Showing papers in "Journal of Family Issues in 1996"
TL;DR: In this article, a revised Conflict Tactics Scales (the CTS2) is proposed to measure psychological and physical attacks on a partner in a marital, cohabiting, or dating relationship.
Abstract: This article describes a revised Conflict Tactics Scales (the CTS2) to measure psychological and physical attacks on a partner in a marital, cohabiting, or dating relationship; and also use of negotiation. The CTS2 has (a) additional items to enhance content validity and reliability; (b) revised wording to increase clarity and specificity; (c) better differentiation between minor and severe levels of each scale; (d) new scales to measure sexual coercion and physical injury; and (e) a new format to simplify administration and reduce response sets. Reliability ranges from .79 to .95. There is preliminary evidence of construct validity.
6,142 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a multivariate model was specified to assess the relationship between fathers' and mothers' parenting stress and their psychological well-being and perception of marital quality, and the effects of six other variables were assessed: 2 competing roles (mother's employment and household division of labor), 2 children-related variables (number and age composition), marital duration, and economic distress.
Abstract: This study examines the hypothesis that the effect children have on their parents' marriages is due to stress in the parental role. A multivariate model was specified to assess the relationship between fathers' and mothers' parenting stress and their psychological well-being and perception of marital quality. In addition, the effects of 6 other variables were assessed: 2 competing roles (mother's employment and household division of labor), 2 children-related variables (number and age composition), marital duration, and economic distress. Data were collected from both the husband and the wife in 287 intact couples who had children living at home. Using structural equation modeling, data from both parents were analyzed jointly to assess the mutual effect of the spouses on one another. The findings indicated that, for both fathers and mothers, parenting stress was affected by the number of children and economic distress, but not by other roles (wife's employment and household division of labor). For both sp...
227 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored a father's parenting role identity in non-residential and divorced, nonresidential fathers and the relationship between role identity and involvement in child-related activities and found that higher scores on role identity typically were associated with more frequent involvement with children.
Abstract: This study explored a father's parenting role identity in nondivorced and divorced, nonresidential fathers and the relationship between role identity and involvement in child-related activities. Data were collected from 270 fathers (178 nondivorced and 92 divorced) by mail questionnaires. Differences were found between groups on three dimensions of identity: nonresidential fathers reported feeling less competent and satisfied in the role, and that the role was more salient. No differences were found on role investment. Higher scores on role identity typically were associated with more frequent involvement with children. The dimensions of father parenting role identity except salience and marital status made significant contributions to predicting involvement. Marital status moderated the relationship between competence and involvement, such that the relationship was stronger for divorced, nonresident fathers.
165 citations
TL;DR: This paper explored the role that parents play in family processes in poor and non-poor two-parent families and the extent to which paternal participation varies across family income and found that the greater the persistence of poverty, the less involvement by fathers.
Abstract: In this article, we explore the role that parents play in family processes in poor and nonpoor two-parent families and the extent to which paternal participation varies across family income. Using longitudinal data from the National Survey of Children, we observe patterns of poverty over time in childhood and adolescence and examine whether father involvement buffers the effects of poverty on long-term outcomes of adolescents. We measure emotional and behavioral dimensions of parenting and contrast levels of father involvement with levels of mother involvement in their relations with adolescents across poverty experiences. Fathers in poor and welfare families are less involved with youth in adolescence and the greater the persistence of poverty, the less involvement by fathers. Although we document some buffering effects of fathers in poor families, mother involvement plays a more important role in protecting low-income youth from adverse outcomes.
153 citations
TL;DR: This article examined three dimensions of mothers' well-being (personal happiness, self-esteem, and depression) across four diverse family structures (first-married, remarried, divorced, and continuously single-parent families).
Abstract: This article examines three dimensions of mothers' well-being (personal happiness, self-esteem, and depression) across four diverse family structures (first-married, remarried, divorced, and continuously single-parent families). Using a nationally representative sample of 2,781 mothers, the results indicate small but statistically significant differences across family structures. Mothers in their first marriage enjoy the highest well-being, mothers in stepfamilies fare nearly as well, and divorced and continuously single mothers have the lowest well-being. Most of the differences persist when relevant variables are controlled. Multiple regression analyses indicate that the strongest predictors of mothers' well-being are measures of family relations, especially children's well-being, marital happiness, marital stability, and low levels of marital conflict. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the relative importance for mothers' well-being of family structure, sociodemographic variables, ...
