Gender roles and scholastic performance among adolescent Vietnamese women: the paradox of ethnic patriarchy

The author argues that Vietnamese patriarchal views regarding gender roles have led to greater educational advancement among Vietnamese women as compared to men in the US. Data for this study were obtained from the 1990 census and from interviews in 1994 at two high schools located near a Vietnamese community and at a public high school for honor students. The survey sample included 402 Vietnamese students from the three schools. The sample was 90% of all Vietnamese students enrolled at these schools and 75% of high school students living in the neighborhood near the schools. Census data showed that Vietnamese women over age 25 were more likely than similarly aged men to have less than a high school education or a college education. The education gap between men and women declined among the population aged under 25 years. Among married men and women aged 16-24 years, there were few gender differences in the proportion of school drop outs. However, among the unmarried aged 16-24 years, young women were significantly more likely to be enrolled in college and were less likely to drop out of school. Among the sample student population, findings indicate that female students had significantly higher grades and spent more time on home work. Census reports reveal that women were more likely both to report the lack of plans for college and to report that college was very important to them. Fathers stressed the importance of obedience until marriage and achievement among daughters. Fathers expected daughters to advance educationally for a number of reasons. Mothers agreed with fathers that the education and employment of women was not a rejection of traditional Vietnamese values. Mothers believed that daughters would be increasing their potential resources by improving their educational status. Adolescent males held more traditional attitudes towards wives as mothers. Young women reported stricter social controls of behavior from parents.     

Family Stress During the Czech Transformation

Using three waves of data (1994–1996) from Czech households, we examined the mediating role of family interactions on the relation between 1994 family economic pressure and increased marital instability 1994–1996. The models demonstrate that economic pressure made both husbands and wives irritable, and their tension exacerbated problem behaviors (e.g., drinking and fighting) and depression. Husbands' problem behaviors generated hostility toward their wives, which increased wives' reports of greater marital instability. Wives' irritability increased their behavior problems, as well, but behavior problems were unrelated to wives' hostility or husbands' marital instability. Instead, wives' irritability directly increased their hostility toward their husbands, which in turn, increased husbands' reports of greater marital instability.     

Perceptions of Marriage Related to Engagement in Conjoint Therapy

The pre-treatment marital perceptions of 36 continuing couples were compared with those of 13 couples who terminated conjoint family therapy prior to the third session. Few statistically reliable differences between the groups were found in this pilot study, but the over-all pattern of results was consistent with clinical theory and empirical findings in related areas. Compared to terminators, continuing husbands had a more positive view of family life and perceived themselves as more closely allied with their wives. Continuing wives were more dissatisfied with matters in the family than either their husbands or terminating wives, but they also had more power vis a vis their husbands than did terminating wives. The results were interpreted in relation to a negotiation model of conjoint therapy.     

Stress,satisfaction and role conflict in dual-doctor partnerships

Stress in doctors has major implications for themselves, their family and patients. In dual-doctor partnerships, stress may or may not be compounded. Previous studies have suggested that demands of work have a greater impact on home life than vice versa, and that there may be a gender difference in stress between work and home. This study compared perceived stress, satisfaction and conflict for professional males and females working in dual-doctor partnerships investigating the bi-directional relationship between work and home roles. A sample of 244 male and female doctors in dual-career partnerships working in the National Health Service in Scotland completed a self-report questionnaire. Male doctors perceived their work as more stressful and less satisfying than females. Work stress had a greater impact on home life than vice versa, but there were no gender differences in levels of stress from work to home (WH) or home to work (HW). However, more males than females, particularly younger males, reported that work was a source of conflict with their partner. WH stress predicted marital conflict for both male and female doctors, whereas HW stress predicted marital conflict only for females. Time on call out of hours, the ethical commitment to medicine, and work encroaching into family time were identified as major sources of conflict. These findings have implications both for the well-being of doctors and their families, and for patient care, and for other professionals in dual-career partnerships.     

