The Technologisation of Childhood? Young Children and Technology in the Home

We describe an 18-month empirical investigation of three- and four-year-old children's uses of technology at home, based on a survey of 346 families and 24 case studies. The findings are reported in the context of social commentators' anxieties about the ways in which childhood is being transformed by technology. Although we report evidence of some parental disquiet about the role of technology in children's lives, we illustrate some of the complexities in families' attitudes to, and uses of, technology and conclude that it is not perceived by parents to be the threat to modern childhood that is claimed.     

Do the Health Benefits of Marriage Depend on the Likelihood of Marriage?

Marriage promotion initiatives presume substantial health benefits of marriage. Current literature, however, has provided inconsistent results on whether these benefits would be shared by people unlikely to marry. We investigate whether the physical and mental health benefits of marriage depend on the likelihood of marriage. Whereas prior studies have compared health benefits of marriage across a single predictor of marriage chances, we define the likelihood of marriage as a composite of demographic, economic, and health characteristics. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we find that married adults are only modestly healthier than unmarried adults in both physical and mental dimensions. People with a higher likelihood of marriage generally do not reap greater health benefits from marriage than their counterparts. The only exception is that continuous marriage is more strongly associated with improved mental health among men who are more likely to be married.     

Do Nonprofit and For-Profit Social Enterprises Differ in Financing?

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - This study is an empirical investigation of the survey data from 109 social enterprises, nonprofit and for-profit, in...     

Parenthood and Commitment to the Legal Profession: Are Mothers Less Committed than Fathers?

This research examined the relationship between parenthood and career commitment. Karasek’s (Administrative Science Quarterly 24:285–308, 1979) Job Demand-Job Control Model was used as a theoretic framework for hypothesizing the relationships between work and family demands, job control and social support and parents’ career commitment. Questionnaire data from a sample of practicing lawyers with children were used to test this model. The results show fathers generally reported more work demands than mothers; whereas, mothers reported more family demands than fathers. Job control and social support did not moderate relationships between work and family demands and parents’ career commitment. Perhaps the most surprising finding of this study, contrary to assumptions in the literature and the workplace, was that mothers practicing law are significantly more committed to their careers than fathers. This paper closes by discussing possible explanations for these findings.

Do Predictors of Gambling Involvement Differ Across Male and Female Adolescents?

We examined gender-specific factors, which might be related to adolescent gambling behavior, using a comprehensive set of predictors from neighborhood, school, family, peer, and intrapersonal domains. Discriminate function analyses revealed a unique pattern of results for each gender. The noteworthy predictors for males were similar to what is found to be predictors of other risk behaviors, suggesting that there may be a similar etiology to gambling participation as found with other risk behaviors. Compared to males, the model for females suggests that parents and peers may have a greater influence on engagement in gambling behavior. Participation in unstructured activities, and risk attitudes/perceptions were the only consistent noteworthy predictors across both males and females. Implications are discussed.     

How Much Do Liberal and Conservative Identifiers Differ in the United States?*

Recent scholarship has reported that identification as a liberal or conservative shapes lifestyle orientations and behaviors. Liberal/conservative differences with respect to such arenas as family and religion go beyond ideological identification research's traditional focus on policy attitudes and political processes. But are differences on non-political issues as large as those relating to political ones? This question has yet to be addressed, and it is critical to putting in firmer perspective the degree to which liberal and conservative identifiers differ in the United States. We take up investigation through analysis of 106 items from the General Social Survey 2006 panel. We compare ideological identification's influence with respect to political versus non-political orientations and behaviors. Application of Morgan and Winship's model of causal inference builds from past studies’ cross-sectional analysis. Results extend ideological identification scholarship, while cautioning against wide-ranging claims advanced by several public commentators.     

Work and Family over the Life Course: Do Older Workers Differ?

