Female-headed households in nonmetropolitan areas: Housing and demographic characteristics

This article describes selected demographic and housing characteristics of nonmetropolitan female-headed households. It compares nonmetropolitan female householders with the average U.S. household, including regional differences. Female heads are older and more likely to have members in poor health than U.S. households on average. Female heads are also more likely to be in poverty and to experience housing poverty. Although the female householders do not suffer from space and quality problems, housing affordability is a problem. Most female heads live in owned, single-family dwellings and are more likely to live in mobile homes than the average U.S. household. This research was funded under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research Service, and the experiment stations in Idaho, Indiana (Purdue University), Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and New York (Cornell University). Also supporting the research were East Carolina University, Illinois State University, Kansas State University, and Western Michigan University. The authors thank Mary Ann Horvath and Roxanne Miller for their assistance in preparing the figures and document. She received her Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. Her work includes research in housing and the economic well-being of women. She received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. Her research interests include housing and neighborhood assessment and women and public policy issues.     

Determinants of housing quality: A comparison of white,African-American,and Hispanic single-parent women

This study examines housing quality among three groups of single-parent women: white, African-American, and Hispanic. Three indicators of housing quality—crowding, affordability, and satisfaction—are used to discover the extent to which these groups experience housing problems. This study also explores differences and similarities in the factors that precipitate problems in housing quality for these three groups of single parents. Findings suggest important differences and similarities in the nature of housing quality problems among white, African-American, and Hispanic single-parent women. The specified variables explained about 20% of the variance in crowding, housing affordability, and housing satisfaction. On measures of objective and subjective housing quality, white single mothers are better housed than their African-American or Hispanic counterparts. Hispanic single mothers have the largest housing cost burden and average more persons per household than the other groups. African-Americans are twice as likely as either group to live in low-quality housing and reported the lowest average satisfaction with their housing. Her research interests include housing and neighborhood assessment and women and public policy issues. She has recently published articles inUrban Affairs Quarterly andHousing and Society on housing and neighborhood assessment criteria among black urban households and the housing cost burden of various groups of female-headed households. She received her Ph.D. from Ohio State University. Her research interests include the housing adjustment behavior of women and public policy. She has recently completed her thesis on the role of noncustodial parents in determining the quality of life of their children. She is also the recipient of the Tessie Agan Award for research excellence from the American Association of Housing Educators for a paper titled “Unterstanding Constraints and Residential Satisfaction among Low-Income Single-Parent Families.”     

Contraceptive choice among teenagers: A multivariate analysis

Contraceptive choices made by sexually active teenagers are considered in this study. The idea that teenagers are rational decision-makers who weigh the perceived costs and benefits of specific contraceptive methods along with the option to not contracept guides the analysis. A regression model is estimated using observations of teenage women from the 1982 National Survey of Family Growth. Results generally support the rational decision-making hypothesis. Perceptions of pregnancy risks, resulting from knowledge of reproductive biology and contraceptive options or from a previous pregnancy, appear particularly important in determining contraceptive choices.James Reschovsky is Assistant Professor, Department of Consumer Economics and Housing, Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Apart from teenage contraceptive choices, his research interests include investigation of housing decisions by elderly households and implications for the delivery of long-term care.Jennifer Gerner is Associate Professor, Department of Consumer Economics and Housing, Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Her research interests include family and household economics and household organization. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin.The authors thank Soog Hong Gong, Catherine Montalto, and Sarah Stone for their research assistance. We also thank Carol Kramer for her contributions during the early phases of this study and Linda Jacobsen, W. Keith Bryant, and Robert Avery for their comments on an earlier draft.     

Housing tenure,structure, and crowding among Latino households

This article examines the effect of federal housing and public assistance programs on the housing quality of different Latino households. The research tests models of crowding and housing tenure and structure for Latino households. The data for this research are from the 1990 Latino National Political Survey-Panel Study of Income Dynamics (LNPS-PSID). Findings reveal that housing and public assistance programs do help alleviate crowding among the Latino population, but they do not help Latino households achieve ownership of a single-family home. All the demographic variables in the model contribute to the explanation of crowding, and a majority also significantly explain housing tenure and structure. Significant differences are found among Latino subgroups in the explanatory variables for crowding, tenure, and structure. She is also the director of the Center for the Study of Aging at Illinois State. Her research interests include housing of minority households and congregate housing for the elderly. She received her Ph.D. from Iowa State University. Her research interests include housing needs of Latino households, resource management of female-headed Puerto Rican households, fertility decisions of Puerto Rican women, and student labor force participation. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.     