Mothers' abusive childhood predicts child abuse

To examine the intergenerational transmission of abuse, the study compared 25 mothers whose child had been under the supervision of the child protection services (CPS) with 25 mothers who had had no contact with the CPS. The groups were compared with respect to their own self‐reported childhood abuse, their abuse of their own child and punitiveness. The data were gathered using interviews and files. There were no significant differences between the groups in self‐reported childhood physical abuse, but the CPS mothers had experienced more childhood psychological abuse, especially rejection, accusations, terrorizing and corrupting. The groups did not differ in the self‐reported physical or psychological abuse inflicted upon one's own child. In the total sample of 50 mothers, hierarchical regression analyses showed, however, that the mothers' childhood abuse experiences predicted their abuse of their own child. Punitiveness was best predicted by maternal childhood psychological abuse. The results thus provide evidence for the cycle of abuse model. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differentiation of the Self and Posttraumatic Symptomatology Among ex-POWs and Their Wives

War captivity is a highly traumatic experience which sometimes has deleterious effects on both ex-POWs and their wives. This study examined the relationships between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and differentiation among male ex-prisoners of war (ex-POWs; n  = 103), their wives ( n  = 82), and comparable controls. Results show that ex-POWs and their wives endorsed more PTSD symptoms than controls. Ex-POWs endorsed more cut-off and fusion than controls, while their wives endorsed only more fusion than control wives. Finally, the relationship between differentiation and PTSD was found to be stronger among ex-POW couples than among control couples. The unique characteristics of war captivity and the relationships between avoidance symptoms and cut-off were suggested as possible explanations .     

Who Decides? The Social Characteristics of Who Initiates Marital Separation

This study investigates gender differences in the associations between social characteristics and men’s and women’s reports of which spouse initiated marital separation. Using retrospective data on 9,147 first marriages from the Household Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia survey (2001), we find that some social characteristics differentiated between separations initiated by wives compared to husbands, but few differences were statistically significant. The main gender difference is that wives are more inclined than husbands to initiate separation on the basis of their husbands’ as well as their own social characteristics. Our findings indicate that taking account of which spouse initiates separation is important for improving our understanding of gender differences in the processes of marriage breakdown, but more research is required.     

“She Was Stomping on Everything That We Used to Think of as a Family”: Communication and Turning Points in Cohabiting (Step)Families

This study investigates the relationship between joint and sole physical custody arrangements and parental hostility, conflict, and communication in divorced families. Data from both self-report and clinical ratings from 121 families were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression in order to determine predictors of parental hostility, conflict, and communication 2-3 years after the separation. Family structures variables such as ages and numbers of children, as well as SES differences between parents were included in the model. Results show that where both parents have more frequent access to their children, they communicate with each other more frequently, but also experience greater hostility and conflict in their relationship. A second result indicates that extreme levels of parental verbal or physical abuse is predicted by extreme abuse during the marital years and is not related to custody or visitation arrangements, nor to family structure variables 2-3 years post-separation.     

Does similarity breed marital and sexual satisfaction?

This study examined the effect of socioeconomic-cultural homogamy on the marital and sexual satisfaction of Hong Kong Chinese couples. Using a representative, territory-wide sample of 1,083 first-time married heterosexual couples, this study found that wives were generally less satisfied than their husbands with their marital and sexual relationships. Husbands were more likely to be satisfied with their marriages when they were two to four years older than their wives than when they were of similar age to their wives (i.e., within one year of each other), but they were less likely to be satisfied with their marriages when only their wives were employed than when both partners were employed. In addition, they were less likely to be satisfied with both their marital and sexual relationships when their wives were five or more years older. Wives with an older husband were more likely to be sexually satisfied than wives of the same age as their husband, but they were less likely to be satisfied with their marriages when they were better educated than their husbands. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Women Married to Transvestites:

This study focuses on the marital adjustment of wives of transvestites. Of particular interest are the attitudes of these women toward their husbands' behavior, the stresses under which they are placed, and their fears and concerns. A questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 70 women, obtained through the cooperation of 4 groups (a transvestite organization, a transvestite wives' support group, an outreach organization, and a group whose members wcrc undergoing counseling). The women generally learned about their husbands transvestism early in the relationship. While they most often tended to be supportive and understanding at first, many of the wives had negative feelings of hostility and resentment. Their immediate fear was that others would find out, followed by concern for their children. Most women did not support their spouses' transvestism, and few of them would recommend a transvestite for a husband. Yet, the women overwhelmingly felt that their marriages were very happy. The women appear to have adjusted to their husbands' transvestism by developing a rationale that emphasizes positive aspects of their husbands' behavior.     

