The Impact of Divorce Laws on Divorce Rate in Australia: A Time Series Analysis

This paper investigates the impact of the two major divorce law changes in Australia on the level and the trend of divorce rates. A time series analysis indicated that the impact of the Matrimonial Causes Act was negligible, while that of the Family Law Act was substantial, but temporary in its nature. A non-linear regression equation indicated that by 1979 the divorce rate was returning to a level consonant with the pre-1975 trends. The authors concentrated on explaining the change related to the emergence of the 1975 law and addressed the question whether the post-1976 increase could be regarded as indicating that the FLA undermined the stability of Australian marriages.     

区域文化对婚姻稳定性的影响:基于跨省流动人口的研究

本文利用2013—2015年我国跨省流动人口数据,从动态的视角考察了流入地文化和流出地文化对流动人口婚姻稳定性的影响。数据结果显示,高离婚率地区形成了一种强势的离婚文化,无论是从低离婚率地区流入到高离婚率地区,还是从高离婚率地区流入到低离婚率地区,曾在高离婚率地区生活过的跨省流动人口都会保持较高的离婚概率。离婚文化对个人行为的影响表现为继承效应和浸染效应：继承效应即人们迁移到一个新的文化环境中,原有的离婚文化会持续产生影响;浸染效应即人们迁移到一个新的区域,会受到新接触的离婚文化的影响。年轻人更容易受到新迁入地文化浸染效应的影响,而年龄较大的人更容易受到流出地文化继承效应的影响。在新环境中,男性更容易接受新的文化,而女性则更多地保留了原有文化特征。     

The Legacy of War: An Intergenerational Perspective

Children of combat veterans are affected to varying extents by the physical and psychological aftermath of war as experienced by the parent. Traumatic experiences exist on a continuum; trauma related messages can be communicated by a parent who does not have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. An intergenerational perspective explores the complex family processes by which those who did not experience the actual events come to exhibit varying degress of emotional, psychological and behavioral manifestations of their parents' traumatic experiences.     

Explaining Marital Dissolution: The Role of Spouses' Traits

Objective . One of the most profound changes in American society since 1950 has been a decline in the stability of marriages. Many studies that focus on marital dissolution are based on analyses of individual marriages that track their success or failure over time. Most research views the family as a single decision-making unit that arrives at a decision concerning the status of the marriage. Previous work has not explicitly considered the role of spouses' individual traits in the process of marital dissolution. This article treats spouses' behaviors as distinct phenomena. Methods . The study is based on the Marital Instability Over the Life Course 1980–1988 panel data set. The data do not include information on each spouse's choice. Instead we observe only the final outcome of the two decisions. To address that limitation, the model is estimated using a bivariate probit model with partial observability. Results . The kurtosis and variance are largely insensitive to important distributional differences, most importantly that between bimodality and trimodality. Estimates indicate that there are noteworthy contrasts between spouses with respect to variables that induce a choice in favor of marital dissolution. Conclusions . These findings suggest that husbands and wives are motivated by different socioeconomic factors in decisions relative to the stability of their marriages.     

Unmarried Mothers' Postnatal School Enrollment: The Role and Intersection of Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics

Drawing from a theoretical model of educational decisions and intersectionality theory, this study examined demographic, socioeconomic, and public assistance characteristics that influence unmarried mothers' postnatal enrollment. Using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), binomial and multinomial regression techniques were used to examine unmarried mothers' enrollment in their child's first 9 years. Results showed unmarried mothers' educational commitment coupled with the influence of race and class indicate that they need additional opportunities to optimize their educations and job opportunities. Targeting outreach and enrollment assistance to underrepresented groups can reduce social-origin inequalities. Important directions for future research include understanding unmarried mothers' rationale for school enrollment and considering how race and class work in combination to support or deter enrollment.     

离婚苛刻条款的利弊分析

十年来离婚绝对数只增不减,有人提出应当在《民法典·婚姻家庭编》规定"离婚苛刻条款",以限制离婚数量的增长,最大限度保护未成年人利益、保护妇女权益。但在我国推行该制度,则明显弊大于利:与夫妻感情破裂理论不符合,容易对婚姻自由造成损害,对离婚当事人一方损害,容易造成法官权力滥用,保护未成年人利益的制度功能难以实现等。保障离婚自由、反对轻率离婚是离婚问题的基本原则,所以不赞成将该条款纳入《民法典·婚姻家庭编》,它不是解决轻率离婚和规避法律离婚的恰当制度途径。确保婚姻家庭稳定较优的途径应当是倡导社会主义家庭文明新风尚,完善征信体系,相对增加离婚成本。     

The Effects of Marital Conflict and Marital Disruption on Depressive Affect: A Comparison Between Women In and Out of Poverty*

Objectives. We examine the independent and interactive effects of marital conflict and marital disruption on women's depressive affect and how these effects vary by family's poverty status. Methods. We use the OLS regression and data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to test the hypothesized relationships. Results. The results showed that marital conflict and marital disruption each predicts subsequent depression after controlling for the initial level of depression and other antecedent variables. The effect of marital conflict on depression is stronger among women in poverty than those out of poverty. Furthermore, among women in poverty, marital conflict followed by marital breakup is related to a heightened level of depression, whereas among women financially better off, there is a reduction in the level of depressive affect. Conclusions. These findings point to the importance of a family's economic condition and its impact on the interrelationships among marital processes and women's psychological health.     

