A comparative study of self-esteem of adolescent children of divorced lesbian mothers and divorced heterosexual mothers

Thirty-six adolescent children, ages 13 to 19 years, divided equally into two groups according to their mother's sexual object choice and within group by sex, were compared to determine if there were any significant differences in the self-esteem of these two populations. Findings of the analysis of the self-esteem scores indicated there was no significant statistical differences in the self-esteem scores between adolescents with divorced lesbian mothers and adolescents with divorced heterosexual mothers.     

The effect of marital status at first birth on marital dissolution among adolescent mothers

The sequencing of marriage and first birth was expected to play an important role in the stability of marriage among adolescent mothers. We hypothesized that adolescent women who married prior to conception would have the lowest rates of marital disruption, followed by those who married between conception and birth. Adolescent women who gave birth prior to marriage were expected to suffer the highest rates of marital dissolution. The results provide partial support for our hypotheses. There is little difference in the probability of separation between adolescent mothers who had a postmarital conception and those who had a premarital conception but married before the birth. Having a premarital birth, however, significantly increases the probability of marital dissolution. We also hypothesized that marital status at first birth would have less effect on the probability of marital dissolution for blacks than for whites. This, too, is generally supported by our findings. Among black females, those with a premarital birth are the first to suffer a marital disruption, but by the end of ten years there is little difference in the probability of separation among the three marital status groups. In contrast, among white females, those with a premarital birth are the first to experience a disruption, and this differential persists over all subsequent marriage duration intervals. Thus, the sequencing of marriage relative to birth has similar short term effects for whites and blacks, but the effect for blacks is evident only in the short term. Ten years after the marriage, black adolescent mothers have similar rates of marital stability regardless of the sequencing of marriage. This is consistent with the findings of previous research and with our hypothesis; with the black family pattern of lower rates of marriage, higher rates of illegitimacy and higher divorce rates, the sequencing of marriage has no long lasting consequences on marital stability. Finally, our predicted decline in the effect of marital status at first birth over historical time also finds partial support. For white females there has been a change in the effect of marriage-first birth sequencing on separation over time. In the period encompassed by the women in our study, white adolescent mothers who married subsequent to the birth have been the most likely to experience a separation at all marriage duration intervals, but this differential narrows as age at interview declines. Among black females there has been no change in the effect of a premarital birth over time.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

First-time mothers’ birth beliefs,preferences, and actual birth: A longitudinal observational study

Problem

Birth preferences, such as mode and place of birth and other birth options, have important individual and societal implications, yet few studies have investigated the mechanism which predicts a wide range of childbirth options simultaneously.

Gender of children and birth timing

We address the impact of the gender of children on birth timing. Our findings suggest that a preference to balance the gender of children affects the timing of births, not a preference for either sons or daughters. At parity 2, women with children of the same sex time a third birth more rapidly than women with a boy and a girl. At parity 1, women with a boy time second births more rapidly than women with a girl. This seemingly anomalous finding is explained, however, by the fact that women with boys are more likely than women with girls to be married at any point in time and thus less likely to have disrupted fertility careers.     

The TFR and birth control]

Total fertility rate if (TFR) is a simple an straight forward measure of women's fertility. However, it is difficult to use the TFR as a target measure in FP programs. If TFR level is set as a target for a particular year, how can women's fertility be regulated to achieve this target? The following analysis suggests a simple model to control the proportion of birth parity. First, the TFR is decomposed into a parity- specific TFR. The parity-specific TFR can be worked out using coefficients of the regression models calculated from data of previous fertility surveys. Once the TFR is given, the parity-specific total fertility can be calculated using a model with coefficients from empirical data. Then the number of births of each parity may be calculated from the parity-specific TFR using the female age structure in a particular year, the survival probability, and the standard fertility model for each parity. When the number of surviving children of each women at child-bearing age is known, the desired proportion of births of each parity can be calculated using the standard birth probability during a years. From these models, it would be possible to calculate how many women can have their first child/year, and how many can have the second. Thus, family planning organizations would be in a position to formulate a birth quota on the basis of the above information.     

Determinants of birth intervals and their means

Abstract 1. The duration of post-partum infecundity; 2. Fecundability; 3. Duration of pregnancy.     

