TAKING IT PERSONALLY: ISSUES OF PERSONAL AUTHORITY AND COMPETENCE FOR THE FEMALE IN FAMILY THERAPY TRAINING*

The supervision and training of women requires thinking and planning about how to address issues women bring to the training process as a result of sex-role typing. Dependent behavior and attitudes are interactional problems that need to be overcome in a training process that leads to competency and creativity for therapists. Strategic supervision can benefit women by increasing their self-reliance, sense of personal authority, and competence.     

Women at work: Commitment and behavior over the life course

Women at every stage of the family cycle are increasing their labor force participation but few maintain the continuous, full-time attachment characteristic of employed men. What does this mean in terms of women's subjective work commitment? Using data from six waves of the Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics this study investigates the relationship between the pattern of employment over a five-year period and employed women's psychological commitment to work; findings suggest congruence as well as incongruence between labor force attitudes and behavior at different stages of the life course. Commitment to work in 1976 is also incorporated in a model estimating 1977 employment status. Results reveal that the greatest congruence between subjective commitment and labor force attachment is found in young women who have not yet begun their child bearing. On the other hand, employed mothers of preschoolers emerge as the group most likely to evidence discrepancies between labor force behavior and psychological commitment to the work role. Subjective commitment to work is shown to have a slight positive effect in estimating labor force activity the subsequent year, but the greatest predictor is women's work pattern over the previous five years.     

Women's Changing Attitudes Toward Divorce, 1974–2002: Evidence for an Educational Crossover

This article examines trends in divorce attitudes of young adult women in the United States by educational attainment from 1974 to 2002. Women with 4‐year college degrees, who previously had the most permissive attitudes toward divorce, have become more restrictive in their attitudes toward divorce than high school graduates and women with some college education, whereas women with no high school diplomas have increasingly permissive attitudes toward divorce. We examine this educational crossover in divorce attitudes in the context of variables correlated with women's educational attainment, including family attitudes and religion, income and occupational prestige, and family structure. We conclude that the educational crossover in divorce attitudes is associated most strongly with work and family structure variables.     

The Effect of Gender on Sex-Role Attitudes

Abstract

An examination of the contradiction between college student studies and national public opinion polls.

The evidence concerning the existence and magnitude of gender differences in sex-role attitudes is contradictory. A large number of studies, based primarily on college samples, have reported significant gender differences in the sex-role attitudes of young adults; males have been found to be more traditional than females. However, studies based on national samples including all age and educational groups have not found consistent gender differences. In order to investigate this contradiction, NORC General Social Survey was aggregated from the years 1974 through 1978 to create a data set that included a large number of young adults who were currently attending or who had recently attended college. Both age and education were found to be significant predictors of sex-role attitudes, but for most of the items examined gender differences were not found to be larger for young adults than for older adults. For both age groups larger gender differences were found in items pertaining to caring for children than for items pertaining to women's roles in the public sphere.     

Sex and Sexuality in China. Edited by Elaine Jeffreys

Survey data from samples of undergraduates at a small Southern university indicate significant increases in rates of premarital intercourse, significant decreases in average age at first experience, and significant increases in average number of partners between 1970 and 1981. Although attitudes toward premarital intercourse and behavior (i.e., reported coitus) were interrelated, this relationship was significantly stronger for women (V = .676) than for men (V = .325). Although differences between men and women still exist, these differences are much more evident in attitudes than in behavior. Women are still more conservative than men in their attitudes toward the kinds of relationships in which premarital coitus is personally acceptable. Some explanations for this continuing ideological difference are presented.     

Constraints and choices in mothers' employment careers: a consideration of Hakim's Preference Theory

This paper provides an empirical examination of women's work histories following a first birth, their sex-role attitudes, and the relationship between attitudes and work history. In the light of these analyses, the aptness of Preference Theory as an explanation for the position of women in the British labour market is considered. Addressed in particular is Hakim's argument that the main determinant of women's heterogeneous employment patterns and work histories is heterogeneity in their preferences for differing combinations of family work and paid employment. Although support is found for Hakim's argument that employment careers are centrally important for only a minority of women, little evidence is adduced that it is preferences that distinguish the minority from the majority. The existence of a continuum of work-family preferences means that women with similar preferences (but differing capacities for overcoming constraints) will have very different labour market careers. Analysis of longitudinal data fails to support the central argument of Preference Theory that women in Britain and North America (countries where women live 'in the new scenario') have genuine, unconstrained choices about how they wish to live their lives. Instead, it is argued that a complete explanation of women's labour market choices after childbirth, and of the outcomes of those choices, depends as much on understanding the constraints that differentially affect women as it does on understanding their personal preferences.     