Kin Financial Support: Receipt and Provision Among Unmarried Mothers

ABSTRACT

Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,039), we investigate how social resources influence unmarried mothers' provision and receipt of financial support within their social networks and whether patterns of financial support vary by race and ethnicity. Multinomial regression results indicate that relative to neither giving nor receiving, more advantaged mothers have higher odds of providing others with financial help, yet less advantaged mothers do not have consistently higher odds of receiving help. Tests for interactions indicate that financial support may be less available for Blacks in need than for other groups. Our findings provide evidence that because of its unpredictable nature and unequal availability among disadvantaged groups, informal financial support cannot be expected to fill gaps in the public safety net.     

Children's Coping with Marital Conflict: The Role of Conflict Expression and Gender

This study compared boys’ and girls’ coping responses to videotaped representations of marital conflict that varied in conflict content, tactic, and the gender of the parent engaging in conflict behaviour. Participants were 398 children (208 boys, 190 girls) aged 12–13 years old living in the United Kingdom. Child‐related conflict exchanges characterized by hostile behaviour (e.g., physical aggression) elicited greater mediation efforts by children. Children were more likely to mediate father‐enacted conflict. Girls, relative to boys, endorsed more mediation to fathers’ physical aggression and mothers’ pursuit of an issue and were more avoiding of mothers’ physical aggression and threats to intactness of the family. Findings underscore the importance of considering parent and child gender in determining children’s coping efforts in the context of interparental conflict.     

Children's Reactions to Parental Separation and Divorce: The Views of Children and Custodial Mothers

Children in two age groups, middle childhood and adolescence, were asked to describe how they felt when their parents separated. Although most children reported negative feelings, others reported neutral or positive feelings. Mothers' reports of their children's reactions also revealed a good deal of diversity. When asked to describe how they felt at the time of the interview, most children claimed to have accepted the situation. However, a small group of children, mainly of primary school age, reported continuing distress.     

走向开放的综合——新文化史学探析

新文化史学是最近30年西方史学领域里引人注目的新探索。赞赏者认为它是继传统史学、新史学之后历史学的第三个发展阶段,甚至认为这种新探索和社会人文科学领域其他的新变化一道预示着一次新的文艺复兴的到来;反对者则认为它是“凝视肚脐的思想游戏”,使史学变得虚无不定。本文基于对新文化史学作品的分析,认为其中呈现的独特历史形象,不止是某几个学者的个人兴趣,而是针对史学内部的问题和外部后现代主义思潮的挑战而进行的创新。其实践体现了开放的学术精神和综合地再现历史的研究取向。因此,虽然断言新文化史学开拓了新的史学范型似乎还为时过早,但至少就目前来看,它代表了现代历史学研究值得注意的方向。     

Fear of Others: Social Exclusion and the European Crisis of Solidarity

In recent years a major challenge for the EU has emerged around social issues and collective identities. With the emergence of a European political community that has diminished national sovereignty at a time when global forces are also undermining nation states, both Europe and migration become linked as sources of instability. Anxieties about Europe and migration are linked with fears of a clash of civilizations and anxieties about social securities. Social discontent, fuelled by socio‐economic changes, has undermined the traditional sources of identity around class and the nation, releasing xenophobic and nationalistic currents. Fear of others and anxieties about the future have emerged as potent social forces in contemporary society. The result is a crisis of European solidarity, along with a wider crisis of collective purpose. To combat such developments it is essential that the European project gives greater attention to issues of social justice and inclusive forms of social solidarity.     

Marital Conflict and Children's Adjustment: The Mediating and Moderating Role of Children's Coping Strategies

This prospective, longitudinal study examined the role of children's coping strategies in the link between interparental conflict and children's psychological adjustment. Using a sample of 100 parents and children aged 11–14 years, this study investigated children's venting of negative emotion, social support seeking, and problem solving strategies as mediators and moderators of the relationship between marital conflict and child adjustment. Venting negative emotion mediated the long‐term effects of marital conflict on children's psychological adjustment. This coping response also moderated the relationship between marital conflict and children's anxiety‐depression. The role of non‐constructive coping strategies as a mechanism through which marital conflict affects children's psychological well‐being is discussed, together with the need for research to identify intervention strategies aimed at improving children's coping efficacy in the context of interparental conflict.     

Intergenerational Relations: Themes, Prospects, and Possibilities

This commentary provides an examination of the articles within this issue with a focus on common themes throughout. Each article is briefly reviewed in the context of how it contributes to four overarching themes of current intergenerational research. The articles within this issue also have implications for developing policy that fosters intergenerational relationships. This commentary concludes with a discussion of the complex issues that arise in creating such policy and utilizes Allport's (1954) "contact hypothesis" as a framework to guide future policy work addressing the myriad of issues within the realm of intergenerational relationships.     

Intergenerational Relations: Theory, Research, and Policy

The dramatic increase in life expectancy and lowered fertility, especially in more advantaged countries, has resulted in people living longer and in more complex family structures. Other important changes affecting the family include greater geographical mobility, increased racial and ethnic diversity, new patterns of immigration and identity reformulation, as well as changing work and family roles. With reduced governmental resources available, it is especially important to understand the changing nature of multigenerational family structures, functioning, and roles in individual well-being in order to maximize the effectiveness of informal and formal supports available to those in need. This special issue addresses basic factors related to multigeneration support systems that will be needed to anticipate, understand, and design support programs to cope with the challenges facing individuals in all generation positions, families, and communities in the United States and around the world.