Language Acculturation,Acculturation‐Related Stress,and Marital Quality in Chinese American Couples

The current study examines the longitudinal indirect pathways linking language acculturation to marital quality. Three waves of data were collected from 416 Chinese American couples for 8 years (M_age.wave1 = 48 for husbands, 44 for wives). Actor–partner interdependence model analyses revealed that for both husbands and wives, lower levels of language acculturation were associated with higher levels of stress over being stereotyped as a perpetual foreigner. Individuals' foreigner stress, in turn, was directly related to greater levels of their own and their partners' marital warmth, suggesting that foreigner stress may have some positive relational effects. However, individuals' foreigner stress also was associated with increases in their own depressive symptoms, which predicted higher levels of marital hostility in the partner. Overall, these results underscore the complexity of how language acculturation and foreigner stress relate to marital quality and the importance of considering the interdependence of the marital system.     

Does Similarity Breed Marital and Sexual Satisfaction?

This study examined the effect of socioeconomic–cultural homogamy on the marital and sexual satisfaction of Hong Kong Chinese couples. Using a representative, territory-wide sample of 1,083 first-time married heterosexual couples, this study found that wives were generally less satisfied than their husbands with their marital and sexual relationships. Husbands were more likely to be satisfied with their marriages when they were two to four years older than their wives than when they were of similar age to their wives (i.e., within one year of each other), but they were less likely to be satisfied with their marriages when only their wives were employed than when both partners were employed. In addition, they were less likely to be satisfied with both their marital and sexual relationships when their wives were five or more years older. Wives with an older husband were more likely to be sexually satisfied than wives of the same age as their husband, but they were less likely to be satisfied with their marriages when they were better educated than their husbands. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Inclusion and Control in Resort Family Businesses: A Developmental Approach to Conflict

This study investigated the relationship between inclusion tension and business and family conflict intensity for 183 couples in resort family businesses. Using path analysis, age, education, role, and decision involvement discrepancy predicted husbands' inclusion tension, and inclusion tension predicted their business and family conflict intensity. Age, locus of control, and gross sales predicted inclusion tension for wives; inclusion tension predicted wives' business and family conflict intensity. Age had an indirect effect for husbands on their inclusion tension and their business conflict intensity, whereas the role involvement discrepancy had an indirect effect on husbands' business conflict intensity. For wives, age had an indirect effect on their business conflict intensity, and locus of control had an indirect effect on wives' business as well as family conflict intensity.     

Listening Behaviors of Married Couples: An Exploration of Nonverbal Presentation to a Relational Outsider

This study examined the nonverbal behaviors of spouses as they listened to their partners present an area of disagreement in their marriage to a relational outsider. Ninety-four married couples, representing a range of marital satisfaction levels, engaged in an interview with a researcher about areas of disagreement in their relationships. A rating system was used to capture the nonverbal listening behaviors of spouses from tapes of the interactions. Husbands and wives demonstrated similar composites of listening behaviors overall, but there were some differences in how the particular behaviors were enacted. Specifically, both husbands and wives enacted nonverbal listening behaviors that demonstrated negative emotion and nonverbal involvement. Results also indicated that displays of negative emotion predicted relational dissatisfaction for husbands. Displays of negative emotion did not predict relational dissatisfaction for wives. Nonverbal involvement did not predict relational satisfaction for husbands or wives in this study. These results suggest that it may be important for husbands and wives, regardless of satisfaction level, to demonstrate nonverbal involvement to both their partners and a relational outsider and that the nonverbal expression of negative emotion may be used by dissatisfied husbands as a way to let the relational outsider as well as their wives know that they disagree or are displeased with what their wives are saying.     

