bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Coordinating perspectives in context
Authors: Fultner Barbara
Published: April 2003

Swindal seeks to incorporate temporality into the formal-pragmatic analysis of discourse by developing what he calls ‘event-determining’ reflection. After outlining his motivations for introducing this new form of reflection, I offer a critique, first, of his appeal to meta-discourse about when to engage in discourse and, second, of the function of truth in his account. Finally, I suggest that Swindal’s theory of reflective acceptability fruitfully complements Robert Brandom’s normative pragmatics.
Discourse, reflection and commitment
Authors: Swindal James
Published: April 2003

In response to William Rehg’s and Barbara Fultner’s criticisms, I clarify and extend some arguments found in my book Reflection Revisited. I first redescribe how Hegel’s critique of Kant’s theory of reflection opens up the possibility for an intersubjective reflection. Habermas, I argue, can exploit such a theory of reflection since it is immune from the problems attendant on a ‘theory of consciousness’. Second, I address how by means of meta-discourses temporal claims can be formalized for the pragmatics Habermas is developing. Finally, I take up Fultner’s suggestion that Robert Brandom provides a fruitful point of comparison with Habermas’s theory, and argue that norms are in fact formed and critiqued on the basis of - as Brandom describes - the modal capabilities or incompatibilities of their entailments.
Procedural justice?
Authors: Lafont Cristina
Published: April 2003

In this paper I focus on the discussion between Rawls and Habermas on procedural justice. I use Rawls’s distinction between pure, perfect, and imperfect procedural justice to distinguish three possible readings of discourse ethics. Then I argue, against Habermas’s own recent claims, that only an interpretation of discourse ethics as imperfect procedural justice can make compatible its professed cognitivism with its proceduralism. Thus discourse ethics cannot be understood as a purely procedural account of the notion of justice. Finally I draw the different consequences that follow from this reading.
The failure of the radical democratic imaginary
Authors: Brockelman Thomas
Published: April 2003

Starting from the author’s critique of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, this essay offers a comprehensive interpretation of Slavoj Žižek’s political theory. ŽiŽek’s position drives a wedge between two concepts foundational to Laclau and Mouffe’s ‘radical democratic theory’, namely ‘antagonism’ and ‘anti-essentialism’. Anti-essentialism, it is argued, carries with it a residual utopianism - i.e. a view of political theory as offering a vision of a desirable radicalized society or a ‘radical democratic imaginary’ - that the more radical concept of antagonism forbids. Effectively, anti-essentialism is shown to produce a new kind of ideology, an ideology that Žižek, deeply critical, associates with the shortcomings of multi-culturalism and political correctness. The essay ends with a critical consideration of Žižek’s claim that he himself produced a systematic political theory based upon the insight of antagonism. Having constructed (by way of return to Marx and Engels) a version of Žižek’s project that makes sense of his derision for anti-utopianism by positing a utopian theory without any ‘imaginary’ support, the article closes with critical comments about the effectiveness of such a position. Žižek is seen to offer us a powerful political theory, one that unmasks the hypocrisy in much contemporary work, but also a theory whose limits must give us pause.
Blue-collar Kin and Community in the Small-town Midwest
Authors: PERRY-JENKINS MAUREEN , SALAMON SONYA
Published: April 2003

This study examines community, kin networks, and family life linkages in a working-class small town. Specifically, household perceptions of community and kin networks obtained from an ethnographic study of a small Midwestern town are linked in a second interview study to residents' assessments of their personal well-being and the quality of their family relationships. The simple presence of kin nearby, however, is shown to be unrelated to either personal well-being or the quality of family relationships. Only when kin in close proximity are viewed as supportive does their presence have positive implications for family life. In fact, families are better off with no kin living nearby than with nonsupportive relatives in the same community. The findings highlight the importance of using an ecological perspective to disentangle the many layers of contexts that interact and affect the daily lives and relationships of families.
Conservative Protestantism and the Division of Household Labor among Married Couples
Authors: ELLISON CHRISTOPHER G. , BARTKOWSKI JOHN P.
Published: April 2003

To date, few studies have examined the role of religion, especially conservative (i.e., fundamentalist and evangelical) Protestantism, in shaping the division of housework. The authors begin by reviewing popular writings on gender and family life by contemporary conservative Protestants, focusing on the competing discourses of traditionalist and egalitarian evangelicals. Then, the authors analyze data on a large U.S. sample of married couples from Wave 1 of the National Survey of Families and Households to compare conservative Protestant housework patterns with those among nonevangelical couples. Conservative Protestant wives perform more housework overall and spend more time doing “female-typed” labor than their nonevangelical peers. These differences are then traced to religious variations in spousal and household resources and also to a distinctive evangelical gender ideology. Interestingly, few religious differences in men's housework patterns are observed. Implications of these findings are discussed and several promising directions for future research identified.
Effects of Family Structure, Family SES, and Adulthood Experiences on Life Satisfaction
Authors: LOUIS VINCENT V. , ZHAO SHANYANG
Published: April 2003