The roles of role strain,economic resources and time demands in explaining mothers' life satisfaction

Time diary and questionnaire data from mothers who are full-time homemakers, members of dual-earner households, and heads of single-parent households are analyzed to determine the influence of family structure, economic resources, and time demands on their life satisfaction. The multivariate analysis reveals that family structure is moderately related to mothers' satisfaction with progress in life but not to satisfaction with life as a whole. Mothers' satisfaction with life as a whole does vary with their life cycle stage, economic situation, and their use of time.Her research interests include time use of household members and CADD education for interior design students. She received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University.Her research assesses the impact of household composition changes on economic well-being. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University.     

Comparing housing affordability and quality among disability households: The United States and its regions

Two national data sets (the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the Survey of Income and Program Participation) are analyzed to compare housing afford-ability and quality between U.S. disability households and other households and by region. The researchers conclude that disability households in the United States are at risk of inability to afford housing. In addition to higher housing-income ratios, these households are more likely to be older, in poverty, in poor or fair health, and on public assistance than other U.S. households. They are also more likely to carry severe housing cost burdens, to be in housing poverty, and to be receiving housing assistance. Regional differences among disability households and their housing seem to echo geographic economic and population trends, as well as regional variances in the housing stock. The data, which did not address housing accessibility, are less clear about disability households' risks relative to housing quality. Her research interests include housing for special needs populations, community housing needs assessment, and housing policy. She received her Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His research interests include professional practice and the housing needs of special needs populations, particularly the homeless. He received his Master's degree from California State University at Chico. He is a Housing Extension Specialist with the Cooperative Extension Service. His research interests include environmental issues, housing at-risk populations, and international housing. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University.     

The importance of selected housing features at various stages of the life cycle

The spatial environment of the home is an important factor in the consideration of satisfactory housing for families. With the increasing demand for housing, it has become common to simply provide the basic structure without addressing the various wants and needs of individuals and families. It is the purpose of the study reported here to evaluate the importance of specific housing features based on stage in the family lifecycle. Results show that those features with the highest importance involve low maintenance, aesthetics, and environmental quality. Implications for home designers, educators, and consumers are discussed.Kathleen Ann Lodl is an Instructor in the Department of Consumer Science and Education, 128 Home Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-0801. Her research interests include housing design, residential alterations, and female-headed households. She is currently working on a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska.Betsy S. Gabb is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design, 226 Home Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NE 68583-0802. Her research interests include housing design and residential space use. She received her Ed.D. from the University of Nebraska.E. Raedene Combs is a Professor in the Department of Consumer Science and Education, 134 Home Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-0801. Her research interests include housing designs for special populations and families at risk. She received her Ph.D. from Purdue University.     

Use of time and preferences for time allocation among urban,employed, married women

This study examines the relationship between employed wives' preferences for household production time, employment time, leisure, and their actual time use. A random sample of 235 employed, married women estimate their time use on an average weekday and weekend day in 13 activities and indicate their preferences for time in those activities. Hierarchical multiple regression procedures are used to examine the relationships between actual and preferred time use. Weekday employment time is not related to preferences for more or less time in household production but wives allocating more time to employment want to spend less time at that employment and more time in leisure. Weekend employment time is related to preferences for more time in leisure, child care, and other household work. Time spent performing household work is not related to preferences for more or less time in any activity except the desire for more leisure time on weekends.Ann Renigar Hiatt is Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Services, College of Education and Allied Professions at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223. Her research interests include employed women's time allocation, time pressures, and use of time management strategies. She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.Deborah D. Godwin is Associate Professor in the Department of Housing and Consumer Economics at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Her research has focused on husbands' and wives' time allocation to household production, the effects of women's employment on family economic functioning, and family financial management. She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensbore.     