SEX-ROLE ATTITUDE CHANGE AND REPORTING OF RAPE VICTIMIZATION, 1973–1985

This article examines the relationship between sex-role attitude change and female victims' reports of rape incidents to police in an analysis of time-series data from national attitude surveys of college freshmen and adults, and from annual victimization surveys. Declining support for traditional sex-role attitudes among both college women and men is strongly related to an increase in the proportion of rapes by nonstranger assailants that were reported to police from 1973 to 1985. However, victims' reports of rapes by strangers are more closely related to offenders' use of weapons during sexual assaults. These findings and other evidence against alternative explanations suggest that the cultural bases for "rape myths" have eroded during the 1970s and 1980s, and that broader definitions of rape have contributed to increased reporting of certain forms of sexual assault to police.     

Adolescent Perception of Sex-Roles in 1968 and 1975

Findings from a study of 798 sixth- and seventh-grade studentsin Milwaukee in 1974–75 were compared to those from astudy of 470 Baltimore sixth- and seventh-grade children in1968 to see if the new feminist ideology has had an effect ongirls' self-esteem and attitudes toward their own sex. Resultsindicate few differences between the two studies. Girls in 1974–75still demonstrated lower self-esteem and a less high evaluationof their sex-role than did their male counterparts     

Gender and Sex-Role Behavior in Problem Solving Groups

Abstract

The effects of gender and of three sex-roles (masculine, feminine, and androgynous) on types of behavior as coded by Borgatta and Crowther's (1965) Interaction Process Scores were compared in problem-solving groups, and type of behavior seemed to be affected more frequently by sex-role than by gender. Varimax factors analyses for each sex-role revealed that, while task-orientations, other-orientations, and self-orientations respectively accounted for the largest portions of the variance in behavior, masculines exhibited less self-oriented behavior than others, and other minor differences in specific types of behavior differed in their loadings on factors among sex-roles. These results suggest that a common set of factors may underlie sex-role behavior but that specific behaviors may have different functions among the sex-roles.     

Implications of no recent sexual activity,casual sex,or exclusive sex for college women's sexual well-being depend on sexual attitudes

Objective: We examine how sexual activity relates to sexual well-being within the context of sexual attitudes, sexual agency, and sexual desire. Participants/Methods: We surveyed 471 college women in 2012–2014 who had ever had sex. Results: Sexual agency and sexual desire consistently predicted well-being, regardless of recent sexual activity. There was a significant interaction between recent sexual activity (none, casual, or exclusive relationship) and sexual attitudes. Exclusive sex was associated with higher than average sexual well-being, especially for women with permissive attitudes. Women who had casual sex and held permissive to average attitudes had the next highest levels of well-being, but those with non-permissive attitudes fell substantially below the overall mean. Women who had no recent sex were consistently below the mean, especially for women with more permissive attitudes. Conclusions: A disconnect between sexual attitudes and recent sexual activity may lower women's sexual well-being.     

Attitudes and Acts of Sexual Aggression on a University Campus*

There is increasing understanding of the widespread extent of men's physical sexual coercion of women in this society. In this study, we document the amount of that coercion among a sample of college students. We try to explain that coercion in terms of certain valucs (traditional sex-role conceptions that amount to an ideology of gender inequality). We also try to explain that coercion in terms of attitudes towards physical sexual coercion. For purposes of this study, we measured both females’experience as victims of sexual aggression and males’experience as perpetrators of sexual aggression. We also measured both males’and females’values regarding gender inequality and attitudes regarding sexual aggression. We found that female college students in our sample had experienced a considerable amount of sexual aggression. We also found that male and female students’values regarding gender inequality and their attitudes regarding physical sexual coercion differed widely. Finally, we found strong relationships between male students’values and attitudes and their participation in sexual aggression.     