145 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the relative contribution of measures of objective and subjective neighborhood danger and measures of social support from neighbors, teachers, parents, and friends on the individual adaptation of at-risk youth in two urban areas in the southeastern United States.
Abstract: This article examines the relative contribution of measures of objective and subjective neighborhood danger and measures of social support from neighbors, teachers, parents, and friends on the individual adaptation of at-risk youth in two urban areas in the southeastern United States. In support of earlier research, the findings suggest that the adaptation of these youth is influenced more by the availability of social support, especially from parents, than from their reports and perceptions of neighborhood danger. Results are discussed in the context of a recent national public opinion poll about young adults at risk.
136 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigated how perceptions of housework fairness for men and women in heterosexual couples are affected by gender, time availability and the division of labor, individual resources and interdependence within the couple, gender and family attitudes, perceptions of the qualities of household labor, and partners' social interactions.
Abstract: Much work on the perceived fairness of the division of housework focuses on what we consider pragmatic approaches (i.e., resources, time availability, and power), but nascent research articulates a more symbolic approach, examining relational meanings of house-work. We examine both perspectives simultaneously. Using the National Survey of Families and Households, we investigate how perceptions of housework fairness for men and women in heterosexual couples are affected by gender, time availability and the division of labor, individual resources and interdependence within the couple, gender and family attitudes, perceptions of the qualities of household labor, and partners' social interactions. Three critical findings suggest revisions for fairness perception studies. First, perceived housework qualities are as important for predicting fairness perceptions as any other factors. Second, perceived housework qualities are a stronger determinant of women's fairness perceptions than men's fairness perceptions. ...
106 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the determinants of post-divorce contact between nonresidential fathers and their children after marital disruption and evaluated the relative merit of three sociological perspectives on post-Divorce contact: (a) social parenting, (b) marital-involvement parenting, and (c) socioeconomic-advantaged parenting.
Abstract: The purpose of this analysis is to examine the determinants of postdivorce contact between nonresidential fathers and their children after marital disruption and to evaluate the relative merit of three sociological perspectives on postdivorce contact: (a) social parenting, (b) marital-involvement parenting, and (c) socioeconomic-advantaged parenting. The results suggest that fathers have limited contact with their children postdivorce that decreases over time. The fathers' socioeconomic characteristics appear to temper this reduction in fathers' involvement with their children after marital disruption. As fathers develop new relationships postdivorce, their level of involvement with their children is reduced, whereas mothers' remarriage only affects the probability of fathers' having weekly contact with their children. For the most part, characteristics of the children, their mothers, and the former marriages, which ordinarily are positively associated with paternal involvement during marriage, did not af...
95 citations
TL;DR: This article explored how feelings of entitlement, obligation, and gratitude affect family work and found that memories of past events, including extramarital affairs, created expectations and referents that influenced subsequent divisions of household labor.
Abstract: This article explores how feelings of entitlement, obligation, and gratitude affect family work. Exploratory interviews suggested that memories of past events, including extramarital affairs, created expectations and referents that influenced subsequent divisions of household labor. Using regression analysis of survey data from a random sample of 193 remarried individuals, hypotheses about the division of labor derived from human capital and social structural theories were tested along with the hypothesis that past affairs would influence the allocation of household tasks. More sharing of household labor was associated with husbands being employed fewer hours and holding egalitarian attitudes, and wives being employed longer, earning more, and holding conventional attitudes. Husbands' previous extramarital affairs were associated with less sharing. Drawing on gender theory, the authors suggest that past experiences, situational constraints, and patterns of inequality in the larger society influence marita...
85 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed a 1986 national survey to examine whether there are differences in psychological distress and economic distress between remarried and divorced persons and if differences in economic distress explain differences in the severity of psychological distress.
