Only children as adult women: Life course events and timing

A comparison between adult women who are only children and women who grew up with siblings is performed in relation to life course characteristics (events and timing), using a random sample of Canadian women (birth cohorts 1905–29 and 1930–44) surveyed, by telephone, in Vancouver and Victoria (total n of 1 251, with a response rate of approximately 60 percent). Initial analysis shows that female adult only children are less likely to have large families, more likely to marry and have their first child at older ages, more likely to attain high levels of education, and, among the younger cohort, more likely to cohabitate at younger ages. However, more refined analysis reveals that differences are, for the most part, the result of family of origin variables associated with sibsize rather than the result of only child status per se. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for research within the life course perspective, and in the light of possible changes accompanying population aging.     

The effects of the age and structure of population on family change]

The age structure of a population is one basic factor of population research. It is not only affected by birth, death, immigration, and marriage, but it also reflected in changes of family size. The article analyzed it from two aspects: (1) the age structure of population acts on the size and structure of the family. The younger the age structure, the larger the family size. Otherwise, it is the opposite. According to the 1982 census, 35.4% of the population was 0-14 years in rural areas, and average family size was 4.6; but in urban areas 26.0% of the population was 0-14 years and family size was 3.9. The family was characterized as a nuclear family as industrialization in economic development increased and the population aged. In the 1982 census, 64.7% were nuclear family and 6% were aging population in China. Three- generation families (or more) have decreased dramatically. The change of family size and structure is affected by change of internal family age structure. The younger population (0-14 years) is dependent and 90% live with their parents. The adult population (15-59) years are more affected by marriage, birth and social economic action. Families are established in this age period and give much more effect to fertility. The aging population (over 60) years is facing changes. They appear to be a "Defect" family because the wife or husband has passed away. They change from independent to dependent. 78.3% population over 60 years were dependent on children or social welfare, only 21.7% were independent according to the survey in Beijing Changping County.     

Sources of neighborhood residential change: A micro-level analysis

Neighborhood residential change is analyzed at a micro decision-making level with emphasis upon the resident's subjective evaluation of his physical/social neighborhood environment. Two conflicting modes affecting a residential change are discovered in the Israeli neighborhood examined: a strong social attachment inhibiting a move and the perceived deteriorating physical environment encouraging a residential shift. Clarifying these phenomena strongly suggests that the negative subjective evaluation of the immediate physical environment acts as a major catalyst in provoking a move. Restraint upon changes, despite the perceived conditions of the physical environment, depends greatly upon the intensity of the resident's social attachment to their neighborhood. The implications of the analysis of neighborhood stability and change are then discussed.     

Demographic, residential, and socioeconomic effects on the distribution of nineteenth-century African-American stature

Nineteenth-century mulattos were taller than their darker-colored African-American counterparts. However, traditional explanations that attribute the mulatto stature advantage to only socioeconomic factors are yet to tie taller mulatto statures to observable phenomenon. Vitamin D production may also explain part of the nineteenth-century mulatto–black stature differential. Mulattos were taller than darker-pigmented blacks across the stature distribution, and higher melanin concentrations in darker black stratum corneums reduced the amount of vitamin D synthesized. The interaction with sunlight in darker-complexioned blacks was associated with larger stature returns for darker-complexioned blacks than their mulatto counterparts.     

Life change,health status and life satisfaction: A reconsideration

Recent research has suggested that life changes may be unrelated to health status indices and to overall satisfaction with life. Yet research has also reported that life changes appear to be related to measures of psychological distress. To attend further to clarification of the role of life change as a predictor of health status and life satisfaction, this paper examines the relationship between negative life change self-reports and indices of health status and life satisfaction. The data come from a survey of 1423 Northwestern Wisconsinites interviewed in 1974 by the Wisconsin Survey Research Laboratory. The findings indicate that self-reports of negative life changes were related to overall life satisfaction, controlling for health status, feelings of alienation/attachment, and personal disruption. Implications of the findings are discussed in conclusion.     

[The change of the population age structure and employment].]

The age structure of the population and its impact on employment in China is studied. The author notes that the demographic transition has occurred rapidly and that changes in the age structure have created employment problems in various regions of the country. Data are from official Chinese sources. The impact of changes in the age structure on employment over the next 30 years is considered.     

