Age at the onset of menopause and its influencing factors in Turkish women in a rural area

This study was performed to identify menopausal age and its determining factors in women over 40 residing in the Dogubeyazit district of Agri, located in Eastern Turkey. This cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 1,068 women, selected by simple random sampling among all district health center records of women aged 40 and greater, who were each attributed a random serial number. While 35.6% of the subjects had not yet reached menopause, 60.5% had entered it spontaneously and 3.9% surgically. Average age at spontaneous menopause was 47.4 ± 3.7 years and that of surgical menopause 45.1 ± 5.0. Age at marriage, age of last pregnancy, and the age of the subject’s mother at menopause affected menopausal status. Identifying menopausal age and its determining factors may modify the menopausal status of women and their management of the perimenopausal period.     

Differences in labour force participation by motherhood status among second-generation Turkish and majority women across Europe

Second-generation Turkish immigrants make up an increasingly important segment of European labour markets. These young adults are entering the prime working ages and forming families. However, we have only a limited understanding of the relationship between labour force participation and parenthood among second-generation Turkish women. Using unique data from the Integration of the European Second Generation survey (2007/08), we compared the labour force participation of second-generation Turkish women with their majority-group counterparts by motherhood status in four countries. We found evidence that motherhood gaps, with respect to labour force participation, were similar for majority and second-generation Turkish women in Germany and in Sweden; however, there may be larger gaps for second-generation mothers than for majority women in the Netherlands and France. Cross-national findings were consistent with the view that national normative and social policy contexts are relevant for the labour force participation of all women, regardless of migrant background.     

How women experience menopause: the importance of social context

This study analyzes personal accounts of women's menopausal experiences to understand why most women view menopause as an insignificant event, despite negative cultural and medical constructions of menopause as a time of "loss." We analyze 16 in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of women to examine how social contexts affect women's experiences with menopause and the meaning of those experiences. We find that most women view menopause as inconsequential because other events of midlife are more important or stressful to them. However, when cultural and medical contexts are examined, we find that some women do not avoid others' negative constructions of menopause as a time of "loss."     

The psychosocial meaning of menopause: women's experiences

This paper reports on a qualitative study of womens' experiences with menopause from a psychosocial perspective. Women give voice to the impact of menopause upon their sense of self and significant relationships in their lives. This study raises questions about the meaning of the reluctance of women and others to discuss menopause in a helpful, meaningful way.     

Social support among women veterans

The beneficial effects of social support on well-being have been shown in various studies. Less is known about factors which constrain or enhance the availability of social support. The present study profiles social support among women veterans and attempts to identify factors which enhance or constrain perceptions of support and social integration for women of different military eras. Data are derived from a national sample of women veterans who had at least one VA out-patient visit during a one year time period. Twenty percent of women veterans report having no one to depend on. Social support is lowest among Vietnam and Post-Vietnam era women. Chronic strains (such as having problems with relatives, housing, and paying bills) are important factors which are associated with levels of perceived support. Factors related to loneliness/alone status appear to be associated with constraints in group activities and perceived support. This research illustrates the importance of examining factors which constrain and enhance supportive activities and relationships.     

Selfish,Vengeful, and Full of Spite: The representations of women who have abortions on Turkish television

This article analyses the portrayal of women who have abortions in four recent Turkish television series, Gümü?, A?k-? Memnu, Han?m?n Çiftli?i, and Öyle Bir Geçer Zaman ki, all of which appeared between 2005 and 2011. It is clear from the varying storylines of these melodramas that the depiction of women who have abortions on Turkish television is decidedly negative. The women who have abortions are seen as defying cultural expectations to place motherhood before all else. They are portrayed as cheating on their husbands, having sex outside of marriage, and prioritizing career over marriage and family. The negative portrayal of women who have abortions in Turkish soap operas perpetuates the discourse on Republican womanhood, which prescribes motherhood as women's national duty and as being at the core of their identity.     

The determinants of paternity establishment and child support award rates among unmarried women

This paper examines the relationships between several child support policies, paternity establishment, and child support award rates among never-married women. We use several state policies and practices in place throughout the 1980s to examine their effectiveness at increasing paternity establishment rates and at increasing the proportion of unmarried women who have child support awards. We also examine the direct relationship between paternity establishment rates and child support award rates. We estimate these relationships using a variety of specifications, using cross-state variation in child support enforcement to identify the effects of policies. To date, child support remains largely the province of state family law, and, although policies have changed dramatically in response to two decades of federal mandates, state laws and practices still vary.     

Migration and relationship power among mexican women

Our study drew on original data collected in Durham, NC, and four sending communities in Mexico to examine differences in women's relationship power that are associated with migration and residence in the United States. We analyzed the personal, relationship, and social resources that condition the association between migration and women's power and the usefulness of the Relationship Control Scale (RCS) for capturing these effects. We found support for perspectives that emphasize that migration may simultaneously mitigate and reinforce gender inequities. Relative to their nonmigrant peers, Mexican women in the United States average higher emotional consonance with their partners, but lower relationship control and sexual negotiation power. Methodologically, we found that the RCS is internally valid and useful for measuring the impact of resources on women's power. However, the scale appears to combine diverse dimensions of relationship power that were differentially related to migration in our study.     