Abstract: This article analyzes a 1986 national survey (N = 2,081) to examine (a) whether there are differences in psychological distress and economic distress between remarried and divorced persons and (b) if differences in economic distress explain differences in psychological distress between remarried and divorced persons. Findings show that, compared to the currently divorced, the remarried have significantly lower rates of economic distress and psychological distress. Economic distress, particularly a subjective assessment, explains a large proportion of the marital status differences in psychological distress. The most profound influence of economic distress on psychological distress is found for divorced women.
81 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined self-expectations, expectations for future partners, and comparative expectations (self versus partner) held by college students, and found that females expected their future partners to be more intelligent, more able to solve problems, and more successful professionally and to make more money than themselves.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine self-expectations, expectations for future partners, and comparative expectations (self versus partner) held by college students. Participants were 33 African American males, 57 African American females, 53 European American males, and 74 European American females. African Americans had higher self-expectations regarding future income, probability of being a professional success, and educational achievement than European Americans. There were no differences in expectations for future partners' success. However, there were gender differences in comparative expectations. Females expected their future partners to be more intelligent, more able to solve problems, and more successful professionally and to make more money than themselves, and males expected their future partners to do more parenting than they expected to do. The pattern of responses for Black men and Black women was similar to that of White men and women.
Abstract: Using longitudinal data from a national sample of married persons, we explore a wide range of contextual factors that may influence the effect of retirement on marital quality. Characteristics of the husband's job, the division of labor, health, social support, and marital quality are preretirement factors found to affect the influence of retirement on marital quality. Leaving a high-stress job improves marital quality, whereas factors signifying gender role reversals, poor health, and reduced social support lower marital quality. Changes that accompany retirement involving role reversals and decreased social support lower marital quality as did the amount of change in the individual's life. Retirement has a more powerful and pervasive influence on marital quality than prior research suggests.
TL;DR: It is found that single-father families are comparatively rare, but increasing rapidly, especially since 1980, and Increasingly, these families are formed by fathers who are young, never married, with low incomes, and fewer children.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to examine the other (much more neglected) single-parent family type: those single-parent families headed by fathers. We use specially constructed child files from the 1960-1990 Public Use Microdata Samples data from the Census of Population to address two general questions: (a) To what extent has both the likelihood and the demographic characteristics of these families changed over time? (b) What are the consequences for children of living in different kinds of father-only families? We find that single-father families are comparatively rare, but increasing rapidly, especially since 1980. Increasingly, these families are formed by fathers who are young, never married, with low incomes, and fewer children. Analysis of the 1990 data reveal wide diversity in living arrangements among children in single-father families. Furthermore, the social capital of children's fathers, the availability of adults, and children's economic well-being vary markedly across these types of families.
TL;DR: In this article, the role of parents in transmitting political values to their children is investigated using a path analysis technique, and the results show that parents' gender, political activity of the parents, socioeconomic status and the type of family have an impact on the degree of parent-child political value similarity.
Abstract: The role of parents in transmitting political values to their children is investigated. A survey of parents and their children from two western Canadian urban centers was undertaken. Using a path analysis technique, the authors analyze the multiple roles parents play in transmitting political values and attitudes to their children. Both internal and external components of the family were analyzed with regard to their impact upon parent-child attitudinal similarity. The results show that parents' gender, political activity of the parents, socioeconomic status, and the type of family have an impact on the degree of parent-child political value similarity.
TL;DR: The authors study the determinants of whether mothers of preschool-aged children use market child care versus care by relatives to assess the importance of economics versus preferences, finding that employed mothers turn to relatives for child care partly out of preference, not just because relatives are inexpensive.
Abstract: We study the determinants of whether mothers of preschool-aged children use market child care versus care by relatives to assess the importance of economics versus preferences. The evidence suggests that employed mothers turn to relatives for child care partly out of preference, not just because relatives are inexpensive. Public policies that encourage the use of relatives for child care might therefore increase parental satisfaction and quality of care. The analysis finds substantially similar results for African American and other women, but the results for employed mothers differ from those for nonemployed women, who appear to use child care primarily to enhance child development.