Perceived stress among nonmetropolitan Utah residents

This article examines relationships between perceived stress and variables such as life events, differential economic satisfaction, health problems, and sociodemographic characteristics among respondents in three nonmetropolitan areas in Utah. The three most predictive factors related to perceived stress are economic satisfaction, life events experienced, and religion. The analysis shows an inverse partial relationship between perceived stress scores and economic satisfaction, and a positive partial relationship between the number of life events and perceived stress. Non-Mormons report higher levels of stress than Mormons. A positive but weak relationship is observed between stress and household size. Weak inverse relationships are observed between stress and a measure of household unemployment, income, and respondent's sex.Richard S. Krannich received his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. He is an Associate Professor of Sociology, and Director of the Institute for Social Science Research on Natural Resources, Utah State University, Logan, UT84322-0730. His research interests include rural development processes, community change, and social responses to natural resource developments.Pamela J. Riley received her Ph.D. from Washington State University. She is currently an Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-0730. Research interests include rural family stress, the impacts of tourism on developing countries, and social aspects of on-farm water management.Ann Leffler is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Program, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-0730. Research interests include nonmetropolitan family stress. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.     

The effect of homemaker's employment status on children's time allocation in single- and two-parent families

This study compares the effect of homemaker's employment status on children's time allocation in single- and two-parent families. Specifically under investigation is the effect of living in a family in which the mother is employed professionally, employed non-professionally, or not employed outside the home on older child's time allocated to household work, school work, and recreation in single- and two-parent families. Age and sex of older children and constraints on their time, such as school attendance, are controlled for in the analysis. The data are from a California study. A two-step multiple regression procedure is used. The effect of homemaker's employment status on older child's time allocated to household work, school work, and recreation is not found to differ by family structure. Homemaker's employment status does not explain a significant amount of variance in older child's time allocation.Rosemary J. Key is Assistant Professor, Department of Consumer Economics and Housing, Cornell University, 103 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Ithaca, New York 14850. Her research interests include substitutability between family members' time in household production, and sequencing techniques used in household production activities. She received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.Margaret Mietus Sanik is Associate Professor, Department of Family Resource Management, The Ohio State University, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210. Her research interests include time use among family members and household production. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University.     

The determinants of worry over chronic health condition for rural couples

This study investigates the determinants of chronic health conditions that worry the member of rural couples who serves as the household financial manager. A sample of 1,115 rural couples from the NC-182 regional research project Family Resource Utilization as a Factor in Determining Economic Well-Being of Rural Families is used. The logit analysis finds that the probability of having a condition that worries the financial manager increases if she or he is middle aged or older, is not employed, and has external Locus of Control. This probability also increases when the dissatisfaction with the resources available to handle a financial emergency increases and the more often the financial manager does not have money to pay for the doctor.Preparation of this research was supported in part by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station project 52–056 and the Minnesota Extension Service. Data were collected in conjunction with the cooperative regional research project NC-182, Family Resource Utilization as a Factor in Determining Economic Well-Being of Rural Families. Cooperating states are Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, and Minnesota.Her current research interests include the economic well-being of various family forms. She received her Ph.D. from University of Illinois.Her current research interests include family financial management and consumer bankruptcy. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri.Her current research interests include issues concerned with family stress management including financial stress. She received her Ph.D. at Michigan State University.Her current research interests include economic and environmental well-being for families and individuals with emphasis on the impact of environmental regulations on economic well-being. She received her Ph.D. from University of Illinois.His current interests include economic well-being of rural families. He was a research assistant for Dr. Bauer before receiving his Ph.D. degree in Agriculture and Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN.     

Do working mothers have healthy children?

This paper examines the effects of maternal employment on children's physical and mental health. The data used are from the Health Interview Survey 1981, Child Health Supplement. A health production model is developed on the basis of Becker's household production theory. The results reveal that a mother's employment is a significant factor affecting her child's physical health. Use of physician services, prices (i.e., CPI used as a proxy variable), sex of the child, receipt of Medicaid, the number of relocations, the mother's education, the mother's health status, breast-feeding practices, and the birth weight of the child are other important variables explaining the health status of children. The role of each of these factors varies according to the marital status of the mother.The authors wish to thank anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments resulting in a much improved product.She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1990. Her current research interests include health care of children and elderly, teen pregnancy and welfare use, children and divorce, and immigrant consumers.She received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1983. Her research includes long-term health care for frail and ethnic elderly, health insurance purchases for the elderly, and health services utilization by the employed and working poor.     