Life course transitions of American children: Parental cohabitation, marriage, and single motherhood

We examine the life course transitions into and from families headed by unmarried cohabiting couples for a recent cohort of American children. Life table estimates, based on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth mother-child files, indicate about one in four children will live in a family headed by a cohabiting couple sometime during childhood. Economic uncertainty is an important factor determining whether children in single-parent families subsequently share a residence with a mother's unmarried partner. Moreover, virtually all children in cohabiting-couple families will experience rapid subsequent changes in family status. Our estimates provide a point of departure for future work on children's exposure to parental cohabitation and its social and economic implications.     

The effects of climate change on the geography and timing of human mobility

Human mobility over different distances and time scales has long been associated with environmental change, and the idea of climate change is now affecting movement in new ways. In this paper, we discuss three cases from the South Pacific to explain the ways anticipated climate futures are changing mobility in the present. First, we examine village relocation in response to coastal erosion and inundation in Fiji, drawing on our study of the unfolding experience of Narikoso village in Kadavu Province. In contrast to this spatially constrained process of permanent relocation, we examine the spatially extended yet temporally constrained seasonal migrant worker programme that aims to support economic development in the Pacific Islands by providing temporary work visas in Australia and New Zealand. Finally, we examine the likely effects of proposed open labour markets as a means to promote climate change adaptation, through a study of the analogous example of Niuean migration to New Zealand which has resulted in both permanent migration and a slow circulation of people between both countries. Across these examples, we highlight emerging and potentially constructive ways in which climate change is altering the spatio-temporal patterns and rhythms of mobility.     

The effects of race,ethnicity, and age on obesity

About 30% of Americans are obese, which is roughly a 100% increase from 25 years ago. This study examines the effects of changes in the racial/ethnic composition and age distribution on the prevalence of obesity, identifies the portion of the increase in obesity caused by these changes, and projects the effects of future racial/ethnic and age changes on obesity using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. Results indicate that racial/ethnic composition changes and age distribution changes have accounted for about 10% of the increase in obesity over the last 25 years. However, future racial/ethnic and age changes are not projected to increase obesity substantially.      

Education and survival: Birth cohort,period, and age effects

Previous studies have found that educational differences in mortality are weaker among the elderly. In this study I examine whether either cohort or period effects may have influenced the interpretation of age effects. Six 10-year birth cohorts are followed over 30 years through decennial censuses. Differential survival is inferred from changes in the relative proportions of a cohort in each education category as the cohort ages. In cross-section, younger persons generally show stronger education effects on survival, although this pattern is clearer for women than for men. There is evidence of period effects. Within cohorts, relative survival tends to increase with age.     

On the dependence of age structure on asequence of mortality and fertility schedules: An exposition of a cyclical model of population change

In this paper a method to investigate the dependence of age structure and growth rate on a given sequence of fertility and mortality schedules under the conditions of unchanging mortality and absence of migration is discussed. The method consists in projecting an arbitrary population classified by age to the ends of successive periods assuming that a given age pattern of mortality will remain without change and that a given sequence of fertility schedules will repeatedly operate on the population in a cyclical fashion. It is shown that after a sufficiently large number of repetitions of the cycle, the shifts in age structure between the ends of successive periods and the changes in the growth of the different age groups from one period to the next show a cyclical pattern. Formulas are derived expressing the above changes in terms of a sequence of k growth multipliers, k being the number of schedules in the fertility sequence, and the survival rates in the mortality schedule. A numerical illustration of the theory is given using fertility data from Finland.     

The effects of gender on climate change knowledge and concern in the American public

This study tests theoretical arguments about gender differences in scientific knowledge and environmental concern using 8 years of Gallup data on climate change knowledge and concern in the US general public. Contrary to expectations from scientific literacy research, women convey greater assessed scientific knowledge of climate change than do men. Consistent with much existing sociology of science research, women underestimate their climate change knowledge more than do men. Also, women express slightly greater concern about climate change than do men, and this gender divide is not accounted for by differences in key values and beliefs or in the social roles that men and women differentially perform in society. Modest yet enduring gender differences on climate change knowledge and concern within the US general public suggest several avenues for future research, which are explored in the conclusion.     