TL;DR: Evidence is found that marriage expectations are formed within an institutional context that is influential in shaping individual strategies of action and that cultural notions of marriage differ for men and women.
Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between individuals' expectations for marriage and their beliefs about the social world. Drawing on the neoinstitutionalist perspective and employing a repeated cross-section design, this study analyzes survey data on young adults from 1967 and 1994 to examine the relationship between attitudes about social relationships and marriage expectations, stability and change over time in marital expectations, and changes in institutionalized notions of marriage. We find evidence of both stability and change in marriage expectations and that cultural notions of marriage differ for men and women. Overall, this study provides support for the contention that marriage expectations are formed within an institutional context that is influential in shaping individual strategies of action.
TL;DR: Using a sample of 139 stepparents with both residential stepchildren and residential biological children, it is determined that stepmothers are in fact more likely than are stepfathers to find it more difficult to rear stepchildren than to rear biological children.
Abstract: Evolutionary views suggest that stepparents find it more difficult to parent stepchildren than to parent biological children. However, gender stratification perspectives suggest that stepmothers are more likely than are stepfathers to experience role conflict in acting as both a stepparent and a biological parent. Therefore, especially when new biological children are added to the stepfamily, stepmothers, more often than stepfathers, may experience greater relative difficulty parenting their stepchildren. Using a sample of 139 stepparents with both residential stepchildren and residential biological children, we determined that stepmothers are in fact more likely than are stepfathers to find it more difficult to rear stepchildren than to rear biological children. However, we also discovered that when stepparents add new biological children to their stepfamilies, both stepmothers and stepfathers find it more difficult to derive satisfaction from stepchildren than from biological children only if their new ...
TL;DR: For instance, the authors found that full-time employed mothers perceived 5 of the 12 behaviors as less typical than did homemakers, while homemaker mothers devoted more hours to homemaking than did employed mothers, both groups reported the same range of household and child care activities within a 48-hour period.
Abstract: Mothers employed in full-time careers and full-time homemaker mothers were surveyed to examine relationships among their employment status, role behaviors as mothers, and perceptions of the mother role. Women in both groups were graduates of the same undergraduate liberal arts college, thus providing groups with similar sociodemographic characteristics. Although homemaker mothers devoted more hours to homemaking than did employed mothers, both groups reported the same range of household and child care activities within a 48-hour period. Both groups also perceived equally little choice in performing household tasks they had done. With regard to their perceptions of whether mothers in general typically performed the child care activities, full-time employed mothers perceived 5 of the 12 behaviors as less typical than did homemakers. Results suggest the importance of examining mothers' perceptions of the role along with their objective behaviors in studying employment effects.
TL;DR: This paper examined the diversity of parenting styles in a sample of a low-income, African American families served by Head Start and revealed a range of childrearing beliefs yielding discrete patterns of parenting that were distinguished in terms of beliefs about desirable child attributes and community-level attributes, and were associated with children's social competence.
Abstract: There is broad consensus among family and child development researchers that variations in parenting styles and practices contribute to individual differences along a range of child outcomes. Although the literature implies a continuum of parenting styles, research on ethnic minority and low-income families has often implied that these groups are homogeneous with respect to parenting practices and has compared them to standard samples (usually ethnic majority and middle class). In rejecting these assumptions, we examined the diversity of parenting styles in a sample of a low-income, African American families served by Head Start. Analyses revealed a range of child-rearing beliefs yielding discrete patterns of parenting that were distinguished in terms of beliefs about desirable child attributes and community-level attributes, and were associated with children's social competence. Findings suggest that crude group comparisons are inadequate to describe or explain the effects of parenting values and parent-...
TL;DR: In this paper, the association between recent parental divorce and mental health outcomes in young adults aged 18 to 23 was studied and the role of parental divorce in young adult adjustment has been overlooked in the divorce and developmental literature.
