Gender,Family Structure,and Adolescents’ Primary Confidants

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (N = 4,190), this study examined adolescents’ reports of primary confidants. Results showed that nearly 30% of adolescents aged 16 – 18 nominated mothers as primary confidants, 25% nominated romantic partners, and 20% nominated friends. Nominating romantic partners or friends was related to increased risk‐taking behaviors, supporting the attachment notion that shifting primary confidants to peers in adolescence may reflect premature autonomy from parents. Tendencies to prefer romantic partners over parents varied by gender and family structure, which were greater for those from single‐father families and girls from mother‐stepfather families, but less for those from single‐mother families and boys from mother‐stepfather families, compared with their counterparts from two‐biological‐parent families.     

我国亲职教育的发展状况与推进策略

从社会发展的角度系统地分析了当代中国社会对亲职教育的迫切需求,详细描述了当前我国亲职教育发展状况及存在的问题,反映了家长对亲职教育的迫切需求与当前亲职教育发展较为薄弱的现状之间的矛盾。从机构建设、责任分配、立法保障、形式和内容,以及层级体系等方面提出了关于推广和发展我国亲职教育事业的建议。     

Redressing Inequity in Parent Care Among Siblings

When inequities occur in the division of labor among adult siblings caring for older parents, conflict may result. This paper uses equity theory as a framework for understanding the processes used by siblings to rectify imbalances in their parental responsibilities. The study is based on a sample of 40 focus group participants who described caregiving relationships among siblings. Consistent with equity theory, these participants used two approaches to redress inequities in their sibling caregiving relationships: requesting behavioral changes from siblings and making cognitive changes. The findings suggest that these two approaches can result in more perceived equity but may also lead to even greater perceived inequity and distress.     

The Importance of the Coparental Relationship for Nonresident Fathers’ Ties to Children

We examine the importance of the coparental relationship for nonresident fathers’ ties to their children. Using data from Wave 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households, we focus on the link between two dimensions of coparenting, cooperative coparenting and conflict over childrearing, and three dimensions of nonresident father involvement, contact, relationship quality, and responsive fathering. Cooperative coparenting predicts more frequent father‐child contact, which in turn predicts higher relationship quality and more responsive fathering. Conflict over childrearing, however, is not significantly related to nonresident father involvement. Findings are consistent across different groups of children. Results suggest that cooperative coparenting between parents who live apart is associated with stronger ties between nonresident fathers and their children.     

When Children Have Two Mothers: Relationships With Nonresident Mothers,Stepmothers, and Fathers

Using data on 294 adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health who live with a biological father and have both a resident stepmother and a nonresident biological mother, this study examines the prevalence, antecedents, and consequences of adolescents’ closeness to each of their parents. Findings demonstrate that adolescents vary in their likelihood of having close relationships to resident fathers, resident stepmothers, and nonresident biological mothers, but when they can do so, they appear to benefit. Close relationships with both resident fathers and nonresident mothers are associated with fewer adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. Closeness to resident stepmothers, however, is unrelated to these two outcomes. Results suggest that fathers play a particularly important role in these families.     

Single Parenthood and Children’s Reading Performance in Asia

Using the data from Program for International Student Assessment, I examine the gap in reading performance between 15‐year‐old students in single‐parent and intact families in 5 Asian countries in comparison to the United States. The ordinary least square regression analyses show negligible disadvantages of students with a single parent in Hong Kong and Korea, once students’ demographic characteristics and socioeconomic background are held constant. Students in single‐parent families in Indonesia and Thailand outperform their peers in intact families. The negative effect of single parenthood remains significant in Japan, even after parent‐child communication is controlled. Interpreting the weak effect of single parenthood in the Asian countries, I consider extended family systems and the relatively high proportion of widowhood among causes of single parenthood.     

Children and Power in Mexican Transnational Families

Today, many families find that they are unable to fulfill the goal of maintaining a household by living together under the same roof. Some members migrate internationally. This article addresses the consequences of a transnational lifestyle for children who are left behind by migrant parents. Using ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with a total of 141 members of Mexican transnational families, I explore how children who are left behind react to parents’ migrations. I focus on how Mexican children manifest the competing pressures they feel surrounding parents’ migrations and consequently shape family migration patterns. The article shows that children may experience power, albeit in different ways at different ages, while simultaneously being disadvantaged as dependents and in terms of their families’ socioeconomic status.     

School's out! Why earlier among children of lone parents?

The aims of this population-based study were to analyse educational attainment at ages 24–25 among children of lone parents in comparison with children living with two biological parents, to increase understanding of the factors that seem to be of major importance in increased risks of lower educational achievement and to examine how the life circumstances of non-custodial parents influence possible differences. We found that children who grew up with only one parent showed lower educational attainment than did children in two-parent families. Poorer educational performance on the part of the offspring of lone parents can be explained to a large extent by socio-economic disadvantage, especially a lack of economic resources. However, achievement varies according to cause of lone parenting, and findings strongly indicate that adjusting solely for custodial parents' circumstances may lead to under-estimation of the relationship. Lone parenting seems to have a more detrimental effect on girls' education, and also within groups of children with highly educated parents than among those with a relatively low level of education.     

Economic hardship in the family of origin and children's psychological well‐Being in adulthood

Past research consistently indicates that poverty and economic hardship have negative consequences for children. Few studies, however, have examined whether these consequences persist into adulthood. This study addresses this gap by assessing whether economic resources in the family of origin have long‐term effects on psychological well‐being in adulthood. Specifically, we test two processes—one involving interpersonal processes in the family of origin, and the other involving children's socioeconomic attainment—that may help to explain the link between early economic factors and later well‐being. Using 17‐year longitudinal data from two generations (N= 589), we find evidence that economic hardship in the family of origin predicts later adult well‐being through the parents’ marital relationship, the parent‐teen relationship, children's educational attainment, and children's earned income. Supplementary analyses suggest that economic hardship is particularly problematic when it is of long duration or when it occurs during adolescence.     

Acculturation,Social Support,and Family Conflict: Korean–American Adolescents’ Perceptions

Numerous studies have examined the nature of parent–adolescent relationships within mainstream families; but few have focused on conflicts in the Korean immigrant population. In addition, there has been no attempt to develop and test a theory-driven model of social service practices for the immigrant families. Thus, the current study developed and tested a structural equation model based on three latent variables, which are acculturation, social support system, and family conflict. This study offers a first step by investigating the overall nature and outcome of conflict between parents and adolescents. The analysis with data taken from 304 Korean American adolescents, ages 14–18, revealed that a social support system was the most significant means of predicting immigrant family conflicts. A number of practice applications, based on the results, along with implications for future study were discussed, and proved a great need for a support system.