Work‐Family Commitment and Attitudes Toward Feminism in Medical Students

The authors examine work—family commitment and attitudes toward feminism in a cross‐sectional, medical student sample (126 women, 145 men). Results indicated no significant gender differences in commitment levels. Third‐year students reported significantly more family commitment than did students in lower years. Women reported significantly more positive attitudes toward feminism than did men. Future research should examine commitment to work and family roles relative to participation in work and family roles and whether medical students have more conservative attitudes toward feminism than do other groups. Reframing multiple role commitments as an opportunity for role integration may help clients identify how work and family can be mutually enhancing and growth‐producing rather than conflictual.     

An Exploratory Study of the Meaning of Marriage for African Americans

Using specific tenets from symbolic interactionism as a frame, we asked 31 African Americans (18 women and 13 men) including students as well as nonstudents, across a variety of types of relationships and ages, what marriage meant to them. Two major themes, commitment and love, emerged from qualitative content analysis of the meaning of marriage. Other themes, including partnership/friendship, trust, family, and covenant, also emerged as themes, although less frequently. The overwhelming meanings of marriage were positive, with only a few negative instances (i.e., marriage as unnecessary and not fulfilling). Supportive qualitative data are presented for each theme. We discuss implications for the meaning of marriage for African Americans.     

Gender roles,marriage, and residential independence

This article examines the effects of gender role attitudes on leaving home for marriage and for unmarried independence among young men and women in the United States in the 1980s. The choice to leave home for unmarried independence is associated with two major changes in family relationships: the shift in parent-child interaction from a traditional emphasis on children's obedience toward a greater stress on independence, and the shift toward more egalitarian definitions of gender roles in both work and family spheres. We ask the following: What is the effect of holding more modern gender role attitudes on gender differences in leaving home for marriage? Does holding more modern gender role attitudes influence patterns of leaving home for marriage and for unmarried independence differently for men and women? We examine these questions with data from sophomores in the High School and Beyond Survey.     

Race/Ethnicity,Attitudes, and Living With Parents During Young Adulthood

Non‐White young adults are more likely to live with their parents throughout their 20s, more likely to return home after going away to college, and less likely to leave again after returning. Scholars have speculated that subcultural differences in attitudes toward marriage and family play a key role in generating racial/ethnic differences in rates of coresidence with parents among young adults. Data from the National Education Longitudinal Survey of 1988 (N = 11,228) were analyzed in order to test this hypothesis. Attitudes toward marriage and family were significantly associated with coresidence, especially among young men, but did not substantially account for racial/ethnic differences in living arrangements. Among young non‐White women and young Black men, higher rates of coresidence were related to differences from Whites in socioeconomic or marital status (and sometimes both) that were largely independent of differences in attitudes toward marriage and family.     

Four Decades of Trends in Attitudes Toward Family Issues in the United States: The 1960s Through the 1990s

This article examines trends in family attitudes and values across the last 4 decades of the 20th century, with particular emphasis on the past 2 decades. The article focuses on attitudes toward a wide range of family issues, including the roles of men and women, marriage, divorce, childlessness, premarital sex, extramarital sex, unmarried cohabitation, and unmarried childbearing. More generally, the article considers trends in 3 broad contemporary values: freedom; equality; and commitment to family, marriage, and children. Five data sets are used for the article: Monitoring the Future, General Social Survey, International Social Science Project, Intergenerational Panel Study of Parents and Children, and the National Survey of Families and Households. These 5 data sets reveal substantial and persistent long‐term trends toward the endorsement of gender equality in families, which may have plateaued at very high levels in recent years. There have also been important and continuing long‐term trends toward individual autonomy and tolerance toward a diversity of personal and family behaviors as reflected in increased acceptance of divorce, premarital sex, unmarried cohabitation, remaining single, and choosing to be childless. At the same time, marriage and family life remain important in the cultural ethos, with large and relatively stable fractions of young people believing that marriage and family life are important and planning marriage and the bearing and rearing of children.     