Abstract: The role of parental divorce in young adult adjustment has been overlooked in the divorce and developmental literature. This study addresses the association between recent parental divorce and mental health outcomes in young adults aged 18 to 23. Divorce decrees and driver's license registries in a single state were used to draw a sample of 485 White young adults, half of whom had experienced parental divorce within 15 months of the interview and the other half whose parents were still married. Comparison of the two groups indicated that at the bivariate level, parental divorce was associated with poorer mental health outcomes, but only among females. Furthermore, multivariate models estimating depression levels among these youth indicated that the significant effect of parental divorce on females was eliminated once parents' past marital quality was considered. Finally, the analyses indicated that dissatisfaction with current friendships or intimate relationships was predictive of greater depression in b...
TL;DR: Data from the National Long-Term Care Survey, a sample of Medicare beneficiaries, indicate that the probability of coresiding with children is elevated by parents' advanced age, failing health, and absence of a spouse, and children's characteristics are also important predictors of coresidence.
Abstract: Several recent studies have concluded that coresidence between aging parents and their adult children is caused by the children's dependency needs, whereas parental characteristics are irrelevant. We argue that these studies are based on samples that contain insufficient proportions of elderly parents who possess the characteristics that eventuate in coresidence. Such elders, however, represent a large and important segment of the elderly population. Data from the National Long-Term Care Survey, a sample of Medicare beneficiaries, indicate that the probability of coresiding with children is elevated by parents' advanced age, failing health, and absence of a spouse. At the same time, children's characteristics (marital status and employment status) are also important predictors of coresidence.
TL;DR: The articles in this special issue represent key themes in research on families in poverty as discussed by the authors, including: there is substantial diversity across poor families, mother-child relationships are crucial to child and parent outcomes, father involvement in these families is often unreliable, social support is very important to these families, interventions targeted toward the poor must be very intensive to be effective, and social policy targeted toward these families are not always as helpful as had been planned.
Abstract: The articles in this special issue represent key themes in research on families in poverty. These themes include: There is substantial diversity across poor families, mother-child relationships are crucial to child and parent outcomes, father involvement in these families is often unreliable, social support is very important to these families, interventions targeted toward the poor must be very intensive to be effective, and social policy targeted toward these families is not always as helpful as had been planned.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors looked at the determinants of job turnover among mothers of infants, using intentions to change jobs or exit the labor force assessed at 1 year postpartum among a sample of 246 employed mothers.
Abstract: This article looks at the determinants of job turnover among mothers of infants, using intentions to change jobs or exit the labor force assessed at 1 year postpartum among a sample of 246 employed mothers. Hypotheses were that exit intentions should be more influenced by household factors determining labor supply and other personal characteristics indicating job attachment. Additionally, whereas both types of turnover intentions should decrease as workplace supports for mothers increase, child care satisfaction should affect exit intentions more than intentions to change jobs. Results showed support for the notion that labor force exits are more strongly influenced by child care problems and measures of job attachment than are job changes, though models correcting for selectivity reveal that the child care problems are not directly influencing exit intentions. Supervisor and co-worker support impede intentions to both exit the labor force and change jobs. However, other dimensions of workplace support af...
TL;DR: This article explored the relationship between stress in the parent-child relationship and successful pursuit of education and training activities for a sample of female JOBS participants in North Carolina whose children had attained at least preschool age.
Abstract: This study explores the relationship between stress in the parent-child relationship and successful pursuit of education and training activities for a sample of female JOBS participants in North Carolina whose children had attained at least preschool age. Using probit regression techniques, a significant negative relationship was found to exist between parent-child stress and successful component completion for these participants. Further assessment probed the contribution of study participants' personal and social strengths and problem-child behaviors as contributors to stress: Lower levels of mastery and higher perceived levels of child problem behaviors were found to be associated with the level of stress in the parent-child relationship. Findings, although preliminary, suggest the desirability of further research examining family dynamics as potential contributors to successful employability outcomes for this and similar populations.
TL;DR: In this article, a review of existing policies in higher education institutions that affect faculty and their families, and identifies areas for advocacy and research is provided, and the implications of these policies for recruitment and retention of faculty and for the tenure and promotion process are considered.
Abstract: This article provides a review of existing policies in higher education institutions that affect faculty and their families, and identifies areas for advocacy and research. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is great variability in policies both between and within universities and that the effects of certain of these policies may discriminate unfairly against women. Thus dual-career problems and parental concerns are reviewed within the context of gender equity. The implications of these policies for recruitment and retention of faculty and for the tenure and promotion process are considered.