Using data from the General Social Survey, 1989-1994, this study examines the effects of family structure, family socioeconomic status (SES), and adulthood experiences on life satisfaction. Regression analysis shows that both family structure and family SES are associated with life satisfaction in adulthood, controlling for age, gender, race, and education. However, neither family structure nor family SES remains significant after the inclusion of a set of adulthood life experience variables in the models. This finding calls for a better measure of family dynamics in childhood and further research on the joint effects of childhood family characteristics and adulthood life experiences on a person's psychological well-being.
Factors Related to Early Subsequent Pregnancies and Second Births among Adolescent Mothers in a Family Support Program
Authors: SIMS KATHRYN , LUSTER TOM
Published: April 2003

This study addressed the following questions: Did adolescent mother who were randomly assigned to receive more intensive family support services have lower rates of early subsequent pregnancies and second births than adolescent mothers who received less intensive services? What factors assessed early in the program were predictive of which adolescents ( N = 99) had subsequent pregnancies or second births by the time the firstborn child was 24 months old? Potential predictors of these outcomes were assessed at enrollment and when the firstborn children were 6 months old. No differences were found between the two treatment groups on rates of second pregnancies or second births. A number of factors were associated with having an early subsequent pregnancy or second birth. The best predictor of both outcomes was the family advocates' rating of the teens' personal resources at the 6-month assessment.
Gender, Control, and Marital Commitment
Authors: STETS JAN E. , HAMMONS STACY A.
Published: April 2003

This research examines the relationship between gender, controlling one's spouse, and the effect this control has on staying married as expressed in marital commitment. The authors examine structural and cultural views as a way of theoretically understanding the relationship between gender, control, and commitment. The results suggest that both theoretical processes may be operating. The expectations tied to men's and women's structural positions and the control that these positions imply for interaction (the structural view), as well as what control means for men and women and the responses that follow from this meaning (the cultural view), appear to be simultaneously operating in marital interaction. These results suggest that cultural meanings and social structural meanings coalesce to produce predictable outcomes for commitment in marriage.
Abused Husbands
Authors: MIGLIACCIO TODD A.
Published: April 2003

Husband abuse has been and continues to be a topic of controversy within the field of family violence. Although arguments persist over methodology, prevalence, and ideology, this study analyzes the narratives of 12 men who claimed to have been abused by their partners and compares their stories to the narratives and findings of past studies of wife abuse. In so doing, this study identifies that the accounts of the relationships of battered men and women follow similar patterns, including the structure of the relationships, the acceptance of the abuse, and the social context of the situation. This reinforces the findings of wife abuse research showing that abusive relationships display certain commonalties and reveals the necessity of future studies of battered males.
Setting the Clock Forward or Back?
Authors: SANCHEZ LAURA , NOCK STEVEN L. , WRIGHT JAMES D. , GAGER CONSTANCE T.
Published: April 2003

In 1997, Louisiana codified a new family form by becoming the first state to pass covenant marriage legislation. Soon after, Arizona and Arkansas followed suit. This act created two marriage types with substantially different marital and divorce provisions. In spring 1998, the authors conducted qualitative interviews with focus groups consisting of covenant married couples, feminist activists, and poor women living in public housing, examining their views on marriage and divorce trends, divorce consequences, and covenant marriage. All groups were concerned about the effects of divorce on children's well-being. Beyond that, the authors found little commonality in the discourse. Instead, they found major disagreements about whether family life is in decline and whether marriage law reinforcement will improve it. Covenant married couples and feminists polarized along familiar traditionalist-feminist axes; low-income women combined feminist, liberal, and conservative views in their understanding of contemporary family trends and the perceived necessity of covenant marriage.
Stepfather-stepchild Relationship Quality
Authors: MacDONALD WILLIAM L. , DeMARIS ALFRED
Published: April 2003

Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, the authors investigate how a stepfather's demand for conformity from a stepchild influences stepfather-stepchild relationship quality. Drawing from normative resource theory as well as from Coleman's theory of social capital, the authors consider whether the effect depends on the social capital that the stepchild derives from his or her relationship with the biological father. The authors find that when the stepchild's social capital from this relationship is great, the stepparent's demand for conformity negatively affects stepfather-stepchild relationship quality. Otherwise, its effect is positive.
Linkages Between the Work-family Interface and Work, Family, and Individual Outcomes
Authors: VOYDANOFF PATRICIA
Published: April 2003