Public Concern with Animal Well‐Being: Place,Social Structural Location,and Individual Experience*

Abstract While sociologists and the public at large are increasingly interested in the life conditions of animals, conceptual and empirical development of the topic is limited. This paper seeks to further develop the sociological research on attitudes toward animal well‐being. We build on insights from contemporary stratification theory to explain the nature of animal attitudes and their determinants. We also extend past work by examining a broader range of factors related to attitudes about animal well‐being, focusing on place, other social structural factors, and individuals' unique animal‐related experiences. Data are from a survey of over 4,000 Ohio residents conducted in 2002. We find that childhood experience has the greatest place‐based effect on attitudes. Other findings highlight the importance of social structural factors, suggesting support for the “underdog hypothesis.” Women, people experiencing economic hardship, those with less education, younger and middle aged people, and blacks tend to be more concerned with animal well‐being. Individualized, experiential variables are also important. Our results reflect the complexity of attitudes about animals and point to the need for greater sociological attention to factors left largely unexplored in previous studies, including childhood place‐based factors, economic hardship, and individuals' unique animal‐related experiences     

Attitudes Toward Housework and Child Care and the Gendered Division of Labor

Research on the division of household labor has typically examined the role of time availability, relative resources, and gender ideology. We explore the gendered meaning of domestic work by examining the role of men's and women's attitudes toward household labor. Using data from the Dutch Time Competition Survey (N = 732), we find that women have more favorable attitudes toward cleaning, cooking, and child care than do men: Women enjoy it more, set higher standards for it, and feel more responsible for it. Furthermore, women's favorable and men's unfavorable attitudes are associated with women's greater contribution to household labor. Effects are stronger for housework than child care, own attitudes matter more than partner's, and men's attitudes are more influential than women's.     

Bringing Identity Theory into Environmental Sociology

In an effort to explain pro‐environmental behavior, environmental sociologists often study environmental attitudes. While much of this work is atheoretical, the focus on attitudes suggests that researchers are implicitly drawing upon attitude theory in psychology. The present research brings sociological theory to environmental sociology by drawing on identity theory to understand environmentally responsive behavior. We develop an environment identity model of environmental behavior that includes not only the meanings of the environment identity, but also the prominence and salience of the environment identity and commitment to the environment identity. We examine the identity process as it relates to behavior, though not to the exclusion of examining the effects of environmental attitudes. The findings reveal that individual agency is important in influencing environmentally responsive behavior, but this agency is largely through identity processes, rather than attitude processes. This provides an important theoretical and empirical advance over earlier work in environmental sociology.     

Attitudes and Behaviors of Social Work Students Toward Lesbian and Gay Male Clients

Abstract

Since the requirement of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) to integrate theoretical and practice content about the oppression of gay and lesbian persons into the curriculum, few studies have assessed the effectiveness of various methods of incorporating the content. This paper reports the results of a study examining the effects of a panel presentation on social work students' attitudes, their anticipated professional practice, and the relationship between their attitudes and anticipated professional behavior. It also compares the results from the panel presentation with the results from other intervention methods. Results indicated that the panel presentation had little influence on the attitudes or anticipated professional behavior of students. Intervention methods integrated into the classroom setting influenced the attitudes and anticipated professional behavior of students significantly more than the panel presentation.     

Work‐Family Commitment and Attitudes Toward Feminism in Medical Students

The authors examine work—family commitment and attitudes toward feminism in a cross‐sectional, medical student sample (126 women, 145 men). Results indicated no significant gender differences in commitment levels. Third‐year students reported significantly more family commitment than did students in lower years. Women reported significantly more positive attitudes toward feminism than did men. Future research should examine commitment to work and family roles relative to participation in work and family roles and whether medical students have more conservative attitudes toward feminism than do other groups. Reframing multiple role commitments as an opportunity for role integration may help clients identify how work and family can be mutually enhancing and growth‐producing rather than conflictual.     