Cohabitation in the Philippines: Attitudes and Behaviors Among Young Women and Men

We examine data from a national survey of 15 – 27 year olds in the Philippines to assess attitudes toward marriage and cohabitation, and we analyze the marital and nonmarital union experiences of 25 – 27 year olds. We find that attitudes toward cohabitation remain quite conservative among young Filipinos, although men view cohabitation more favorably than do women. We also find that men’s socioeconomic status affects their ability to enter unions, particularly marriage, whereas women’s union formation patterns are influenced by the family in which they grew up, their participation in religious services, and to some degree by their place of residence. Both men and women who hold more liberal attitudes on a range of issues are more likely to have cohabited than are individuals who do not share those views. For now, however, we do not expect cohabitation to become a widespread substitute for marriage in the Philippines.     

Parental Marital Status and Young Adult Offspring's Attitudes About Marriage and Divorce

This study examined attitudes toward marriage and divorce among single young adults. Data were gathered from 310 traditional-aged college students regarding their perceived level of commitment to a future marriage and their likelihood to divorce should such a marriage become unsatisfying. Study results indicated that individuals who have experienced parental divorce reported lower levels of marital commitment and more prodivorce attitudes than their peers from intact families. These results suggest that attitudes toward marriage and divorce are partially preformulated beliefs individuals carry into their relationships. Implications for professionals working with young adults are discussed, along with directions for future research.     

Understanding the Decision to Marry Versus Cohabit: The Role of Interpersonal Dedication and Constraints and the Impact on Life Satisfaction

The current study explored men's and women's reasons for choosing to marry rather than to cohabit using a national data set (n = 786) of adults who were currently married or had been married previously. Using commitment theory participant's open-ended reasons for choosing to marry were coded into categories of either interpersonal dedication or constraint commitment. A variety of demographic, attitudinal, and relationship history variables were then used to predict commitment type. The influence of commitment type during the decision to marry on life satisfaction was also explored. Results indicate that current marital status (being married vs. being divorced or separated) and cohabiting before marriage were the strongest predictors of interpersonal dedication reasons for marriage for both men and women. Level of conventionality and parents' marital status also emerged as significant predictors of constraint commitment. Finally, marrying for reasons related to interpersonal dedication significantly predicted higher life satisfaction for men but not for women.     

What predicts traditional attitudes to marriage?

This study, using data from 5,689 cohort members of the National Child Development Study, explores the impact of both structure of parenting family and contextual factors on attitudes towards marriage at age 33. Traditional attitudes to marriage were positively related to religiosity and negatively related to high non‐verbal skills in childhood and smoking or drinking in adulthood but were unrelated to the structure or background of parental family. The results also yielded some very interesting gender differences. For example, the presence of partner at age 33 significantly predicted traditional attitudes to marriage in women but not in men. In men, by contrast, it was the presence of children at age 33, the absence of qualifications and current low socio‐economic status that were associated with traditional attitudes to marriage. The implications of these findings on future family change are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Familial Conflict and Attitudes Toward Marriage

The present study examined the relationship between current and past familial conflict, as perceived by college students, and their current attitudes toward marriage. This study also explored the relationship between the family structure in which the students lived (intact vs. divorced) and their current attitudes toward divorce. Contrary to expectations, perceived levels of conflict were not significantly related to attitudes toward marriage, and family structure was not a significant predictor of attitudes toward divorce. Compared to students from intact homes, students from divorced homes reported significantly higher levels of conflict in their homes while growing up. Implications of these findings and limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Single Mothers and Family Values

SUMMARY

In recent years the federal government has made marriage promotion a central part of its welfare reform initiatives. These promotion efforts are based on the assumption that poor women, particularly women of color, have family attitudes that differ from those of other women. This article tests that assumption using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a nationally representative sample of births to single mothers in urban areas. Results show significant differences in family attitudes between married and unmarried White women, but few differences for women of color. In fact, unmarried women of color tend to be more traditional than White women. In addition, welfare recipients are similar to non-recipients in gender traditionalism and attitudes towards marriage, and low-income women often express the most support for traditional gender roles. Implications for marriage promotion policies are discussed.     