Relationship satisfaction,attachment, and nonverbal accuracy in early marriage

This study explored the relations between nonverbal accuracy, relationship satisfaction, and adult attachment in early marriage. Thirty-three couples were assessed at three points in time across the first two years of marriage. On all three occasions, they engaged in an encoding and decoding task using the standard content paradigm (Kahn, 1970) and completed the Quality Marriage Index (Norton, 1983). At Times 2 and 3 subjects also completed a measure of adult attachment which provided scores on Comfort with closeness and Anxiety over abandonment. Nonverbal accuracy increased over time for all message types and husbands were more accurate than wives at decoding positive messages. Accuracy did not predict later relationship satisfaction, but satisfaction predicted later accuracy, mainly for. husbands. Attachment dimensions also predicted later accuracy, with Anxiety over abandonment being more related to accuracy for husbands, and Comfort with closeness being more related to accuracy for wives. There was evidence of increased communication awareness over time for encoders, particularly in terms of the accuracy with which they predicted their spouses' decoding. In addition, husbands and those high in relationship satisfaction were more likely to expect their partners to decode their communications correctly. With regard to communication awareness for decoders, the main finding was that all groups except wives in unhappy marriages were more confident on correct than incorrect messages.     

The Emotional Environment of Families Experiencing Chronic Poverty in India

The emotional environment of families living in chronic poverty in India was explored. We hypothesized that the poor (when compared to the nonpoor) would report more aversive interaction and would report less family and life satisfaction. Results showed partial support for our hypotheses. Poor husbands expressed love to wives in fewer ways than the nonpoor men, and they were more likely to use physical or verbal abuse with wives and children. Poor wives showed anger more frequently to husbands and children than the nonpoor wives. However, there were no differences between the poor and the nonpoor on family and life satisfaction. Thus, income alone was not a sufficient predictor of the family's emotional environment.     

Homosexuality: The right to be wrong

Though the literature focusing on interpersonal sexuality continues to expand, little is known about how husbands and wives value their sexual and affectional activities compared to other outlets for their discretionary time. Preferences for discretionary sexual activity, other joint activities, and independent activities were examined as a function of the number of years married. A stratified area probability sample of middle‐class households yielded 227 husbands and 233 wives. Respondents completed a questionnaire that included items on leisure activities they most preferred. The proportion of husbands and wives who indicated a preference for “engaging in sexual or affectional activities” decreased as the number of years married increased. When other joint and independent activity types were examined over the marital career, it was found that husbands' preferences for other joint activities increased proportionally, whereas wives' preferences for independent activities increased. These results seem to point to husband‐wife perceptual differences regarding the nature of marital sexuality, toward a partial explanation of declining sexual activity over time, and toward husband‐wife differences in relation to preferences for the use of time.     

SPOUSES' COGNITIVE STYLES AND MARITAL INTERACTION PATTERNS*

This study explored the relationship between spouses' cognitive styles and interaction patterns that were characteristic of their marriage. Three measures of cognitive style and one measure of relational interaction patterns were used. Participants were 60 married couples. Results indicated that spouses' reports of parallel, complementary and symmetrical interaction could each be predicted from spouses' intolerance of ambiguity. Husbands reported more parallel interaction when more similar to their wives in cognitive complexity, and more symmetrical interaction when more dissimilar. Findings suggested a dimension of flexibility-rigidity exists for cognitive style and interaction style. Additionally, interaction patterns could be predicted from marriage length and the number of individuals at home. Implications of these findings for counseling are discussed.     

The control motive and marital violence

The role of the control motive in marital violence is examined using data on current and former marriages from the Survey of Violence and Threats of Violence Against Women and Men. The findings indicate no support for the position that husbands engage in more marital violence than wives because they are more controlling. In former marriages, we observe statistical interactions between gender and control: former husbands who were controlling or jealous were particularly likely to be verbally aggressive and to engage in violence. The controlling husbands (present and former), however, are not particularly likely to engage in violence that is frequent, injurious, or unprovoked. The evidence suggests that husband and wives may differ in their methods of control but not their motivation to control.     

Coming to Terms With Parental Divorce: Associations With Marital Outcomes and the Role of Gender and Religiosity

In this article we examine the current marriage relationship outcomes for children of divorce compared to children from intact families. The sample is 997 matched married couples. Those from families with married parents were more likely to come to terms with issues in their family of origin, and had higher religiosity, less negative communication, and more positive relationship satisfaction than those with divorced parents. Religiosity was effective in helping those with married parents come to terms with family of origin. The variable coming to terms with family of origin predicted positive marital outcomes to some extent for all couples, although for couples where both partners' parents had divorced coming to terms predicted fewer positive outcomes. Coming to terms for females was associated more profoundly with decreases in negative communication for both males and the females, and also predicted satisfaction and stability in more cases than did coming to terms for males.