This article describes the work-family interface and proposes a conceptual model that links the work-family interface to work, family, and individual outcomes through several mediating mechanisms. First, the work-family interface is related to a cognitive assessment of work-family conflict, role balance, or role enhancement. This relationship may be moderated by social categories and coping resources. The assessment of conflict, balance, or enhancement can result in either work-family role strain or work-family role ease. Then, depending on the extent of strain or ease, individuals and families pursue various work-family adaptive strategies designed to improve or facilitate adjustment to various aspects of the work-family interface. The success of these strategies is indicated by the extent of perceived work-family fit. Work-family fit is related directly to work, family, and individual outcomes. Last, work-family adaptive strategies are proposed to have feedback effects on the work-family interface. The article closes with suggestions for further work.
Solidarity in Dutch Families
Authors: KOMTER AAFKE E. , VOLLEBERGH WILMA A.M.
Published: April 2003

The nature and extent of interpersonal exchange of care and help may indicate solidarity and cohesion in modern society. This article focuses on intergenerational solidarity. On the basis of empirical data from an earlier research project on giving in the Netherlands, the authors examine the nature and determinants of intergenerational solidarity and compare the relative importance of familial and intergenerational solidarity with solidarity toward friends. The results of their analyses show that solidarity toward parents and solidarity toward friends are based on different types of feelings. Familial solidarity appears still to have an overriding importance when compared to solidarity toward friends; however, this is so only in terms of the frequency of offered assistance and care and not in terms of the accompanying feelings: love and affection are reserved for helping friends, whereas Durkheimian norms of moral obligation are the main feeling people have when helping their parents.
Parenting Characteristics and Parent-Adolescent Conflict
Authors: SHEK DANIEL T.L.
Published: April 2003

This longitudinal study examines the relationships between perceived parenting characteristics and parent-adolescent conflict in a sample of Chinese adolescents ( N = 378). Results showed that global parenting styles (concern and harshness) and specific parenting behavior (responsiveness and demandingness) were concurrently related to parent-adolescent conflict at Time 1 and Time 2. Longitudinal analyses showed that the relations between parenting characteristics and parent-adolescent conflict across time are bidirectional in nature. For the linkage between parenting quality at Time 1 and changes in parent-adolescent conflict at Time 2, early parenting quality predicted parent-adolescent conflict in adolescent girls but not in adolescent boys. Although parent-adolescent conflict at Time 1 generally predicted changes in parenting quality at Time 2, some parental differences in the strength of association between the two domains were found.
Resources, Gender Ideologies, and Marital Power
Authors: XU XIAOHE , LAI SHU-CHUAN
Published: April 2003

Using the 1994-1995 Taiwan Social Change Survey, we examine the relationship between socioeconomic resources, gender ideologies, and marital power in contemporary Taiwanese marriages. Results from multinomial logit models indicate that socioeconomic resources and gender ideologies of both married men and women are significant determinants of the balance of marital power. As the access to socioeconomic resources becomes increasingly easier and as traditional gender ideology continues to languish, Taiwanese wives' bargaining power with patriarchy in the family is on the rise. These findings not only corroborate the classic resource theory of marital power but also substantiate the modified resource theory of marital power in a non-Western society.
Marital and Cohabiting Relationships of Adult Children of Alcoholics
Authors: WATT TONI TERLING
Published: April 2003

The popular press has disseminated widely the idea that adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) have relational deficiencies. This literature has been challenged due to its reliance on clinical samples; however, evidence of no difference between ACOAs and non-ACOAs has come from studies of college students. The National Survey of Families and Households is used to examine the effect of growing up in an alcoholic family on adult marital and cohabiting relationships. In support of the deficit model, results reveal that ACOAs are less likely to marry and have lower levels of marital quality and stability than non-ACOAs. Additional ACOA deficiencies that serve to mediate these relationships are also identified. However, while ACOAs commonly are profiled as women exhibiting excessive dependency, results reveal effects for men and women and evidence for relational patterns characterized by distance rather than overinvolvement. Research using more representative samples is needed to dispel misleading stereotypes.
Immigrant Family Strengths
Authors: USITA PAULA M. , BLIESZNER ROSEMARY
Published: April 2003

The literature on immigrants punctuates their difficulties with language acculturation and communication. Minimal attention has been given to the diversity of immigrant family communication issues in relation to the receiving communities in which they have lived, and research has not assessed immigrant families' strategies for minimizing communication breakdown. Based on in-depth interviews with 20 immigrant mothers and their adult daughters, we examine language acculturation and communication experience within the context of characteristics of the receiving community. The findings demonstrate the previously hidden complexity of language acculturation and communication experiences within mother-daughter dyads and highlight the variety of problem-solving strategies they employ to maintain strong ties despite language difficulties.
Child Functioning and Caregiver Well-being in Families of Children with Emotional Disorders
Authors: EARLY THERESA J. , GREGOIRE THOMAS K. , McDONALD THOMAS P.
Published: April 2003

