U txt WHEN? College students’ social contexts of text messaging

Despite an explosion in the popularity of text messaging (short message service, or SMS texting), little research has documented the prevalence of its use in various dimensions of the social landscape of young adults. We examined text messaging patterns in various social situations in a sample of college students. Unsurprisingly, participants placed a good deal of importance on texting and reported using texts frequently to stay in touch with friends and loved ones. However, a good number of participants reported texting in seemingly inopportune situations, such as while in the shower, while at work, during religious services, and while having sex. Further, most participants reported texting in situations that may be considered by some as social breaches, such as while on a date, while socializing in person with others, and to break up with and cheat on a romantic partner. Results suggest that drawbacks of this convenient, fast, and faceless mode of communication include disinhibition and inattention to one's immediate social environment.     

Self‐assessed consequences of unemployment on individual wellbeing and family relationships: A study of unemployed women and men in Finland

Weckström S. Self‐assessed consequences of unemployment on individual wellbeing and family relationships: a study of unemployed women and men in Finland The present study investigated how family situation and gender affect the experience of unemployment. The sample consisted of 494 Finnish women and 387 Finnish men who had been registered as unemployed for at least 3 months. The main method used in the study was analysis of covariance. Women assessed the consequences of unemployment on their individual wellbeing and on the parent–child relationship less negatively than men, but there was no corresponding gender difference concerning spousal relationship. Lone mothers experienced the change in individual wellbeing slightly more negatively than women in other family situations; this difference was in part related to financial strain. Financial strain and non‐financial work motivation predicted negative changes in individual wellbeing and in spousal relationship for both genders. Parent–child relationships were, however, independent from these variables. The way family relationships were affected was connected to changes in individual wellbeing.     

Gender, Ethnicity and Vulnerability in Young Women in Local Authority Care

Correspondence to Sue Lees, University of North London, 9 Northolme Road, London N2 2VZ, UK. E-mail: S.Lees{at}unl.ac.uk Summary This paper analyses the impact of gender and ethnicity, takentogether, on the experience of being looked after away fromhome. It presents the findings from a study of young women,aged over 12, who came into care in one local authority between1990 and 1999. It reports that the over-representation of youngblack women in care is associated with the greater tendencyof African-Caribbean and mixed heritage young women to run awayfrom home rather than put up with abusive relationships; thelack of cross-generational support resulting from migrationand the effects of poverty and racism which place added strainon family relationships. The implications of these findingsfor social work practice are considered.     

2 TXT or not 2 TXT: College students’ reports of when text messaging is social breach

Evidence suggests that those who engage in text messaging, particularly young individuals, tend to text in what many people may deem socially inappropriate or odd situations, such as while speaking face-to-face with someone else, while at work, while in the shower, or even while having sex. The present study investigates whether young texters are creating a new etiquette where these are socially acceptable practices or whether they deem these practices to be social breaches, but do it anyway. The data support the latter; college students report texting in many situations they did not deem socially acceptable. The importance of texting to this generation and future research directions are discussed.     

Should mothers work? Age and attitudes in Germany,Italy and Sweden

Welfare states are constructed around values and political and economic preferences, creating social relationships between the genders. As women increase their labour market participation, new patterns of conflict within families and around policies arise. In this article, attitudes towards family and gender relations among men and women in different age groups in Germany, Italy and Sweden are analysed. The findings show that national policies seem to influence the level of attitudes among men and women. Despite the differences between the countries, an overall pattern emerges in which both age and gender influence people's understanding of women's paid work within and between the three countries. Finally, some implications of changing attitudes on welfare state policies for gender equality are discussed.     

Forgiveness in Late Life

This study expands the understanding of forgiveness among a sample of older adults in Israel by exploring the contributory roles of meaning in life; stressful life events; and socio economic variables such as gender, age, and religiosity as well as time and agent of hurt. A convenience sample of 225 older adults in Israel responded to the Enright Forgiveness Inventory and the Reker Meaning in Life Scale. An additional questionnaire contained demographic and other background information, including a list of traumatic life events. The results of our study support our assumption that meaning in life correlates with forgiveness on all its dimensions. Furthermore, women tend to forgive more than men, and there is a tendency to forgive family members more readily than nonfamily members, and people who are still alive, as opposed to those who have passed away.     

