Showing papers in "Journal of Family Issues in 1985"

Transitions to Parenthood His, Hers, and Theirs

Abstract: This study explores marital processes that may underlie the apparent decline in satisfaction with marriage in partners becoming parents for the first time. We assessed 47 couples expecting a first child and 15 couples not yet decided about having children at pretest, post 1 (6 months postpartum or 9 months after pretest) and post 2 (18 months postpartum or 21 months after pretest). Questionnaires examined (1) psychological sense of self; (2) partners' role arrangements and communication; (3) parenting ideology; (4) perceptions of the family of origin; and (5) social support and life stress, including parents' work patterns. Support was found for three hypotheses: (1) In four of the five family domains men and women having a first child showed more negative changes over time than nonparent spouses; (2) New fathers and mothers grew increasingly different from one another in most of these domains; (3) A combination of gender differentiation and change (increasing conflict) apparently contributed to lowered s...

Violence in the Context of Dating and Sex

Abstract: A study of reported courtship violence using a representative sample of college students and a broad definition of relationships “at risk” found substantially higher rates of violence than those reported in earlier studies. Females reported using a wider array of violence than males, but males used more extreme forms of violence, had violence multiple times with multiple partners, and inflicted more sexual aggression. Students from high-income families, whites, and those “living together” reported more violence than others. Sexuality appears to be an important source of violence in courtship.

Women's Employment, Time Expenditure, and Divorce:

Abstract: Past research on the relationship between wives' employment and divorce has focused on two types of explanations: those positing changed motives regarding divorce and those suggesting changed opportunities. Without discounting totally the path from income to opportunity, we focus here on a somewhat neglected alternative, that leading from time constraints to changed motives toward maintaining a marriage. We argue that time spent by the wife working outside the home impedes the completion of tasks necessary to the maintenance of the household and hence increases the probability of divorce. Using data from the Young and Mature Women samples of the National Longitudinal Survey, we find that among employed women, hours worked has a greater impact on marital dissolution than do various measures of wife's earnings. In partial support of our hypotheses, the relationship between wife's hours worked and the probability of divorce is strongest for middle income families and families in which the husband disapproves...

The Transition to Parenthood and Marital Quality

Abstract: An extensive literature demonstrates a negative correlation between the presence of children and marital quality. Few of these studies are designed to test the reasons for this relationship. Using a national panel study, we examine two possible paths: that people who choose to have children differ from those who do not in ways that affect marital quality, and that having a child changes marital structure and process. The results of the analysis support neither hypothesis. Although marital quality deteriorated over the three-year period, the transition to parenthood does not seem to affect changes in marital happiness, interaction, disagreements, division of labor, satisfaction with division of labor, or number of marital problems. Having a child did, however, seem to deter divorce and permanent separation.

The Effect of the Transition to Parenthood on the Marriage Relationship A Longitudinal Study

Abstract: A longitudinal study of newlyweds explored the impact of parenthood on marriages. Couples who became parents during the first year of marriage were compared with couples who remained childless during the year. Data were collected about two months after the couples' weddings and again about a year later. Data concerning the behavioral properties of marriage (e.g., amount of companionship, sex roles) were gathered by phone interviews; data pertaining to the partners' satisfaction were obtained during face-to-face interviews. The results confirmed earlier research in showing that the transition to parenthood affects companionship and marital role patterns, but no evidence was found to support the idea that parenthood is associated with a decline in the partners' evaluations of one another (love) or their marriage (marital satisfaction). Both the parent and nonparent groups showed significant declines in love and satisfaction. Moreover, the properties of the marriages and the evaluations by the partners of on...

Who Divorces and Why A Review

Abstract: This review of recent literature on the whos and whys of divorce examines data on the frequency of divorce and research on the predivorce period. The still lingering emphasis on a pathological perspective to explain marital dissolution is posited as a reason for the focus of much of the divorce literature on demography rather than process or outcome. Societal and legal explanations for the increase in the divorce rate are explored. Demographic correlates, mental and physical health issues, and the reasons the divorced themselves give for the decision to end their marriages are reviewed. The article concludes with an examination of techniques and topic areas that would help move future research away from static descriptions and toward an integrated explanation of the divorce process.