Researchers and practitioners concerned about children with emotional disorders and their families often try to understand the relationship between a child's condition and family functioning. Does some aspect of the caregiver affect the child's emotional and behavioral difficulties? Does the strain of caring for a child with such difficulties have an impact on parents? Does each affect the other in some reciprocal fashion? Previous research has often been limited by cross-sectional designs and study of unidirectional effects. This article attempts to advance the understanding of the interplay between children's functioning and caregivers' well-being in a longitudinal study of 164 families. Data are from two waves of a panel survey and are analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that caregivers and children do have effects on each other and that the effect of child functioning on caregiver well-being increases over time. Implications for further research and interventions are suggested.
Remarriage and the Nature of Divorce
Authors: SWEENEY MEGAN M.
Published: April 2003

This research examines the ways in which decisions to begin and to end relationships may be interrelated. Using data from two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households, the author investigates whether knowledge of initiator status in separation improves our understanding of subsequent patterns of remarriage and union entry. Previous research and theories of divorce suggests that divorce initiators may perceive favorable prospects for remarriage or may be better prepared emotionally to remarry than noninitiators. Results suggest that initiators do tend to enter subsequent unions more quickly than do noninitiators, although this differential diminishes considerably 3 years after separation. There is also evidence that initiator status is a stronger predictor of remarriage and union entry among relatively older women than among younger women, suggesting that older women may be more likely to delay ending an unsatisfying marriage until prospects for forming another relationship are good.
The Reliability and Validity of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) in a Female Incarcerated Population
Authors: JONES NICOLE TUOMI , JI PETER , BECK MARY , BECK NIELS
Published: April 2003

This study examined the psychometric properties of the revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) with one specialized population. A sample of 264 incarcerated women in a large, Midwest, maximum security correctional center reported on the conflict tactics they employed against their partner (self as aggressor) and their partner employed on them (self as victim). High chronicity and severity rates of partner violence were reported, and the psychometric properties of the CTS2 were altered. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor solution for both the Self as Victim and Self as Aggressor subscales. These factors were labeled Negotiation, Sexual Coercion, Injury, and General Assault, which combined the Physical Assault and Psychological Aggression subscales originally proposed by the instrument's developers. Implications for the general use of the CTS2 and for use with incarcerated women are discussed.
Personal and Social Resources as Predictors of Parenting in Homeless Families
Authors: TORQUATI JULIA C.
Published: April 2003

This research examined predictors of positive and negative parenting behaviors in homeless families. Personal and social resources were tested as predictors of parenting in an ethnically heterogeneous sample of 38 homeless children between the ages of 6 and 12 and their parents. Parents' social support networks included few familiar intimates. Social support did not predict positive or negative parenting. Stressors predicted negative but not positive parenting. Parental physical health and self-esteem mediated the relationship between stressors and negative parenting. Stressors significantly predicted parents' mental health, but mental health was not a significant mediator of negative parenting.
The Changing Course of Fatherhood
Authors: EGGEBEEN DAVID J.
Published: April 2003

This article documents the changes in men's experience of living with children. Data are drawn from seven Current Population Surveys to address four questions: What changes are evident across birth cohorts of men in the likelihood of living with children? What cohort differences are observed in the experience of living with many children or with preschool age children? How does the timing of living with children change across cohorts? To what extent do the observed patterns vary by race and level of education? Men's experience of living with children declines precipitously across cohorts. More recent cohorts are less likely to be characterized by the experience of large numbers of children. Living with children is increasingly concentrated in middle age. Finally, there are stark differences among men by race and level of education in the experience of living with children.
Verbal, Physical, and Injurious Aggression Among Intimate Couples Over Time
Authors: SALARI SONIA MINER , BALDWIN BRET M.
Published: April 2003

This study uses a large, longitudinal national data set to examine sociological, feminist, and psychological perspectives to assess the level of intimate couple aggression and change in dyad aggression over time. The first multivariate analysis evaluates factors associated with the type of couple aggression (none, verbal, physical, or injurious), and the other analyzes predictors of change in severity of aggression that couples experience over time. Demographic variables, social integration, dependency, and psychological health measures are used to examine level of aggression and change over time. Sociological, feminist, and psychological perspectives are all supported to some degree by the results of this study, and we suggest a synthesis of these perspectives to explain the dynamics of couple aggression.
Religious Heterogamy and Marital Conflict
Authors: CURTIS KRISTEN TAYLOR , ELLISON CHRISTOPHER G.
Published: April 2003