Who REALLY Wants to be a Millionaire? Gender Differences in Game Show Contestant Behavior Under Risk*

Objective. On the popular game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire men appear to average higher winnings than women. This article investigates potential reasons, including different uses of information sources (lifelines) and different perceptions of risk. Method. We analyzed the decisions and resultant winnings of 164 contestants (95 men and 69 women) over 42 episodes of the show. Results. Gender‐based tests of Kahneman and Tversky's prospect theory demonstrated evidence of gender differences in the certainty effect and suggested the counterintuitive conclusion that men are rewarded for acting slightly more cautiously than do women. Conclusions. These gender differences may be owing to self‐selection of contestants, particularly for women, and to different goals: whereas men play to maximize their winnings, women may be less concerned with profit than with the experience as a whole. These findings suggest that examination of gender‐related behavior in other risky, high‐profile contexts may be worthwhile.     

SOCIAL CARE FOR THE AGED IN THE UNITED STATES

This paper reviews some of the impact of industrialization on the kinship structure and the shift in familial versus societal role re the elderly. Formal and informal networks of services and relationships are discussed: some needs and gaps in service identified. Thc role of women in filial responsibility within the modern family situation is noted and the need for increased supports identified. The author warns that both formal and informal systems-functioning complementary and optimally, are needed by the increasing number of elderly people.     

The role of gender stereotypes in the social acceptability of the expression of intimacy

This study explores the proposition that similar to the way that it is more acceptable for women than men to express traits that suggest vulnerability, such as loneliness or depression, it is also more acceptable for women to express emotional intimacy. Participants view an interaction between two men, two women, or a man and a woman, and evaluate the interpersonal attraction of the person expressing emotional intimacy. In Study 1, men gave the most negative evaluations to the man being intimate. In Study 2, thematic analysis of interview content suggests that participants hold gender stereotypes about intimacy and also that men frequently risk social rejection and may be perceived as gay when they engage in intimate expression, particularly when with other men. Overall, findings suggest that gender and related stereotypes have an observable role in the perceptions of an individual who is expressing intimacy.     

DIVERSITY BUT NOT EQUALITY: DOMESTIC LABOUR IN COHABITING RELATIONSHIPS

This paper examines the domestic labour arrangements of cohabiting couples and the implications for gender equality. The discussion is based on a predominantly qualitative study of thirty young cohabiters. The men and women shared domestic labour in diverse ways but not equally, instead they used discursive strategies to avoid assessing whether their contributions were equal. The cohabiters expressed extremely egalitarian attitudes when asked general questions about society but equality is absent when they discuss their own relationships. I argue that the concept of equality is part of public discourse rather than a fundamental principle of cohabiting relationships.     

夫妻相对资源和情感关系对农民工婚姻暴力的影响——基于性别视角的分析

随着中国城市化进程的加快，农民工夫妻间经济权力结构和情感关系的变化将对婚姻暴力产生深远影响。本文引入性别视角，提出了解释农民工夫妻间婚姻暴力的综合分析框架，通过量化方法，分析夫妻相对资源和情感关系对农民工实施冷暴力和肢体暴力的影响及其性别差异。研究发现,农民工家庭中婚姻暴力现象较普遍，以冷暴力为主，女性施暴率显著高于男性；夫妻相对资源因素和情感关系因素对男性和女性实施婚姻暴力都有显著影响，相对资源因素对男性实施婚姻暴力的影响大于女性，夫妻情感关系对女性实施婚姻暴力的影响大于男性。     

Collecting text messages from college students: Evaluating a novel methodology

Social interaction, particularly in older adolescents, increasingly involves computer‐mediated communication. Although studies of public computer‐mediated communication are increasingly common, studies of private text messaging remain rare. As approaches for obtaining such data evolve with technological advances, developmental scientists need designs in which to use such approaches that reduce sampling biases in both participants and text messages. In this study (n = 854; 46% male; 22% African American, 60% European American), we examined selection biases in the participant sample (i.e., factors associated with actual participation), procedural biases in the participant sample (i.e., factors related to failed data capture due to technological or procedural issues), and selection biases in the sample of text messages (i.e., based on self‐reported reasons for texting). Findings from our study suggest that studying human interaction directly through analysis of text message data is not only feasible, but also may be successfully undertaken with minimal biases regarding sample selection and text message selection among those who are engaged in research and engaged in text messaging outside of the study context. However, biases may occur depending on the type of platform (iPhone vs. Android) used by participants for texting.     

Gender variation in the antecedents of task advice network size: Organizational tenure and core self-evaluations

Research finds gender differences in the size, quality, and consequences of social networks in the workplace. Building on these studies, we focus on one type of social network: task advice networks, which we define as the networks that act as conduits for information and knowledge directly related to work task completion. Using data on over 1300 employees, we test the relationships between task advice network size and two variables – organizational tenure and core self-evaluations, examining differences by gender. We find a larger positive association between core self-evaluations and task advice network size for men than for women. Additionally, we find that men, but not women, have larger networks when lower in tenure.     