Girls' education and their change of attitudes: a case from Sudan

This study examines the association of girls' education and changes in attitudes and other socioeconomic changes in Sudan. Data were obtained from in-depth interviews, structured questionnaires, and secondary data among 810 educated Sudanese women who lived in the Central and Eastern Regions. Women responded to 10 opinions about the status of women. Findings show a significant association between level of education, even at the lowest levels, and the attitudes held by women. Women held relatively positive attitudes toward social change and economic development. Level of education was highly significantly associated with holding a view of educated women working. 54.1% of secondary school leavers agreed and 92% of well educated women disagreed with a family's objection to women having a job. 57% of secondary school leavers agreed that it is essential to give up work in order to care for family; however, 96% of postgraduates disagreed. 74% of respondents were indecisive, of which 44% were secondary school leavers and 2% had postgraduate degrees. Decisiveness increased with level of education. Only 32.6% of secondary school leavers agreed that most of a woman's time should be spent on family responsibilities. 100% of the highest educated women and 40% of secondary school leavers disagreed that women should take part-time work. 96% of postgraduate women disagreed and 73.6% of secondary school leavers agreed that women should not feel obligated to work after training. Employment was highly influenced by level of education. 83% of single women and 76% of married women agreed with using contraception. Rural women tended not to support women working and using contraceptives. Younger women were less traditional in their attitudes. Postgraduates came from families with high levels of income.     

Does perceived discrimination affect health? Longitudinal relationships between work discrimination and women's physical and emotional health

This study uses longitudinal data to examine the causal relationships between perceived work discrimination and women's physical and emotional health. Using data on 1,778 employed women in the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women, we investigate the structural and individual characteristics that predict later perceptions of discrimination and the effects of those perceptions on subsequent health. We find that perceptions of discrimination are influenced by job attitudes, prior experiences of discrimination, and work contexts, but prior health is not related to later perceptions. However, perceptions of discrimination do impact subsequent health, and these effects remain significant after controlling for prior emotional health, physical health limitations, discrimination, and job characteristics. Overall, the results provide even stronger support for the health impact of workplace discrimination and suggest a need for further longitudinal analyses of causes and consequences of perceived discrimination.     

Assessment of vocational opportunities and continuing job placement for persons with mental disabilities: factors indicating levels of necessary support

We determined primary factors in allocating support for vocational opportunities and continuing job placement for clients with mental disabilities. The study analyzed 29 items regarding work attitudes and vocational skills for 70 clients as assessed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Rehabilitation Center for the Physically and Mentally Disabled. The evaluations were performed using the situational assessment approach with a 3-point support scale system assigned through observation of behavior. The results of these evaluations placed 35 clients in employment groups (A and B) and 35 clients in a sheltered workshop group (C). The data was analyzed by multivariate analysis. Predictions of success and functional differences among the groups were indicated by the data. Differences were found among the three groups in work attitudes and skills such as "self-direction" and "directions for social participation". Out of the 35 clients currently employed, 11 were recognized as needing ongoing assistance from supported employment offices. For the supported employment group (B), the major work attitudes and skills for which they required continuous services for maintaining stable jobs were 'emotional stability' and 'learning of working skills and accomplishment of work.' In a previous study, the major differences between the competitive employment group (A) and the sheltered workshop group (C) were in areas of 'responsibilities,' 'goals for life,' 'motivation for the work and understanding of contents for work,' and 'safety during work.' Our study supports these findings. In addition, transition from the sheltered workshop to supported employment required training to improve skills and support for 'responsibilities,' 'goals for life,' 'participation in leisure activities and community-based activities,' and 'preparation and cleaning for work.'     

Parental and peer characteristics as modifiers of the bond-behavior relationship: an elaboration of control theory.

Three bonds are at the core of Hirschi's control theory: attachment to parents, commitment to conventional activities, and belief in the conventional rules of society. Control theory does not include parental and peer attitudes and behaviors, variables that frequently are implicated in adolescent behavior. This study examines whether parental and peer behaviors and attitudes modify bond/behavior relationships. Adolescent cigarette smoking is the behavior of interest. Panel data from a probability sample of 685 adolescents shows that the relationship between attachment and adolescent smoking is modified by parental smoking; the relationship between commitment to conventional activities and adolescent smoking is modified by father's smoking; but the relationship between belief in conventional rules and adolescent smoking is not modified by parental or peer variables. We conclude that control theory needs to encompass parental behavior when considering adolescent smoking behavior.