Hispanic Familism Reconsidered

Familism has been described as a cultural trait that might explain why the fertility of Hispanic women remains higher than non‐Hispanic white women. Still, few studies have analyzed group differences in childbearing attitudes. This article focuses on two dimensions of childbearing orientation: social value of children and fertility intentions. Using the National Survey of Family Growth, we find limited support for the idea that familism undergirds differentials in fertility between native‐born Hispanics and whites. However, for foreign‐born Hispanics, there are some differences in the perceived value of children compared with whites, and these differences could contribute to fertility differentials.     

Adult Children of Divorce Revisited

Abstract

The prevalence of families experiencing divorce has lead to an increase in studies examining the consequences of parental divorce for children and also for young adults. The literature, especially focusing on young adults, is characterized with inconsistent findings. The purpose of this study was to explore these young adults' accounts, their attitudes toward cohabitation, marriage, and divorce, their dating behavior, and trust and commitment issues for them. Results based on sixty in-depth interviews indicated that parental conflict, quality of parents' new relationship(s), and parents' supportiveness during and after divorce were important factors affecting these respondents' attitudes and behavior. Age at which divorce occurred seemed to affect trust and commitment the most.     

Attitudes toward dating violence among college students in mainland China: an exploratory study

This study investigates attitudes toward psychological and physical dating violence among college students in mainland China (n = 245). The results of this study indicate that among our sample of college students in mainland China, men and women were relatively similar in their attitudes toward male perpetrated and female perpetrated physical dating violence and female perpetrated psychological dating violence. As has been found in previous research, men and women in our sample were more accepting of female perpetrated physical and psychological dating violence than male perpetrated physical and psychological dating violence. Finally, among several variables that predicted dating violence attitudes, shame emerged as a potentially important variable to include in future studies on dating violence in Chinese populations.     

Young Adults' Attitudes Toward Polygamous Marriage as a Function of Gender,Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage,and Other Sociopersonality Constructs

U.S. citizens are overwhelmingly opposed to the legalization of polygamous marriage, but specific reasons for this opposition remain unclear. In this study we examined young adults' (n = 814) attitudes toward polygamous marriage as a function of myriad variables. Particular attention was given to the presumed association between attitudes toward same-sex marriage and polygamous marriage. Results indicated that, overall, young adults' attitudes toward polygamous marriage were neutral. Also, attitudes toward same-sex marriage significantly correlated with attitudes toward polygamous marriage. However, not all pro–same-sex marriage participants were pro-polygamous marriage. Moreover, opposition to same-sex marriage, (female) gender, higher levels of authoritarianism, and endorsement of traditional family values conjointly and individually predicted opposition to polygamous marriage. Implications of the findings are discussed, particularly in the context of U.S. discourse over the legalization of same-sex marriage.     

Body Dissatisfaction: Commitment,Support, and Trust in Romantic Relationships

Research investigating dimensions of relationship quality has suggested that aspects of relationship quality (e.g., commitment, support, trust) are related to lower levels of body dissatisfaction in women. However no studies have examined the effect of all three measures of relationship quality on body dissatisfaction simultaneously. Trust and support correlated with body dissatisfaction in men and women. Additionally, the results showed that lack of support is a predictor of body dissatisfaction in men and lack of trust is a predictor in women; relationship commitment did not appear to relate to body dissatisfaction.     

The role of marriage in explaining racial and ethnic disparities in access to health care for men in the US

Reducing disparities in access to health care is a long-standing objective of the federal government. Building on research showing that marriage can provide important resources for obtaining needed health care, we suggest that racial and ethnic differences in marriage could explain persistent disparities in access. Using data from MEPS and NLSY we investigate the association between marriage and access to health care among men, and estimate the extent to which racial and ethnic differences in both the returns to marriage and marital rates explain differences in access and preventive service use. We find that marriage accounts for up to 24 % of racial and ethnic differences in access and preventive use. The returns to marriage for whites and blacks, however, are greater than that for Hispanics. We suggest that differences in spousal characteristics such as education and income could explain why whites and blacks benefit from marriage more than Hispanics. We find support for this hypothesis: differences in spousal characteristics account for up to 37 % of the gap in access and preventive use among married adults.     