市场化背景下社会资本对性别收入差距的影响——基于2009 JSNet全国数据

本文使用2009 JSNet全国数据,考察市场化背景下社会资本作用的变化及其对性别收入差距的影响。研究发现：第一,市场化程度较高的情况下,网络资源对收入回报的作用更小,阶层网络对收入回报的作用更大;第二,体制外部门两性的网络资源对收入回报的作用没有差异,体制内部门男性的网络资源对收入回报的作用小于女性;第三,男性的阶层网络对收入回报的作用无论在体制外部门还是体制内部门都高于女性。综上所述,对于女性而言,其所拥有的网络资源所能带来的收入回报优势被市场化的推进所消减;对于男性而言,其所拥有的阶层网络所能带来的收入回报优势被市场化的推进所提升。因此,随着市场化的不断推进以及社会资本在市场化背景下作用的变化,两性的收入差距在进一步拉大。     

Does gender ideology explain differences between countries regarding the involvement of women and of men in paid and unpaid work?

Women spend more time doing household work than men, and men spend more time working at paying jobs outside the home than women. But studies also show that there are major differences between countries regarding the degree to which women and men involve themselves in different kinds of labour activity. The main aim of the article is to analyse the significance of gender ideology when studying differences between countries regarding the involvement of women and men in paid and unpaid work. The analysis is based on national random samples from ten OECD countries that were collected within the framework of ISSP 1994. The conclusions are: (a) gender ideology has an impact in all the studied countries on the degree to which women and men involve and engage themselves in labour and (b) gender ideology partially explains the differences between countries regarding women's and men's involvement in paid and unpaid work.     

Hidden champions: Exploring supportive family relationships of youth experiencing homelessness

The relationships that youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) have with supportive family members (i.e. those who provide them with social support) may be protective against risk behaviours and buffer adverse health outcomes. However, little is known about the nature of YEH's supportive family relationships and the type of social support that these family relationships offer them. Thus, we conducted in-depth interviews with 30 YEH to examine the type of social support received from family relationships and to explore the social dynamics of these relationships. We found that many YEH not only continued to maintain relationships with family members after becoming homeless but also received emotional and/or instrumental support from these family members. Beyond providing this type of social support, family members served as a source of motivation for these youth. Additionally, YEH contributed to their family relationships and gained a sense of connectedness in return. Lastly, we found that YEH's family support was influenced by their family circumstances and their need for autonomy. Collectively, our findings suggest there may be a need for interventions designed to strengthen relationships with supportive family members among YEH, who may derive multiple positive benefits from relating with the ‘hidden champions’ in their lives.     

Relational Aggression and Victimization in Young Adults' Romantic Relationships: Associations with Perceptions of Parent, Peer, and Romantic Relationship Quality

This study had three goals: (a) To investigate gender differences in relational aggression and victimization within young adults' romantic relationships, (b) to investigate associations between romantic relational aggression and victimization and perceptions of romantic relationship quality, and (c) to explore parent and peer predictors of romantic relational aggression and victimization. College students (70 females and 34 males) completed self‐reports of romantic relational aggression and victimization, and parent, peer, and romantic relationship quality. Men and women reported equal levels of romantic relational aggression, and men reported higher levels of victimization than women. Aggression and victimization were positively correlated with negative romantic relationship qualities and negatively correlated with positive relationship qualities. Regression analyses indicated that both romantic relational victimization and romantic relational aggression explained variance in romantic relationship quality. There were several significant associations between parent and peer relationship quality and romantic relational aggression and victimization, which suggest that poor relationships with parents and peers may play a role in the development and maintenance of these behaviors.     

现阶段农村青年婚姻观念的嬗变—以安徽省安庆市A县B镇为例

婚姻观念影响着人们的婚姻家庭生活。改革开放三十年来,由于各方面原因的冲击,使得人们的婚姻观念特别是青年的婚姻观念从传统向现代过渡,从封闭转向开放,从一元向多元的转变。本文以A县B镇农村青年为例,探求农村青年的婚姻观念中的择偶观、贞操观、婚俗观、生育观以及男女平等观念的嬗变。     

Gender and Cultural Adaptation in Immigrant Families

The study of immigration and immigrants' experiences benefits from examining the contribution of gender. In this article, we focus on the importance of gender for understanding different aspects of family functioning. Conditions associated with immigration and settlement in the receiving society may challenge expectations about gender-related roles, resulting in the renegotiation of these roles in immigrant families. Also, there is evidence of different socialization demands on daughters compared to sons in immigrant families, a difference that has potential implications not only for parent-child relationships, but also for the development of ethnocultural identity among adolescents and young adults.