Predicting Divorce and Permanent Separation

Abstract: Using longitudinal interview data, we examine the predictive ability of a scale designed to predict divorce and permanent separation. We find that high scorers are nine times more likely to divorce than low scorers. Divorce rates for components of the scale indicate that dissolution is a process, becoming more likely as overt actions succeed attitudinal factors. Finally, discriminant analysis is used to test a model predicting the likelihood of individuals moving from instability to divorce. The results indicate that individuals are more apt to move on to divorce or permanent separation if alternative attractions are present, there are few barriers to divorce, or when the marriage retains fewer attractions. The results indicate that the marital instability index in conjunction with information on barriers and attractions provides the basis for a comprehensive model predicting divorce.

Work Schedules and Family Life in Two-Earner Couples

Abstract: This study of work schedules in two-earner couples explores the implications of dual schedules for the family life of both working spouses. In particular, it tests Pleck's (1977) notion that work demands are permitted to intrude into family life among men more than they are among women. The study is based on data from the 1977 Quality of Employment Survey. In summary, it found that among two-earner families clear sex differences exist in levels of work schedule demands but not in the degree of responsiveness of family life to those demands.

The Effect of Marital Disruption on Child's Attachment to Parents

Abstract: Using data from a sample of 2135 midwestern college students, this article examines the consequences of marital disruption on child-parent attachment. Among the factors considered in the analysis are death versus divorce, amount of conflict in intact and divorced homes, sex of custodial parent, custodial parent's remarriage, and relationships with stepparents. The results show that disruption does not reduce a child's attachment to the custodial parent. Divorce does reduce a child's attachment to the noncustodial parent, however, and thus reduces the child's total affectional network. This pattern is particularly problematic in father-custody homes.

The Organization of Family Care for Impaired Elderly

Abstract: Although families currently provide the bulk of care for aged relatives, demographic changes affecting family structure and documentation of the negative effects of caregiving have resulted in reservations about its continued prevalence. The purpose of this research was to examine the assumptions underlying these reservations as well as the notion that caregiving is facilitated by a large and active support network. In contrast to previous research, this study used interview data from 597 families in which the impaired elder resided with and was cared for by household kin. Findings indicated that caregiving occurred in diverse household configurations involving a substantial proportion of male caregivers, employed caregivers, and multi-generational contexts. Despite the diversity, most caregivers indicated a permanent commitment to the role. Although each day they provided on average three hours of personal care alone, wide variation was found in the incidence and severity of stress effects. Informal and ...

Husbands' And Wives' Adjustment to Pregnancy And First Parenthood

Abstract: There are conflicting reports regarding type and extent of the change in couples' lives due to the arrival of a first baby. The present short-term longitudinal study of 39 volunteer couples had two major objectives: (1) to examine changes in couples' division of labor during the transition to parenthood, and (2) to investigate husband-wife differences in the associations between indices of marital and parental adjustment during the early postpartum months. Individual questionnaires and interviews were administered in couples' homes on three occasions: early pregnancy, late pregnancy, and 3-4 months postpartum. Repeated measure analyses of changes in feminine and masculine household tasks did not confirm a linear shift toward more sex-typed arrangement but rather demonstrated a curvilinear pattern with the least sex-typed arrangements occurring in late pregnancy. These results indicate that the pregnancy period needs to be viewed as a time of changes in instrumental roles. There were several wife-husband d...

The Work-Family Interface and Marital Change Across the Transition to Parenthood

Abstract: This article examines the effects of work-family interference and support on couples experiencing the transition to parenthood. Correlational relationships between measures of work-family interference and support and assessments of marital change (based on measures taken prenatally and at three- and nine-months postpartum) were examined. The findings suggest that husbands and wives experiencing high levels of work-family interference report an increase in marital conflict across the first two measurement occasions. In addition, husbands also report increased marital satisfaction when work-family support is high. Difference scores reflecting marital change from three to nine months indicate a decrease in wives' satisfaction with communication and positive feelings in the relationship as a result of high work-family stress. These findings suggest that the work-family relationship, as one determinant affecting the transition to parenthood, deserves further study.

Depressive Affect and Subsequent Divorce

Abstract: Evidence for the relationship between marital status and psychological well-being has been largely cross-sectional and subject to multiple interpretations. Estimates of well-being prior to marital termination permit a fuller examination of the impact of psychological well-being on changes in marital status. The present study utilizes data from a large metropolitan Chicago sample to assess the initial life conditions and depressive affect of married respondents, and contrasts those who divorced during the following four years with those who remained married. Among women, significantly more of those who would subsequently divorce were employed at Time 1. Those who would subsequently divorce also differed from those who would remain married in being somewhat younger and more distressed by their marriages, but they were not significantly more depressed. These findings suggest that previously observed marital status differences in psychological well-being reflect the negative life conditions that follow divorc...