TL;DR: The authors investigated the antecedents of continuing and return coresidence and the plans and expectations of coresident children, and found that both of them are related to such child characteristics as marital status and education.
Abstract: Despite recent attention to parent-child coresidence, little is known about differences between continuing and return coresidence or how these may vary with age. A sample of 716 adult children residing in parent households (from the National Survey of Families and Households) is used to investigate the antecedents of continuing and return coresidence and the plans and expectations of coresident children; and although young adult children predominate in coresidence, variations across age groups are investigated. Coresidence history is related to such child characteristics as marital status and education, with varying patterns across age groups, but continuing and return coresidents are more similar than different. Plans and expectations are largely a function of child characteristics. Although return coresidence appears to be more problematic and continuing coresidence shows increasing stability with age, continuing and return coresident children respond to similar factors.
TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of family disruption, marital conflict, and disengaged parent-child relations on antisocial behavior decline as the individual moves from childhood to adolescence and early adulthood.
Abstract: This study tests the hypothesis that the influences of family disruption, marital conflict, and disengaged parent-child relations on antisocial behavior decline as the individual moves from childhood to adolescence and early adulthood. The study examines the three waves of the National Survey of Children, which includes assessments in childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. The results show declines in the influence of family disruption, marital conflict, and parent-child relations. However the pattern of decline was not the same for all three family stressors. The analysis specifies the developmental period when the declines occurred and distinguishes decreases due to adaptation (time since exposure to the family stressor) from those due to maturation (age of the child). The results and conceptual framework of the study provide an approach to reconciling some previous inconsistent findings regarding the long-term effects of child exposure to family stressors.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify factors that working-class/middle-class Black men perceive to cause significant stress following divorce and examine strategies that they use to reestablish their lives.
Abstract: The divorce rate among Blacks in the United States has increased significantly in recent years. Consequently, an increasing number of Black men confront problems associated with adjusting to divorce. Using data from in-depth interviews, we identify factors that working-class/middle-class Black men perceive to cause significant stress following divorce and we examine strategies that they use to reestablish their lives. The results show that Black men confront the following divorce-related stressors: (a) financial strain, (b) noncustodial parenting, (c) child-support stressors, and (d) psychological as well as physiological distress. The findings suggest that divorced Black men experience profound postdivorce psychological distress. The data further indicate that Black men employ the following strategies to cope with the stress of marital dissolution: (a) reliance on family and friends, (b) involvement in church-related activities, (c) participation in social activities, and (d) establishment of intimate he...
TL;DR: Results revealed that those participating in a hospital-based home visiting program were less likely to have subsequent pregnancies and sought more medical care for their children, resulting in healthier babies.
Abstract: This study examines the extent to which participating in a hospital-based home visiting program predicted positive outcomes for adolescent mothers and their children. Based on data obtained from 51 African American economically stressed mothers, results revealed that those participating in the program were less likely to have subsequent pregnancies and sought more medical care for their children, resulting in healthier babies. Significant influence of program participation on incidence of child abuse and neglect was not found. Findings from the study have implications for public policy, education, and prevention program development.
TL;DR: The authors reviewed existing work and family policy in Canada and identified problems many Canadians experience in struggling to meet the competing demands of work-and family life, and made recommendations for policy reform.
Abstract: Canada has a complex web of social and economic policies that have an impact on family members' abilities to manage the interface between work and family life. This article reviews existing work and family policy in Canada and identifies problems many Canadians experience in struggling to meet the competing demands of work and family life. Using Eichler's models of the family (patriarchal, individual responsibility, and social responsibility) and three conceptual models of the relationship between work and family (separate sphere, spillover effects, and interactive), implicit assumptions about the family and the nature of the work-family relationship underlying Canadian policy are discussed. It is argued that one of the reasons existing policy does not fully meet the needs of Canadians is that it is based on outdated assumptions about the family and the nature of the work-family interface. Recommendations for policy reform are offered.