Factors associated with expectation of household's future financial condition

Path analysis is used to examine the causal relationships among selected objective and subjective factors associated with a household's expectation of future financial condition. Results indicate that respondents who perceive the effect of changes in the external environment on their own household's financial condition as positive are younger, have higher net worth, perceive more internal control over their situation, and report that most of the changes in the external environment are positive. Respondents who are younger, have higher income, perceive more internal control over their situation, and believe the effect of changes in the external environment on their household's financial condition are positive are more likely to be optimistic about their financial future. It is important that educators and financial advisors recognize the significant role perception of being in control plays in determining expectations of future financial condition.Journal Paper No. J-15256 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Project No. 2809. Data were collected in conjunction with the cooperative regional research project NC-182, Family Resource Utilization as a Factor in Determining Economic Well-Being of Rural Families. Cooperating states are Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, and Minnesota.Her current research interests include family financial management and consumer bankruptcy; she received her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri.She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois; her current research interests include gender roles, family financial management, and economic well-being.She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Her research interests are economic well-being and quality of life.Her current research interests include the economic well-being of various family forms. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.     

Financial management: Development of scales

This study is a contribution to the development of family resource management scales, specifically financial management scales. Principal axis factor analysis, with varimax rotation, is used to assess underlying relationships in 23 family resource management variables related to time and money resources. Reliability and content, construct, and criterion-related validity of the scales are assessed. Two scales that are reliable and have some degree of validity are developed: frequency of financial problems and frequency of financial management. The scales could be used in future research, teaching, or counseling to organize financial management concepts.Preparation of this research was supported in part by the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station. Data were collected in conjunction with the cooperative regional research project NC-182, Family Resource Utilization as a Factor in Determining Economic Well-Being of Rural Families. Cooperating states are Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, and Minnesota.She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois; her current research interests include gender roles, family financial management, and economic well-being.Her current research interests include family financial management and consumer bankruptcy. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri.Her current research interests include the economic well-being of various family forms. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Her research interests are economic well-being and quality of life.     

Building family functioning scales into the study of at-home income generation

This article describes testing of scales designed to measure the ways family members interact in a personal subsystem. The scales are intended to complement data about the managerial subsystem of a family and are to be used in conjunction with a regional research project focused on home-based work. The article includes conceptual underpinnings, construction of measures, and results of factor analysis of the measures administered. Suggestions for use of a family functioning scale in the context of a household that has a member working at home are explored in the final section.This article reports results from the Cooperative Regional Research Project, NE-167, entitled, At-Home Income Generation: Impact on Management, Productivity and Stability in Rural and Urban Families, partially supported by Cooperative States Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Experiment Stations at the University of Hawaii, Iowa State University, Lincoln University (Missouri), Michigan State University, Cornell University (New York), The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania State University, Utah State University, and the University of Vermont.Her research interests include measuring household production, at-home income generation and rural families. She received her Ph.D. in Family and Consumer Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.Her research is primarily in poverty and divorce and the economic well-being of women and children. She received her Ph.D. from Oregon State University.Her research interests include entrepreneurship, especially as it relates to women and to international development. Her Ph.D. is from Cornell University.     

Home-based employment: Historical and current considerations

The purposes of this article are threefold. First, there is a brief review of current and historical research on home-based business with special emphasis on female home-based employment and the impact of such employment on family life. Second, a conceptual model for family work activities is advanced. Finally, concepts related to home-based employment that could be used to frame and describe the empirical study are specified.This article reports results from the Cooperative Regional Research Project, NE-167, entitled At-Home Income Generation: Impact on Management, Productivity and Stability in Rural/Urban Families, partially supported by the Cooperative States Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Experiment Stations at the University of Hawaii, Iowa State University, Lincoln University (Missouri), Michigan State University, Cornell University (New York), The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania State University, Utah State University, and the University of Vermont.Her research interests include measuring household production, at-home income generation, and rural families. She received her Ph.D. in Family and Consumer Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.Her research interests include home-based business and consumer behavior. She received her Ph.D from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.Her research interests include consumer behavior and family economic issues. She received her Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.     

