, instead, aggressors believe the temporary leave indicates that the victim will leave permanently (because she is unwilling to tolerate further abuse), then violence should decrease. Using data from the 1985 Physical Violence in American Families survey, the results show that victims who temporarily leave their abusers suffer increased violence relative to those who never leave.
Lifestyle Differences in Traditionalism and Modernity and Reasons for Divorce Among Muslim Palestinian Citizens of Israel
Authors: Cohen Orna , Savaya Rivka
Published: October 2019

This study compared the various reasons for divorce endorsed by a large, heterogeneous sample of divorced male and female Muslim Palestinian citizens oflsrael who reported modem-traditional lifestyle differences as one of their reasons with the reasons of those who did not. The findings show that the divorced women who named these lifestyle differences as one of the reasons for their divorce reported significantly more other reasons for divorce as well. Significantly higher proportions of these women reported eleven out of the other I 7 reasons tapped in the study than their no lifestyle differences counterparts . Specifically, higher percentages of them reported incompatibility (both didn’t get along and communication problems); infidelity and lack of commitment (to the marriage and the family); mental illness and refusal to work; interference by the extended family (both daily and in the form of forcing the divorce); and verbal and sexual abuse. These findings seem to provide empirical evidence of the disruptive impact of moderntraditional lifestyle differences on the marital relationship of Muslim Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Ethnicity and Inequality: British Children’s Experience of Means-Tested Benefits
Authors: Platt Lucinda
Published: October 2019

This article explores ethnic group differences in the severity of child poverty in Britain. Using administrative data it looks at benefit receipt of families with children over a period of a year and a half. Building on existing work on ‘welfare dynamics’, but taking the child as the unit of analysis it explores both mobility in benefit receipt and severity of poverty among children supported by benefits. Severity is viewed as a function both of benefit dependency and the extent to which benefits fall short of needs; and in ascertaining income-to-needs shortfalls external measures against which to assess benefit adequacy are introduced . The article investigates differences in benefit mobility and in severity of poverty by ethnic group, and demonstrates that differences in family patterns can result in extreme cumulative disadvantage for British children of Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnicity.
Ethnic Intermarriage in Beijing and Xinjiang, China, 1990
Authors: Mamet Rizvan , Jacobson Cardell K. , Heaton Tim B.
Published: October 2019

Using the one percent samples of the 1990 China Census from Beijing and Xinjiang and binomial logistic regression method, we examine the ethnic intermarriage patterns among the national minority groups in Beijing and Xinjiang. The number of married couples analyzed is 22,909 in Beijing and 27,8 11 in Xinjiang. The findings generally support Blau’s (1971) proposition about group size. After taking into account the effects of age, education, urban-rural residency and geographic distribution, in Beijing the Manchu, the Hui and “other” nationalities are significantly more likely to marry out than the Han (all p<0.001); in Xinjiang the Kazakhs, the Hui, the Uighur females, and “other” nationalities are more likely to marry out than the Han while the Uighur males are less likely to marry out than the Han males (p<0.05). A great deal of variation exists among the minority groups, however. The Manchu are the most exogamous, and the Uighurs are the least. Social, political, cultural, linguistic, and religious factors are important factors affecting the likelihood of out-marriage for minority nationalities.
Public School Teachers Perspectives on the Contemporary Hutterite Family
Authors: Ingoldsby Bron B. , Smith Suzanne R.
Published: October 2019

The Hutterites are an Anabaptist group, and are the oldest family communal group in the Western world. The parenting, sibling, and gender practices of Hutterite families were assessed using an open-ended qualitative survey administered on-line. Thirty-two public school teachers on Alberta Hutterite colonies responded. Analyses indicate that parents are loving and supportive of preschoolers, but shift more parenting responsibility to the colony once they reach school age. Sibling relationships closely resemble those of the larger society, but are more traditional, as are gender relations. Finally, many teachers are impressed with the level of family unity and the focus on a healthy life-style, but see the lack of privacy on most colonies and the lack of opportunity for personal growth as drawbacks. What this means in terms of maintaining their traditions while interacting with the larger society is discussed.