This study addresses two questions: Do religiously dissimilar couples argue more often than other couples? Are religious differences among partners associated with arguments concerning particular issues? We investigate these issues using data on 2,945 co-residing, first-time married couples from Wave 1 of the National Survey of Families and Households. Denominational homo/heterogamy, measured in several different ways, has little bearing on the frequency or types of marital disagreements. Men's religious attendance is inversely related to the overall frequency of disputes and to disagreements over housework, money, how time is spent, and sex, whereas women's attendance is not. Attendance (dis)similarities among partners are positively associated with the overall frequency of conflicts. Theological disparities between partners are linked with more frequent conflicts overall and also with disagreements over household labor and finances. Several implications and promising directions for future research are discussed.
Aspects of Father Status and Postdivorce Father Involvement with Children
Authors: LEITE RANDALL W. , McKENRY PATRICK C.
Published: April 2003

As the number of fathers living separately from their children continues to rise, scholars, policy makers, and practitioners have devoted increasing attention to levels of nonresidential father involvement with children. Attention has been paid to the degree to which fathers visit with their children, provide financial support, and participate in decision making regarding their children. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, the present study explored the relationship between nonresidential father involvement and various aspects of father role enactment. Levels of participation in face-to-face visits, telephone or letter contact, and global decision making concerning children were analyzed using a hypothesized model of role enactment in relation to samples of divorced, nonresidential fathers. Strong support is offered for the relationship between father involvement with children and various factors associated with social role enactment.
Fathers' Child Care and Children's Behavior Problems
Authors: ALDOUS JOAN , MULLIGAN GAIL M.
Published: April 2003

Fathers' primary family role is usually seen in terms of breadwinning, but with a majority of mothers of school-age and younger children holding jobs, there is increasing pressure on coresidential fathers to take on child care responsibilities. A seldom-asked question is whether fathers' greater child care actually makes a difference in children's outcomes. This longitudinal study addressed that issue by seeing how variation in fathers' reported child care of preschool children and of these same children when they were 5 years older was related to the number of older children's behavior problems. It appeared that among the 600 White, non-Hispanic, two-parent families that remained in the NSFH over two waves, fathers' active care of difficult-to-raise preschoolers was related to the children's having fewer problems as grade-schoolers, independently of mothers' care. The discussion covers these and other findings that go against conventional thinking.
Absent Parents Are More Than Money
Authors: MENNING CHADWICK L.
Published: April 2003

Numerous studies have failed to detect any long-term consequences of involvement by absent parents on their children's well-being beyond the effects of financial transfers. However, many of these studies often narrowly define involvement as parent-child contact and do not address possible joint effects between parental involvement and other variables. In this study, the author used a sample of 269 cases from two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households to explore the possible effects of (a) levels of child-absent parent activity and (b) interactions between child-absent parent activity and financial transfers from absent parents on children's educational attainment. The author found that although activities by themselves have no significant effect, combining activities with financial support increases the probability both that youths will graduate from high school and that they will go on to college. The author discusses the theoretical and policy-oriented implications of these findings.
A Model of Children's Postdivorce Behavioral Adjustment in Maternal- and Dual-Residence Arrangements
Authors: LEE MO-YEE
Published: April 2003

This article investigates the effects of parenting arrangements on children's behavioral adjustment in postdivorce situations as influenced by interparental aggression, mother-child relationships, children's self-reports of their emotional experiences, and emotional regulation strategies. The findings indicate intriguing pathways through which postdivorce parenting arrangements predict children's behavioral adjustment. Specifically, the positive impact of a dual-residence arrangement on children's adjustment is suppressed by the presence of interparental aggression, children's reported emotion of sadness, and their use of active intervention to regulate their emotions. Implications of the study are discussed.
Two as One?
Authors: Gager Constance T. , Sanchez Laura
Published: April 2003

This article employs event-history analysis of couple-level data from two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households to examine the effects of spouses’ perceptions of shared time and marital quality and stability on subsequent odds of marital dissolution. Of central importance in the analysis is the role that gender plays, because empirical evidence documents significant gender variation in spouses’ expectations, perceptions, and experience of marriage. When husbands provide the more negative evaluations of marital quality, the couple are more likely to dissolve their marriage; but when more concrete, proximate measures of marital stability are considered, wives’ more negative reports are better predictors of subsequent divorce. The analysis provides a contribution to divorce research by modeling the effects of couple-level, social-psychological dynamics and by highlighting the importance of recognizing the multiple, often conflicting realities of the emotional content of marriage.
Perceived Housework Equity, Marital Happiness, and Divorce in Dual-Earner Households
Authors: Frisco Michelle L. , Williams Kristi
Published: April 2003