Time-management strategies used by households with home-based work

A sample of 899 households in which at least one member is engaged in home-based work is used to analyze two time-management strategies used to respond to the demands of home-based work. Analyses reveal that, first, personal time is reallocated more than additional help is obtained for either the home-based work or household production and, second, that different strategies are used depending on whether the household manager is also the home-based worker. Respondents holding both roles report reallocating personal time more often than respondents who are not home-based workers; the reverse holds for obtaining additional help. The results suggest that households generating higher incomes in which home-based work is a full-time occupation are more likely to use time-management strategies than those in which incomes are lower and the home-based work is part-time.Journal Paper Number J-14861 Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Project Number 2857. This article reports results from the Cooperative Regional Research Project, NE-167, entitled, At-Home Income Generation: Impact on Management, Productivity and Stability in Rural and Urban Families, partially supported by the Cooperative States Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, and the Experiment Stations at the University of Hawaii, Iowa State University, Lincoln University (Missouri), Michigan State University, Cornell University (New York), The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania State University, Utah State University, and the University of Vermont. This article was accepted in 1992 under the editorship of Charles B. Hennon.Her current research work includes an analysis of family resource management in Mexico and of housing conditions in rural areas. She is also involved in the study of household members who work at home for pay and their associated management practices and coping strategies. She received her Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University in 1970.She received her M.S. from Iowa State University in May 1992. This paper is based on her M.S. thesis.Her current research interests include household asset and debt formation, working families and employers' benefits, and home-based employment. She received her Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1978.Her current research work includes such topics as divorce settlements, at-home income generation, and management practices of households engaged in home-based employment. Her Ph.D. degree was received from Cornell University in 1978.     

Family policy and critical science research: Facilitating change

The principles of critical science for policy research are outlined and one research project is used as a case study. The study was intentionally designed to facilitate changes that would positively influence the economic well-being of children from divorced families. The project uses the critical science processes of public dialogue about child support guidelines for purposes of collaborative problem solving. The normative theories of procedural and distributive justice are used to guide the research reporting. The project contributes to changes in the practices of estimating the income needs of children, changes in estimating the relative monetary contributions of their parents, and proposed legislation and modifications in the state child support guidelines. She received her Ph.D. in family ecology from Michigan State University. Her research interests include the valuing issues of family life quality, family decision making, divorce,and the economic adjustments of families to economic stressors. She received her M.A. degree in Family Education from the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include decision making and parenting. She received her Ph.D. degree in anthropology from the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include social and cultural change and the integration of research findings into public policy decision making.     

Toward a scheduling congruity theory of family resource management

This article presents the elements of a theory to explain the dynamic construction and execution of production processes. The theory takes into account both the cognitive underpinnings and observable streams of purposive action necessary for managerial behavior. It attempts to explain both the consciously planned and executed action of individuals and the more routine, repetitive activities which dominate most resource allocation behavior. Further, it provides a framework within which goal directed actions of individuals may be translated into goal directed actions of groups of individuals.The authors wish to thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article.Rosemary J. Avery is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Consumer Economics and Housing at Cornell University, 103 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853. She received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 1988. Her research areas include family management and time use, family decision making, and family formation via adoption.Kathryn Stafford is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Resource Management at The Ohio State University, Campbell Hall, Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210. Her research focuses upon management by families who generate income at home, and she has also done work in the areas of family time use and household production. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1978.     

Perceived risk associated with apparel purchasing in discount stores

Consumer discount store patronage preferences for apparel are investigated using the concept of perceived risk. Apparel items are assigned a type and level of risk: low social, low economic; high social, low economic; and high social, high economic. Females (N=222) responding to a mail survey rate their willingness to purchase each item in a discount store on a scale ofprefer to buy, may buy, ornever buy. Results suggest that consumer preference for purchasing in discount stores declines more sharply when economic risk increases than when social risk increases.Teresa A. Summers is Associate Professor of the School of Human Ecology, Textiles, Apparel Design and Merchandising at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. She received her Ph.D. from Texas Woman's University. Her research interest includes rural/urban consumer responses to changes in the marketplace.Frances C. Lawrence is Professor of the School of Human Ecology, Family, Child, and Consumer Sciences at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. She received her Ph.D. from Florida State University. Her research interests include family financial decision-making and family time use.Janice L. Haynes is Assistant Professor of the School of Human Ecology, Textiles, Apparel Design and Merchandising at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. She received her Ph.D. from Texas Woman's University. Her research interest includes retail patronage of specialized consumer market segments.Patricia J. Wozniak is Associate Professor of the Department of Experimental Statistics at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her research interests include survey methodology and rural families.