The value of children to lesbian and non-lesbian mothers

This study compares the responses of a sample of lesbian and non-lesbian mothers to items on the Value of Children (VOC) Scale. This instrument measures the reasons that may explain why adults become parents and the values and functions for children in the lives of adults. Results indicate that there are more similarities than differences between lesbian and non-lesbian mothers in responses on the VOC Scale. Only one subscale that measures goals and incentives for assuming parenthood and having children differentiated between the groups. The lack of differences in response patterns on the VOC scale between lesbian and non-lesbian mothers may be attributed to the similar socialization experiences of women in our society regarding parenthood and the expectations of individuals upon assuming this role in adulthood. The significant differences in responses on the one subscale may be attributed to differences in world-views of lesbian and non-lesbian mothers.     

Stability and change in temporal distance between the elderly and their children

Drawing on a developmental model of late-life migration, this paper investigates how older people’s health and social characteristics influence stability and change in their temporal distance from their children. Data from the Longitudinal Study of Aging are used to examine both discrete transitions and continuous change in distance over a four-year period. Decline in older parents’ physical health increased the propensity of parents and children to become temporally closer to each other. Among those parent-child pairs who had become closer, the conjunction of declining health and widowhood increased both the degree of non-coresident proximity and the likelihood of transition to coresidence. The findings portray a geographically resilient family that adjusts to the changing needs of its older members.     

Age-parity-specific birth rates and birth probabilities from census or survey data on own children

The ‘own-children’ method is a census- or survey-based reverse-survival technique for estimating age-specific birth rates for years previous to enumeration. In this paper it is extended to estimate birth rates and birth probabilities by parity as well as by age. The refined method is tested for accuracy by comparing ‘own-children’ estimates of age-parity-specific birth probabilities for the United States in 1969 with parallel estimates obtained by the method used in Vital Statistics of the United States. The ‘own-children’ estimates give relatively lower values at ages 15-19 and higher values at ages above 40, but compare well in between. The discrepancies are probably due mainly to adoption of illegitimate children of young mothers by older women. The ‘own-children’ estimate of the total fertility rate is very close to the published vital statistics estimate.     

Notes on abortion and birth control in Germany

In this paper the author discusses the legislation regarding abortion and contraception which applies in the western zones of Germany to-day. He states that a number of regulations made under the National Socialist regime are still enforced and discusses the consequences of this state of affairs.     

Well-being of mid- and later-life mothers of children with developmental disabilities

This study examined the well-being of mid- and later-life mothers of developmentally disabled (DD) children. Mothers of DD children (n = 33) and mothers in a comparison group (n = 27) responded to a series of quantitative measures of well-being and open-ended questions. In general, quantitative results indicated lower levels of well-being for mothers of DD children. However, we examined these results within the contexts of educational and financial realities and access to adequate social support. Analysis of the qualitative data resulted in the themes of enhancements to well-being, challenges to well-being and normative experiences of being a parent. Results point to the need to further understand reciprocity in the mother-child relationships and the influence of severity of the developmental disability on mother's well-being.     

Understanding links between adolescent health and educational attainment

The educational and economic consequences of poor health during childhood and adolescence have become increasingly clear, with a resurgence of evidence leading researchers to reconsider the potentially significant contribution of early-life health to population welfare both within and across generations. Meaningful relationships between early-life health and educational attainment raise important questions about how health may influence educational success in young adulthood and beyond, as well as for whom its influence is strongest. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, I examine how adolescents’ health and social status act together to create educational disparities in young adulthood, focusing on two questions in particular. First, does the link between adolescent health and educational attainment vary across socioeconomic and racial/ethnic groups? Second, what academic factors explain the connection between adolescent health and educational attainment? The findings suggest that poorer health in adolescence is strongly negatively related to educational attainment, net of both observed confounders and unobserved, time-invariant characteristics within households. The reduction in attainment is particularly large for non-Hispanic white adolescents, suggesting that the negative educational consequences of poor health are not limited to only the most socially disadvantaged adolescents. Finally, I find that the link between adolescent health and educational attainment is explained by academic factors related to educational participation and, most importantly, academic performance, rather than by reduced educational expectations. These findings add complexity to our understanding of how the educational consequences of poor health apply across the social hierarchy, as well as why poor health may lead adolescents to complete less schooling.In a presidential address to the Population Association of America, Palloni (2006) emphasized the need for research on early-life health as a mechanism in the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic status. Although poor health is well known as a consequence of childhood and family socioeconomic conditions, it is also clear that illness during childhood and adolescence has lasting educational and socioeconomic effects (Case, Fertig, and Paxson 2005; Conley and Bennett 2000; Smith 2005). What remains less clear is how health early in life influences educational success in young adulthood and beyond. Do those with a health disadvantage graduate from high school at lower rates, for example, because they perform poorly in school or because they and their families develop reduced expectations for the future? In addition, how do race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status complicate these relationships? Our understanding of how health’s influence on educational attainment differs across groups is unclear.This article considers these complexities by asking several questions. It confirms that health during adolescence is strongly negatively associated with educational attainment and then examines this relationship in greater depth than is typical. First, I examine variation in the link between health and educational attainment along socioeconomic and racial/ethnic lines. Are the families of adolescents in poorer health better able to mitigate the negative educational consequences of a condition if they are socially and/or economically advantaged? Or do youths in these families suffer an equal or greater disadvantage? Second, I evaluate the role of academic factors—specifically, educational participation, performance, and expectations—that may explain the connection between adolescents’ health and educational attainment. I examine these questions with data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), with an overall goal of understanding the ways in which health and social status act together to create educational disparities in the early life course.     