This study uses a nationally representative sample of individuals involved in dual-earner marriages to examine the relationship between perceived fairness of housework completion, marital happiness, and divorce. The authors expected to find that perceived inequality in the division of housework causes tension between spouses that leads to decreased marital quality for both men and women. They further speculated that an unfair division of household labor might contribute to a greater likelihood of divorce. Results indicate that perceived inequity in the division of household labor is negatively associated with both husbands[#X2019] and wives[#X2019]reported marital happiness but is positively associated with the odds of divorce among wives only. Little evidence indicates that marital happiness mediates this relationship. The authors propose that unfair perceptions of the division of household labor not only decrease women[#X2019]s marital quality but also lead to role strain that makes them more likely to end unsatisfying marriages.
The Relationship Between Marital Status and Health
Authors: Prior Pauline M. , Hayes Bernadette C.
Published: April 2003

Based on census materials collected in Britain from 1921 to 1991 and using bed occupancy as a proxy for health, this study focuses on the relationship between marriage and physical health. The results confirm the positive association between marriage and physical health within this society. Married people consistently make less use of residential health and social care facilities than do nonmarried people, and this relationship holds across all census years. This is not to deny, however, some important health differences within the nonmarried population, such as the increasing vulnerability of widowed females aged 65 years and older and of never-married males of working age.
Race/Ethnic Differences in Father Involvement in Two-Parent Families
Authors: Hofferth Sandra L.
Published: April 2003

This article examines the contribution of economic circumstances, neighborhood context, and cultural factors to explaining race/ethnic differences in fathering in two-parent families. Data come from the 1997 Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a nationally representative sample of children younger than age 13. Black children’s fathers exhibit less warmth but monitor their children more, Hispanic fathers monitor their children less, and both minority groups exhibit more responsibility for child rearing than White fathers. Economic circumstances contribute to differences in paternal engagement and control, and neighborhood factors contribute to differences in warmth and responsibility. Cultural factors, such as intergenerational fathering and gender-role attitudes, contribute to explaining differences from Whites in control and responsibility on the part of both Blacks and Hispanics.
Nonresident Parenting and Adolescent Adjustment
Authors: Stewart Susan D.
Published: April 2003

Aside from providing financial support, exactly how nonresident fathers benefit children remains unclear. This article assesses whether the quality of the interaction between nonresident fathers and their children is related to adolescent adjustment, net of visitation frequency. Results suggest that participating in leisure activities with nonresident fathers does not influence children’s well-being. Results provide mixed evidence as to whether children benefit from nonresident fathers’ involvement in authoritative parenting. Whereas talking to nonresident fathers about “other things going on at school” is consistently positively related to adjustment, other measures of authoritative parenting are not. Closeness to nonresident fathers, although negatively related to emotional distress, does not mediate the effect of father involvement. Results suggest that we should continue to examine nonresident fathers’ involvement in specific aspects of authoritative parenting, as opposed to leisure and recreational activities more typical of nonresident father-child contact.
The Sibling Relationship in Young Adulthood
Authors: Weaver Shannon E. , Coleman Marilyn , Ganong Lawrence H.
Published: April 2003

The relationship between sibling pair type (i.e., sister-sister, sister-brother, brother-brother, brother-sister) and performance of sibling functions (i.e., services that siblings perform for each other) was investigated using a sample of 224 college students. Also examined was the relationship between perceived sibling functions and perceptions of closeness. As hypothesized, sister pairs were more likely to report performing certain sibling functions than were other sibling pair types. The expectation that sibling functions and sibling closeness would be related was partially supported, particularly for women responding about either a sister or a brother.
The Utility of Family Life Cycle as a Theoretical and Empirical Tool
Authors: Kapinus Carolyn A. , Johnson Michael P.
Published: April 2003

Using data from a 1980 national sample of married men and women, the analysis examines the utility of the family life cycle concept, employing as dependent variables constructs from Johnson’s conceptualization of commitment. They argue, in disagreement with two classic critiques of the family life cycle concept, that the predictive power of family life cycle is, for many dependent variables, quite independent of age or length of marriage. Their analyses demonstrate that, when using dependent variables one would expect to be related to the presence and ages of children, family life cycle remains a useful predictive tool.
From Revolutionary Comrades to Gendered Partners
Authors: Zuo Jiping
Published: April 2003