On the Sunny Side of Life: Sunshine Effects on Life Satisfaction

This paper seeks to analyze the influence of the weather on a person’s self-reported life satisfaction. On a theoretical level, it is claimed that ‘nice’ weather can improve the affective well-being of a person. Given this, it is argued that affects can, in turn, have an impact on that person’s general assessment of his or her life. In particular, it is expected that people would report a higher life satisfaction on days with unambiguously ‘nice’ weather. Data from three German large-scale surveys are used to test empirically to what extent self-reported life satisfaction is determined by the weather. All in all, the results are mostly consistent with the initial hypothesis. In all three samples those respondents surveyed on days with exceptionally sunny weather reported a higher life satisfaction compared to respondents interviewed on days with ‘ordinary’ weather. In two out of three samples, this difference was statistically significant. Hence, the supposed sunshine effect on peoples’ life satisfaction does indeed exist. Implications of these findings are discussed in a conclusion.     

When density matters: Environmental control as a determinant of crowding effects in laboratory and residential settings

Conclusion We have argued that the influence of high levels of density on human health and behavior may be determined more by the individual's beliefs about hislher relationship to the environment than by the environment itself.An important implication of this analysis is that the behavior and health of those experiencing high density conditions can be altered (improved?) not only by changing their environment, but also by changing their attitudes toward their environment. Thus both interventions that actually provide people with the opportunity to terminate, periodically escape, or modify unwanted stimulation and those that otherwise provide them with the belief that such changes are within their power should similarly ameliorate the negative impact of high density.Preparation of this paper was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (SOC 75-09224 and BNS 77-08576).     

The effects of a change in the point system on immigration: evidence from the 2001 Quebec reform

In 2001, Quebec changed its point system, a system that selects immigrants based on specific observable characteristics. The explicit objective was to increase the number of French-speaking immigrants, with no deterioration in overall labor market performance. To achieve this, points for French and education (specifically bachelor’s degrees) were increased. In parallel, points for a subjective assessment of “adaptability” were decreased. In line with the initial objective, we find more French-speaking immigrants with bachelor’s degrees, and no worsening in labor market outcomes after the reform. These results hold in a difference-in-differences and triple differences analysis. This paper shows how point systems can be used to shape the immigrant workforce according to policy goals.     

The effects of demographic factors on age composition and the implications for per capita income

Multiple regression analysis techniques are used to measure the impact of variations in fertility and mortality rates on the population of labor-force age. The results of this analysis suggest that the impact of reductions in mortality on age composition are dependent on the level of mortality already attained, whereas reductions in fertility, as expected, increase the population in the nondependent age groups. The direct effect of vital rates on potential per capita income is assessed using the results of the regression equations, and such results suggest that variations in per capita income as large as 20 percent could be accounted for by variations in vital rates.     

Low socioeconomic status increases effects of negative life events on antenatal anxiety and depression

Problem

Low socioeconomic status and prior negative life events are documented risk factors for antenatal anxiety and depression, preterm birth and birth weight. We aimed to asses whether the adverse effects of prior negative life events increase with lower socioeconomic status and which aspects of socioeconomic status are most relevant.

Mobility and adjustments: Paths to the resolution of residential stress

In theory, residential mobility is a response to environmental stress only if households do not reduce dissatisfaction through other alternatives, such as housing improvements or repairs. Despite the attention given to stress-reducing alternatives, however, no attempt has been made to test empirically the residential satisfaction model with adjustments. Using data from the Annual Housing Survey: 1978-1981, I model three stages in the mobility process and investigate potential sources of specification error in previous tests. Blocks of family cycle, background/action state, and location/housing variables are shown to affect adjusting significantly. Residential satisfaction strongly affects mobility preferences; and all theoretically relevant blocks of explanatory variables predict mobility. Alternatives to mobility should be included in the residential satisfaction model.     

A dynamic analysis of migration: an assessment of the effects of age,family and career variables

This paper examines the utility of viewing migration in the context of work careers and family life cycles. We do this by studying migration as a discrete state, continuous time process. We find that the inverse relationship between age and migration is due almost completely to the effects of family life cycle and work career variables. Further, we find that job- or locationspecific resources, prestige and wage deter migration.