Marital Change During the Transition to Parenthood and Security of Infant-Parent Attachment

Abstract: To extend research on the characteristics and determinants of marital change during the transition to parenthood to include the consequences of such change, the security of infant-parent attachment was examined. Drawing on data from a longitudinal study of infant and family development, groups were formed on the basis of attachment security at one year and compared in terms of patterns of marital change displayed by mothers and fathers. Mothers of insecure infants experienced significantly greater declines in positive marital activities and sentiments and greater increases in negative marital activities and sentiments than did mothers of secure one-year-olds, and this difference emerged between three and nine months postpartum. Even before babies were born, mothers of secure and insecure infants differed in their marital appraisal. Specifically, mothers of secure infants tended to base their prenatal marital satisfaction appraisals more on positive than negative aspects of the marriage whereas the reverse...

Intergenerational Influences on the Parent-Infant Relationship in the Transition to Parenthood

Abstract: In this study, questions were addressed concerning the intergenerational transmission of parent-child relationships in couples going through the transition to parenthood. During the second trimester of their first pregnancy, couples provided information concerning experiences of parenting in their family of origin, then were reinterviewed and observed interacting with their infants at 3 months postpartum. It was expected that when these young adults had reported prenatally better parenting by their parents on specific parenting variables, they in turn would experience early parenthood more adaptively and would show better parenting with their own infants. The results provide support for this hypothesis.

The Impact of Age and Children on Remarriage: Further Evidence

Abstract: This article addresses the impact age and presence/number of children have on the remarriage probabilities of divorced women. Following Koo and Suchindran (1980), an interaction between these two factors is posited, with children having an effect on the remarriage chances only of younger and older women. In addition, a third factor, dissolution measurement, is considered because remarriage intervals measured from separation and from divorce can be quite different. Analyses conducted separately by race indicate that (1) dissolution measurement can make a difference in the estimated effect of both age and presence/number of children on remarriage probabilities for both blacks and whites, (2) net of numerous controls, older women and women with more children of both races tend to remarry at the slowest pace, and (3) age and presence/number of children interact for whites but not for blacks.

Men Who Batter Women A Critical Review of the Evidence

Abstract: This article critically reviews the evidence pertaining to men who batter. The problem of conceptualizing definitional issues and current data on the scope and incidence of woman battering are discussed. Evidence on variables that have been related to or used to explain why men batter is outlined and critiqued. This article concludes by proposing a new theory-building and research agenda that will enhance current understandings of battering and of the men who do it.

Sources of Marital Dissatisfaction Among Newly Separated Persons

Abstract: Reported sources of marital dissatisfaction were examined in a sample of 153 newly separated persons, virtually all of whom subsequently divorced. Respondents were asked about their own marital dissatisfactions and about the dissatisfactions of their spouses in 18 different categories of behavior and attitude. Factor analysis of the responses yielded a highly coherent set of marital dissatisfaction source clusters that were relatively independent of each other. A number of these clusters were based upon similar expressions of marital dissatisfaction attributed to both respondent and spouse. Analysis of demographic and mental health characteristics revealed that many of these cluster scores were significantly associated with age, length of marriage, parent status, and with the respondent's role in the initiation of the marital separation. In addition, several marital dissatisfaction source cluster scores were significantly related to measures of psychological well-being and adaptation to the early marital ...

His and Her Marriage Revisited

Abstract: Glenn (1975) and Bernard (1975) have debated the relative benefits of marriage for men and women. An analysis of data from three samples of midwestern married couples yielded partial support for both positions. While men and women were equally happy on the average, when there was an extremely wide difference in marital satisfaction, it was almost always the woman who was less satisfied—“her” marriage was quite different from “his”—much worse.

Family Rhetoric as Social Order

Abstract: Taking the social order of family life to exist in its signs and rhetoric, we interpret field data gathered in human service settings to show how family order is sustained and transformed through representational practice. We address four aspects of family rhetoric: (1) scope of application, (2) rhetorical transformation, (3) signification and order, and (4) rhetorical predominance. The organization of native understandings and interpretations of enduring family conduct suggests that the social order of individual families is as manifold as its representations, and as stable as its confirmations.