Drawing on gender construction theory, this study examines marital construction of breadwinning as both responsibility and privilege in urban China in the market reform (1978–). Data come from interviews with 39 married couples in Beijing in the summer of 1998. Husbands are found to be more devoted to paid work than are wives, although both spouses are active in the labor market. Moreover, both wives and husbands prefer the husband to be the main or obligatory provider and the wife to be a family-committed career seeker. The analysis shows that the persistence of the male provider role in urban China is mainly due to marital interactions on an everyday basis, the normative constraints of the breadwinning boundary to both genders, and the lack of an economic environment that provides wives with a sufficient number of self-fulfilling jobs and socialized domestic services.
Cross-Cultural Attitudes Toward Abortion
Authors: Bahr Stephen J. , Marcos Anastasios C.
Published: April 2003

Using data from 1,494 Greeks and 1,993 Americans, this study finds that social abortion attitudes are a separate dimension from physical abortion attitudes. According to our structural equation model, abortion attitudes are influenced significantly by religiosity and sexual liberalism. The model explains social abortion attitudes significantly better than physical abortion attitudes. Although the model is applicable to both countries, there are three major differences between Greece and the United States. First, in Greece religiosity has a smaller impact on sexual liberalism, and sexual liberalism has a much weaker impact on both types of abortion attitudes, particularly social abortion attitudes. Second, in Greece religiosity is more strongly related to abortion attitudes than in the United States, particularly to social abortion attitudes. Third, education has a weaker influence in Greece than in the United States.
Methods To Reduce The Impact Of Intraclass Correlation In Group-Randomized Trials
Authors: Murray David M. , Blitstein Jonathan L.
Published: April 2003

This study reports intraclass correlation (ICC) for dependent variables used in group-randomized trials (GRTs). The authors also document the effect of two methods suggested to reduce the impact of ICC in GRTs; these two methods are modeling time and regression adjustment for covariates. They coded and analyzed 1,188 ICC estimates from 17 published, in press, and unpublished articles representing 21 studies. Findings confirm that both methods can improve the efficiency of analyses shown to be valid across conditions common in GRTs. Investigators planning GRTs should obtain ICC estimates matched to their planned analysis so that they can size their studies properly.
Basic Reading Through Dance Program
Authors: McMahon Susan D. , Rose Dale S. , Parks Michaela
Published: April 2003

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an arts-based educational program, Basic Reading Through Dance. Basic Reading Through Dance is a 20-session, curriculum-based reading intervention for first-grade students developed by Whirlwind, a not-for-profit organization. There were a total of 721 first-grade students from Chicago public schools who participated in the study, with 328 students from 6 schools receiving the program and 393 students from 9 schools serving as controls. The program was designed to improve reading skills, as assessed by the PhonoGraphix Test, such as code knowledge (alphabet sounds) and phoneme segmentation (separating letter sounds within spoken words). Results suggest that the students who participated in the program improved significantly more than control students on all reading skills that were assessed.
Evaluating The Efficiency Of Private Sector Organizations In Helping Welfare Beneficiaries Find Employment
Authors: Crew Robert E. , Lamothe Scott
Published: April 2003

This research examines the relative success of private, public, and nonprofit organizations in finding employment for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families beneficiaries in Florida. A variety of data are used to measure success in this endeavor. Type of organization used to assist in finding employment was entered into a regression model that controlled for demographic characteristics of the welfare population. Ordinary least squares regression, analysis of variance, difference of means, and descriptive statistics were employed to test the hypothesis that private service providers were more efficient and effective than were public or nonprofit organizations in finding employment for welfare beneficiaries. The analysis did not support the hypothesis.
Mexican Americans’ Explanatory Model of Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Jezewski Mary Ann , Poss Jane
Published: April 2003

The purpose of this study was to develop a culturally specific explanatory model (EM) of diabetes mellitus from the perspective of Mexican Americans living along the United States-Mexican border. Kleinman’s concept of EMs of illness was used as the theoretical orientation, and the grounded theory method was used to sample, collect, and analyze data. The Mexican Americans in this study described their perceptions of type 2 diabetes using the following constructs: causes, symptoms, treatment, and social significance. Each of the components of Mexican Americans’ EM contained elements of both the folk and the biomedical perspective. Susto ( a fright or scare) was perceived to be the primary cause of diabetes, although participants also incorporated biomedical causes. Treatment included the use of both herbal and biomedical modalities. The use of herbal remedies was not well understood by the participants despite the fact that some used herbal therapies to control their diabetes.
Perceived Benefits and Barriers to Physical Activity among Older Latina Women
Authors: Juarbe Teresa , Turok Xiomara P. , Pérez-Stable Eliseo J.
Published: April 2003