Education and gender bias in the sex ratio at birth: Evidence from India

This article investigates the possible existence of a nonlinear link between female disadvantage in natality and education. To this end, we devise a theoretical model based on the key role of social interaction in explaining people’s acquisition of preferences, which justifies the existence of a nonmonotonic relationship between female disadvantage in natality and education. The empirical validity of the proposed model is examined for the case of India, using district-level data. In this context, our econometric analysis pays particular attention to the role of spatial dependence to avoid any potential problems of misspecification. The results confirm that the relationship between the sex ratio at birth and education in India follows an inverted U-shape. This finding is robust to the inclusion of additional explanatory variables in the analysis, and to the choice of the spatial weight matrix used to quantify the spatial interdependence between the sample districts.     

The imbalance of sex ratio at birth,and its causes and countermeasures in China

This news brief focuses on the sex ratio at birth (SRB) in China, its causes, and remedial efforts. A SRB has been evident since the 1980s. The SRB increased from 108.48 male/100 female births to 116.30 male/100 female births during 1981-94. A normal SRB in China during 1940-94 would have been 107 male/100 female births. The SRB rose every year after 1985, with the exception of 1988. Male births increased, while female births decreased. SRB declined with age. The sex ratio in 1991, was 112.3 for children aged 0-4 years, 108.38 for children aged 5-9 years, and 106.56 for children aged 10-14 years. SRB values were higher in more populous provinces and lower in less populous provinces. SRB values were lower in northwestern China than in southeastern China. SRB values of minorities were lower than the Han ethnic group. A high SRB will increase the proportion single in later years. In 1990, 7.86 million people aged 30-40 years were single, of whom 94.32% were males. The SRB is caused by second, third, or higher birth orders. In 1993, sex ratios were 105.60 for first births, 130.22 for second births, and 126.12 for third births. The imbalance is attributed to a preference for sons as inheritors of blood ties and as family physical laborers. The imbalance is due to strict birth control and people's refusal to report female births. There is a need to increase awareness of the consequences, to increase old-age pensions and social security, to increase women's status, and to prohibit sex determination of a fetus. The family structure should emphasize its consumptive capacity rather than its function as a production unit.     

Leibenstein on the benefits and costs of birth control programmes

Abstract Enke draws attention particularly to his recent dynamic models of the effects of birth prevention. He argues that the result of birth prevention is, typically, to leave future G.N.P. almost unaffected, with a smaller population and a reduction in the ratio of dependent children to the active age groups. G.N.P. per head is thus raised. Leibenstein accepts the relevance of population control and family planning programmes. He argues, however, that in its present form benefit-cost analysis does not provide a sound basis for estimating the value of such programmes.     

Child support and the postdivorce economic well-being of mothers, fathers, and children

This article provides national estimates of the current and potential impact of private child support transfers on the economic well-being of custodial and noncustodial families following marital dissolution. Mothers and children fare dramatically worse than fathers after marital dissolution; these differences, however, would be much more pronounced in the absence of private child support. Simulations of four existing child support guidelines show that substantial increases in economic well-being among mother-custody families are possible within the structure of the existing child support system, with minimal impact on poverty among nonresident fathers. Under all of these guidelines, however, custodial-mother families would continue to fare substantially worse than nonresident fathers.     

Tacit consent: the Church and birth control in northern Italy

This article employs novel documentation to examine ways in which the Church's moral rules on contraception were (or were not) communicated to parishioners in a predominantly Catholic context in a period of rapid fertility decline: the diocese of Padua, in the northeastern Italian region of Veneto, during the first half of the twentieth century. The account is based on documents that have until now been overlooked: the moral cases discussed during the periodic meetings among Padua priests in the years 1916–58, and the written answers provided by priests in response to a question asked of them concerning their efforts to combat the limiting of births. This documentation reveals the limited effect on the reproductive behavior of the position of the Catholic Church against birth control.