The Decoupling of Marriage and Parenthood? Trends in the Timing of Marital First Births, 1945–2002

Family formation changed dramatically over the 20th century in the United States. The impact of these changes on childbearing has primarily been studied in terms of nonmarital fertility. However, changes in family formation behavior also have implications for fertility within marriage. The authors used data from 10 fertility surveys to describe changes in the timing of marital childbearing from the 1940s through the 21st century for non‐Hispanic White and non‐Hispanic Black women. Based on harmonized data from the Integrated Fertility Survey Series, the results suggest increasing divergence in fertility timing for White women. A growing proportion of marriages begin with a premarital conception; at the same time, an increasing proportion of White women are postponing fertility within marriage. For Black women, marital fertility is increasingly postponed beyond the early years of marriage. Evaluating the sequencing of marriage and parenthood over time is critical to understanding the changing meaning of marriage.     

The limited effect of increasing educational attainment on childlessness trends in twentieth-century Europe,women born 1916–65

During the twentieth century, trends in childlessness varied strongly across European countries while educational attainment grew continuously across them. Using census and large-scale survey data from 13 European countries, we investigated the relationship between these two factors among women born between 1916 and 1965. Up to the 1940 birth cohort, the share of women childless at age 40+ decreased universally. Afterwards, the trends diverged across countries. The results suggest that the overall trends were related mainly to changing rates of childlessness within educational groups and only marginally to changes in the educational composition of the population. Over time, childlessness levels of the medium-educated and high-educated became closer to those of the low-educated, but the difference in level between the two better educated groups remained stable in Western and Southern Europe and increased slightly in the East.     

Couple Longevity in the Era of Same‐Sex Marriage in the United States

The author used a new longitudinal data set, the How Couples Meet and Stay Together surveys (N = 3,009), to generate the first nationally representative comparison of same‐sex couple stability and heterosexual couple stability in the United States. He measured the association between marriage (by several definitions of marriage) and couple longevity for same‐sex couples in the United States. Reports of same‐sex relationship instability in the past were due in part to the low rate of marriages among same‐sex couples. After controlling for marriage and marriage‐like commitments, the break‐up rate for same‐sex couples was comparable to (and not statistically distinguishable from) the break‐up rate for heterosexual couples. The results revealed that same‐sex couples who had a marriage‐like commitment had stable unions regardless of government recognition. A variety of predictors of relationship dissolution for heterosexual and for same‐sex couples are explored.     

壮族民间信仰研究的成果、独特价值及未来趋向

本文从自然崇拜、始祖崇拜、师公教、娅汪女神四个研究专题梳理了改革开放以来壮族民间信仰研究的已有成果,探讨了壮族民间信仰研究的独特价值,对比了壮族民间信仰研究与全国民间信仰研究在研究动态和研究取向上的差异,并将其视为今后研究的突破口,认为壮族民间信仰研究有以下发展趋向:继续深化对民间信仰"壮族模式"的研究、加强对壮族民间信仰复兴和再造的研究力度、注重对民间信仰仪式实践的考察;并认为多学科、跨学科的综合研究将会得到强化.     

历史虚无主义的唯物史观透视

近年来,历史虚无主义在我国的重新泛起,有其深刻的历史背景和社会根源.历史虚无主义存在于众多领域,影响面广,危害度深.历史虚无主义打着"创新"的旗号,歪曲历史,削解民族精神,贬低革命,解构主流意识形态,否定党的领导和社会主义制度.     

构建和谐社会的传统智慧——从儒学的视域来看

构建和谐社会是当今社会的主题之一,我们应充分挖掘传统的智慧资源。从儒学的传统来看,值得借鉴的主要有三个方面：“天人合一”——和谐社会的生态基础、“和为贵”——和谐社会的人道原则、“性向善”——和谐社会的人性论依据。     

兵团纺织业承接产业转移问题探析

兵团具有发展纺织工业的优势与条件,但目前发展水平较低,主要以初级产品加工为主,产业链条短,且在兵团各师之间分布不均衡。该文分析了国内纺织行业产业转移的现状与趋势,指出兵团纺织工业承接东部产业转移具有原料、能源、区位和产业基础等优势条件,提出兵团应采取优化招商引资优惠政策,发挥集聚效应引导企业相对集中,加快企业组织结构调整积极培育优势企业,加快实施品牌战略增强兵团纺织业竞争力等政策措施,使兵团纺织工业承接好产业转移。     

我国区域经济差距的空间演变趋势及其成因

文章采用空间马尔科夫链方法分析了我国区域差距和经济发展的空间效应及演变趋势,发现地理背景对经济类型转移具有显著影响,区域经济类型不会发生明显的跃迁,经济增长存在空间相关性和路径依赖性。然后,利用Kernel密度分布法提供了同时考察经济增长及区域差距的新分析框架,从经济增长分布演进的视角,分析了我国区域经济差距的原因。研究结果显示,中国经济差距扩散的动力来源于效率改进而非要素投入。     

Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services: How Consumer Access Is Restricted by State Policies

State Medicaid programs have expanded home and community-based services (HCBS). This article compares trends and variations in state policies for Medicaid HCBS programs in 2005 and 2010. State limitations on financial eligibility criteria and service benefits have remained stable. Although the use of consumer direction, independent providers, and family care providers has increased, some states do not have these options. The increased adoption of state cost control policies have led to large increases in persons on waiver wait lists. Access could be improved by standardizing and liberalizing state HCBS policies, but state fiscal concerns are barriers to rebalancing between HCBS and institutional services.     

Ethical Adoption Practice

Abstract

Dr. Paul Denhalter completed his doctoral candidacy research on adoptive family attachment and entitlement. Nineteen parents were interviewed about what elements of adoptive family life contributed to a sense of entitlement. The act of care giving increased entitlement; negative comments from others about adoption tended to decrease it. In his social work practice, Dr. Denhalter counseled adoptive and birth families and advocated education, counseling and support for successful open adoption relationships. His positive perspective on adoption included his father's adoption at age five. Dr. Denhalter was critical of the current trends in adoption that have pathologized adoption for political purposes. He emphasized the results of the Search Institute's study that had positive conclusions about adopted children as well as a blueprint for successful adoptive families to follow.