Evidence of the benefits of physical activity in the health of aging women continues to grow, but questions remain about the factors that influence these women’s ability to engage in this behavior. The authors used a qualitative design to describe the social and culture-specific perceived benefits and barriers to physical activity among 143 Latina women, ages 40 to 79. Content analysis of these women’s responses revealed that perceived benefits (health promotion, physical fitness, improved roles) and barriers (time constraints of women’s roles, personal health, internal and external factors) function as competing elements that may explain physical inactivity. Health care providers should emphasize overcoming barriers and promote perceived benefits as clinical interventions that may pose the greatest potential to increase physical activity among aging Latina women. This emphasis holds promise as a feasible and effective primary care intervention for achieving increased physical-activity-related health benefits.
Work Context, Personal Control, and Burnout amongst Nurses
Authors: Allen Jacqueline , Mellor David
Published: April 2003

While situational factors such as high workloads have been found to be predictive of burnout, not all people in the same work context develop burnout. This suggests that individual factors are implicated in susceptibility to burnout. We investigated the relationships between care type (acute/chronic), neuroticism, control (primary/secondary), and symptoms of burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy) amongst 21 chronic care nurses and 83 acute care nurses working in a public hospital in regional Australia. Similar levels of burnout symptomatology and neuroticism were found in each group of nurses, and neuroticism was found to be associated with exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy in the total sample of nurses. Our prediction that primary control would protect against burnout symptoms in acute care nurses was supported only for professional efficacy, and the prediction that secondary control would protect against burnout in chronic care nurses was not supported.
Supporting Older Adults Living With Multiple Chronic Conditions
Authors: Loeb Susan J. , Penrod Janice , Falkenstern Sharon , Gueldner Sarah Hall , Poon Leonard W.
Published: April 2003

This qualitative study was conducted using focus groups to explore the strategies commonly employed by older adults (N = 37) to manage multiple chronic conditions. Key strategies identified were relating with health care providers, medicating, exercising, changing dietary patterns, seeking information, relying on spirituality and∕or religion, and engaging in life. Although social support was not mentioned as a discrete strategy, the participants’ social networks were embedded in all of the categories. This study supports building a partnership of care in which nurses and other health care professionals function in supportive and educative roles to enhance the older person’s lifelong self-care management and ability to stay in control of multiple chronic health conditions.
Parents’ Reactions to Conflict With Health Care Providers
Authors: Moore Jean Burley , Beckwitt Asher E.
Published: April 2003

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine parents’ reactions to conflict with health care providers and the outcomes of the conflicts. This study builds on previous research that confirmed the occurrence and sources of conflict among these informants. Seventeen parents whose children had a diagnosis of cancer were interviewed in this study. A priori coding was used to identify the specific strategies for dealing with conflict proposed by Rubin and associates. Ginsburg’s approach to narrative analysis was used to examine parent’s stories. Findings were that parents used the strategies of problem solving, yielding, withdrawing, inaction, and contending identified by Rubin and associates in reaction to conflict with health care providers. Following episodes of contending, many parents in the study reframed the conflict and experienced transformations or turning points, resolving to become more effective advocates for their children. A few of these advocates proceeded to become community activists.
The Experience of Being an Older Staff Nurse
Authors: Letvak Susan
Published: April 2003

The nursing workforce is aging at an unprecedented rate, yet we know very little about the experiences of older staff nurses. A qualitative design with purposeful sampling was used to describe the experience of being an older staff nurse. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews with 11 staff nurses over the age of 55 who were employed at least part-time in six hospitals located in the southeastern United States. Data analysis was guided by a feminist perspective utilizing the voice-centered relational method developed by Brown and Gilligan. Study findings demonstrate that older nurses are working because they continue to care, despite the stressors of intergenerational conflict with younger nurses, less respect from patients and families, and inequity in pay. Older nurses are confident in their abilities and are capable of meeting the demands of hospital nursing.
Resourcefulness and Self-Care in Pregnant Women With HIV
Authors: Boonpongmanee Chayanin , Zauszniewski Jacelene A. , Morris Diana Lynn
Published: April 2003

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has caused suffering in the lives of humans worldwide. Pregnant Thai women now constitute the fastest-growing segment of individuals diagnosed with HIV∕AIDS. Few studies have looked at self-care or resourcefulness among pregnant women with HIV. Using Rosenbaum’s theory of learned resourcefulness, this study examined the direct effects of depression and resourcefulness on prenatal self-care as well as the mediating effects of resourcefulness on depression and self-care. A model testing study with 153 pregnant Thai women compared the effects of depression and resourcefulness on prenatal self-care in HIV-positive and HIV-negative groups. Regression analyses indicated direct effects of depression and resourcefulness on prenatal self-care. The effect of depression on prenatal self-care was mediated by resourcefulness. HIV status did not predict prenatal self-care. The findings on the relationships of depression, resourcefulness, and prenatal self-care can help nurses provide effective services to pregnant Thai women, including counseling on self-care.