Cohabitation and commitment: partnership plans of young men and women

Popular commentators on marriage and the family often interpret the increase in heterosexual couples living together without marrying as reduced willingness to create and honour life‐long partnerships. Survey and in‐depth interviews with samples of 20–29 year olds living in an urban area of Scotland finds little support for the postulated link between growing cohabitation and a weakened sense of commitment to long‐term arrangements. Most of the cohabiting couples strongly stressed their ‘commitment’. Socially acceptable vocabularies of motive undoubtedly influenced answers but interviews helped to explore deeper meanings. Many respondents’ views were consistent with previous research predictions of a weakening sense of any added value of marriage. At the same time, some respondents continued to stress the social significance of the distinction between marriage and cohabitation, consistent with research interpreting cohabitation as a ‘try and see’ strategy part‐way to the perceived full commitment of marriage. The notion that ‘marriage is better for children’ continued to have support among respondents. While, on average, cohabiting couples had lower incomes and poorer employment situations than married couples, only very extreme adverse circumstances were presented as making marriage ‘too risky’. Pregnancy‐provoked cohabitation was not always in this category. Cohabitation was maintained because marriage would ‘make no difference’ or because they ‘had not yet got round to’ marriage. Most respondents were more wary of attempting to schedule or plan in their personal life than in other domains and cohabitees’ attitudes to partnership, including their generally ‘committed’ approach, do not explain the known greater vulnerability of this group to dissolution.     

Manager attitudes concerning flexible work arrangements: fixed or changeable?

ABSTRACT

Flexible work arrangements (FWAs) present a vehicle for supporting caregiving responsibilities, but have yet to be widely implemented, in part, because of limited support from managers. This study examines transformation of manager attitudes toward FWAs in the context of a change initiative. Panel surveys of 721 managers revealed positive and negative attitudes concerning the use of FWAs and predictors of changes in these attitudes. Over the course of one year, the attitudes shifted in positive and negative directions consistent with conservation of resources and symbolic interactionism theory. Experience in supervising workers in FWAs, exposure to training, and perceived career rewards predicted favorable changes in attitudes. Findings offer support for advocacy for FWAs on the basis of a positive spiral of affirmation that connects experience and attitudes toward FWAs. The viewing of a personalized report on support of flexible work use by peers predicted development of more favorable attitudes in the merits of schedule flexibility. Findings indicate that manager attitudes about FWAs can be influenced, which in turn has potential to enhance family responsive employment practices.     

Sociosexuality,Commitment, Sexual Infidelity,and Perceptions of Infidelity: Data From the Second Love Web Site

This study explored the association between sociosexuality (behavior, attitudes, and desire) and commitment to understand sexual infidelity in current relationships. We also explored how these variables were associated with attitudes toward infidelity. Participants were romantically involved heterosexuals (N = 252; 51 women, 201 men; M_age = 41.13, SD = 9.82) registered on a dating Web site directed at romantically involved individuals. Results showed that sociosexuality, alongside commitment, was associated with sexual infidelity. Individuals who had (versus had not) previously engaged in infidelity reported more unrestricted sociosexuality, while reporting less commitment. For individuals reporting prior sexual infidelity, unrestricted sociosexual desire and lesser commitment were associated with more permissive perceptions of infidelity. For individuals reporting no prior sexual infidelity, greater commitment was always associated with more strict perceptions of infidelity. No gender differences emerged in the analyses. Also, no differences were found according to individual motivations (i.e., looking to know other people versus seeking casual sex) or relational motivations (i.e., individual registration versus registration as a couple) underlying individuals’ registration on the Web site. These results are an important addition to the literature on infidelity by analyzing a specific sample motivated to engage in infidelity. Implications for future research are discussed.