Progress and Continued Challenges in Understanding the Transition to Parenthood

Abstract: Significant contributions in understanding the complexities of a couples transition to parenthood have been made by recent longitudinal studies: the suggestion is clear that parenthood causes significant change and reorganization in the couple system. The data reported here suggest that adaptation to parenthood is a process that occurs over time and they suggest that the process of adaptation may be different for men and women in terms of the factors that predict adaptation in the course of their lives. Moreover the Cowans and their colleagues suggest that this divergence between the lives of men and women sets the stage for increased difficulty in marriage. Early work is also being done exploring the quality of marriage prior to the childs birth and its influence on parenting and the development of the child. The complexities of such interrelationships are highlighted by the finding that the paths of influence may be different depending on the gender of the child born as will other attributes of the child. However many questions concerning the transition to parenthood remain unanswered because it is difficult for researchers to go beyond their particular interests and because of the methodology developed within each of those specialties. This situation can be improved by collaborative efforts in which the refined notions of marriage family systems and adult development that family sociologists and family therapists have developed combine with the more refined notions of parent-child relationships and child development that developmental psychologists have achieved. Such efforts could lead into a number of unexplored but important areas such as a study of family systems in the greater social context and individual life cycles and the family life cycle. Finally the biggest challenge to researchers is the development of methodologies to measure variables that describes families and family processes meaningfully.

Continued Attachment After Legal Divorce

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

The Effects of World View on Adaptation to Single Parenthood Among Middle-Class Adult Women

Abstract: The nature of the relationship between middle-class adult women's world view and their report of the quality of their adjustment to being single mothers was explored. Single mothers and those from two-parent families completed five instruments assessing their world view and emotional adjustment to being mothers. The many statistically significant findings indicated that, although there was considerable person-to-person variation, single mothers who advocated a more Afrocentric world view—defined as more spiritual, communal, and interpersonal and less achievement-oriented, materialistic, and individualistic than the alternate Eurocentric perspective—had higher self-esteem, less depression and anxiety, and were more satisfied with being mothers. The results also indicated that single mothers were less well adjusted than those from two-parent families.

Prebirth Prediction of the Quality of the Mother-Infant Interaction The First Year of Life

Abstract: A predictive method involving the assessment of prebirth functioning and the anticipated quality of parenting is described and developed in order to facilitate identification of families at risk for future parenting The association between these predictions and selected outcome criteria was studied in a representative sample of 46 families Both the quantitative and qualitative results support the hypothesis that those families where mother and father were both characterized during the prebirth assessments as above average on adaptation-competence, capacity for relationships, and their positive view of their marriage, and who were expected to provide an optimal parent care environment, did in fact enhance a mother-infant relationship characterized by positive mutuality and responsiveness It is assumed that the prebirth assessments and predictions, even though global in nature, effectively reflect a profile of family system and individual characteristics that are likely to enhance the development of posi

The Family and the Urban Underclass An Integrative Framework

Abstract: The major innovation of the concept of an underclass is that it treats dependent welfare women and poor urban male criminals as a single social group. A major source of the concept is an implicit synthesis of two bodies of economic theory and research—namely, human capital and dual labor market theory. This synthesis is best exemplified by the National Supported Work Demonstration. A major limitation of the synthesis is that it lacks a clear articulation of the influence of the family in underclass behavior. A theoretical framework is presented here that integrates family theory with the synthesized economic theory of the underclass. The integrated framework is used to examine the impact of current and proposed child support enforcement practices on the underclass.

Occupation and Divorce

Abstract: Analyses of the combined General Social Surveys for 1972-1983 are used to estimate propensity to divorce (proportion of ever-married persons who have ever been divorced or legally separated) for major occupational categories and for selected occupations. Separate analyses for males and females show significant estimated effects of occupation on propensity to divorce even when occupational prestige, age, age at first marriage, income, education, and number of children are statistically controlled. Contrary to the findings of previous studies, male professional and technical workers do not have the lowest propensity to divorce. Propensity to divorce for male professional and technical workers, when adjusted for income, occupational prestige, age, age at first marriage, education, and number of children, is higher than for any occupational category except transport equipment operatives. For female workers, on the other hand, professional and technical workers do have the lowest propensity to divorce among no...

A Typology of Household Work Performance by Employment Demands

Abstract: A typology of husbands' and wives' performance of household tasks by employment demands is proposed, and the literature on division of labor in the household is reviewed for support of the categories. The components used to create the typology are employment or nonemployment of the spouses, type of boundary between employment and family responsibilities, and gender-or skills-based division of household labor. Type of household work performance by employment demands is viewed as traditional, additive, employment-transitional, family-transitional, or reversed traditional. Thus, the typology begins with and builds on traditional roles. It is unique in that it incorporates conceptually the husband's and wife's employment demands (beyond number of hours worked) in studying household work performance. Suggestions for using the typology in future research are presented.