Attitudes toward abortion among catholic Mexican-American women: The effects of religiosity and education

Contrary to observed trends in religious fertility and contraceptive use differentials, Catholic/non-Catholic differentials in attitudes toward abortion have not been converging. This study suggests that this may be due to an interaction between religiosity and education. In a sample of Catholic Mexican-American women in Los Angeles County, the authors found that among respondents brought up in Mexico, education had a liberalizing effect on their attitudes. With the exception of the most devout, the same trend was observed among U.S.-reared respondents. Among the most religious group, however, education had the opposite effect, suggesting that convergence will be delayed.     

The continuation of education after marriage among women in the United States: 1970

Data from the 1970 National Fertility Study are used to assess the extent and determinants of post-nuptial education among women in the United States. Over one-fifth of all women have attended high school or college since marriage; over one-third either have returned to school or anticipate returning to an academic institution sometime in the future. This phenomenon is apparently increasing since women married less than five years have already attended school in as great a proportion as women married 15-19 years. Examination of differentials reveals for both blacks and whites that post-nupital education is higher among women who: (1) attended college before marriage, (2) married early, (3) are currently separated or divorced, (4) support egalitarian sex-role attitudes, or (5) whose most recent occupation is in the professional, managerial, or administrative category. Post-nuptial trends in education undoubtedly reflect the much broader social phenomenon of changing sex-role perceptions.     

The situation concerning marriage and births among childbearing women in Shaanxi province]

The results of a 1978 survey of 10 percent of the population of Shaanxi province, China, are presented. The survey contained questions on selected demographic characteristics of childbearing women. Data are included on marriage patterns, divorce, widowhood, fertility, and number of living children. Abbreviated life tables for both sexes for the province are also included.     

Social Indicators and Voting: The Turkish Case

The aim of this article is to set out the various explanations of voting behaviour in Turkey. Its principal intellectual motivation is to present the political and social indicators that shape voting in such a way as to explain how an activity which is so crucial for democratic life is also based upon voters’ values and surrounding political context. Although the number of empirical work on voting behaviour in Turkey is increasing there is a considerable room for testing alternative variables and research tools in order to expand the academic knowledge on the problematic. Findings ratified that the political and personal values coupled with the other social factors have considerable impact on the voting behaviour in Turkey. Additionally this research also proved that these factors work differently for the competing political parties. Hence the contribution of this study is the introduction of an explicit analysis on the impact of different social and political factors that are salient in voting behaviour and magnitudes of these factors on different political parties by using a public database. Thus this study will not only uncover the relevancy of the variables in the literature for Turkish voters but also it will highlight the meaning and significance of these factors for different political parties.     

The age pattern of first-birth rates among U.S. women: The bimodal 1990s

Between 1990 and 2002, the age pattern of Type I first-birth rates (i.e., the hazard of a first birth) among U.S. women was bimodal. This pattern, driven by changing differential fertility patterns among racial and ethnic groups, reached its apex at the mid-1990s and had almost vanished by the decade's end. Research on first-birth timing has tended to focus on Type II first-birth rates and therefore has failed to identify this larger, bimodal pattern. This article presents the benefits of using Type I rates, documents the emergence of the bimodal pattern via two new measures of bimodality, and uses a decomposition analysis to discuss the pattern's causes.     

Patterns and severity of menopausal symptoms among Jordanian women

We examined 359 women aged 45–65 years who visited Jordan University Hospital between February and November 2014. The menopausal symptoms were assessed using a validated Arabic version of the menopause rating scale. The mean age at menopause was 49.4 years. Women aged 50–55 years more frequently exhibited hot flushes and vaginal dryness. Although premenopausal women were 1.5 times more likely to experience irritability, perimenopausal women were more likely to experience hot flushes, physical and mental irritability, sexual problems, vaginal dryness, and joint and muscular discomfort. Hence, health care providers should focus on women at all stages of life.     

Migration and premarital childbearing among Puerto Rican women

This paper examines the relationship between migration and premarital childbearing in a highly migratory Latino subgroup, Puerto Rican women. Using pooled origin-destination data from surveys conducted in Puerto Rico and in the New York metropolitan area, we find that first- and second-generation migrants to the u.s. mainland face substantially higher risks of conceiving and bearing a first child before marriage than do nonmigrants in Puerto Rico. This pattern is due largely to the relatively early transition to sexual activity among mainland women. Given the negative long-term consequences of premarital childbearing for women and their children, our findings call into question the assumption that migrants necessarily experience only positive outcomes as a result of the assimilation process.     

Anticipatory caregiving anxiety among older women and men

This study, based on a sample of 221 older women and men, explores factors associated with anticipatory caregiving anxiety using a scale developed by Cicirelli (1988). Results show that even the anticipation of providing care evokes anxiety. We find that women have higher levels of anxiety than men, individuals who have served as caregivers have higher levels of anxiety than individuals who have never provided care to family members, and that individuals who are in better health and have more income have lower levels of anxiety than those with less health or income. Implications for services to support caregivers and long-term care reform are discussed.     

Treatment decision-making among older women with breast cancer

This study examined breast cancer treatment decision-making among older adults, including professional and lay involvement. Thirty respondents were interviewed for this study; cancer survivors (70%) and newly diagnosed (30%) women with breast cancer. Respondents reported making treatment decisions in consultation with their oncologists. However, women differed on the extent to which they perceived their participation in the treatment process. Respondents' oncologists appear to be the primary factor associated with older women's breast cancer surveillance decision-making and adherence. The influence of women's support systems on their treatment decisions and surveillance activities appears to be minimal. Informal support systems, however, likely enhance women's ability to be active participants in their care. The growing need for interventions which target older women has been indicated. Interventions, however, cannot be adequately developed without first identifying the physical and psychosocial phenomena which affect decision-making.