This study explored how older workers (age 55+) differed from middle-aged (ages 35–54) and young workers (<35 years) in their experience of the work–family interface. Data came from a subset of a survey conducted by a multi-national corporation in 79 countries (N = 41,813, n = 2,700). Older workers reported significantly less work-to-family and family-to-work conflict and greater work–family fit, life success, and work success than middle-aged and young workers. They reported significantly greater job flexibility and job satisfaction but were significantly less likely to be aware of and use work–family programs than young workers. Older men reported significantly less awareness and use of work-life programs and less family-to-work conflict than older women. Implications of this research are presented.     

Who Helps with Homework? Parenting Inequality and Relationship Quality Among Employed Mothers and Fathers

This study investigated the relationship between parenting inequalities and feelings of relationship quality, and whether those patterns differed for women and men. Using data from the nationally representative 2011 Canadian Work, Stress, and Health Survey (N?=?1427), we documented the relevance of perceived unfairness of the division of parenting and the ways that employment status and work hour preferences (“mismatch”) modify those relationships. We found that mothers in dual-earner households experience greater parenting inequalities than do similarly-situated fathers, net of housework inequalities. The negative association between parenting inequality and relationship quality was stronger among mothers—but that was due to perceived unfairness in the division of parenting tasks. We also observed that the detrimental effect of parenting inequality was stronger for mothers who worked part-time—but that was because of work hours mismatch: they tended to prefer to work longer hours. Our results contribute to the gendered nature of the division of parenting labor and its intersection with work hours and preferences.     

Do Reports of Age and Circumstances of First Intercourse Differ in a Birth Cohort When Asked Seventeen Years Apart?

Conclusions about temporal changes in age and circumstances of first intercourse are generally derived from retrospective reports by people of various ages in cross-sectional studies, with an inherent assumption of no bias stemming from time since the event. We examined this assumption through repeated questions on age and circumstances of first heterosexual intercourse (FHI) at ages 21 and 38 in a birth cohort. Despite considerable movement in individual reports, there was no bias in reported age of FHI. However, a greater proportion of both men and women stated at the later assessment both partners had been equally willing (versus persuading or persuaded). The distribution of current views of the appropriateness of the timing did not differ markedly between assessments, although there were many individual changes. Reports of contraceptive usage were similar at the two assessments for men but differed among women, mainly through more reporting that they could not remember. These findings imply that among cohorts born in the 1970s, there is no bias in reports of age of FHI many years after the event, and views on the appropriateness of timing persist. However, time biases reports in favor of a more mutual willingness.     

Coming Home? Patterns and Characteristics of Return Migration in Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Kazakhstan are all major destinations for labour migrants from rural areas of southern Kyrgyzstan. Along with searching for better income, younger men and women also migrate for educational purposes; children and elderly people stay behind. While older migrants often regard this separation from their families as temporary, younger people start to put down roots in places other than their homes and this has long‐term consequences for development in rural areas. The paper therefore looks into families’ multi‐local settings and why young migrants fail to return home. It also considers the potential impact on rural development including remittance dependency, an increasing shortage of qualified labour and new conditions of social care. The paper concludes with an assessment of the policy implications.     

Young,anchored and free? Examining the dynamics of early housing pathways in Australia

Young people are remaining in the parental home for longer, and returning there more often, before attaining residential independence. In Australia, these patterns have prompted concerns about a ‘boomerang generation’ whose housing aspirations and decisions have either been directly questioned, or viewed as symptomatic of broader affordability issues. Employing a longitudinal perspective, we argue that early residential pathways reflect a mix of stable and dynamic influences involving individuals, their families, and their broader relationships. Using data from a large cohort (n = 2082) of young Australians participating in the ‘Our Lives’ research project, we examine housing pathway formation between the ages of 12/13 and 21/22. Events such as parental union dissolution or partnership formation were found to encourage home leaving, whilst being employed at a younger age and having grown up rurally predicted both leaving and remaining out of home. Close, supportive relationships with family and friends served to ‘anchor’ respondents at home for longer, and parental socioeconomic resources enabled respondents to leave home and return if needed. The findings suggest that early residential independence reflects various factors, not all of which are in young people’s control, and some of which may hinder the longer term sustainability of their living arrangements.     

Mothers of disabled children: in mourning or on the march?

A traditional psychoanalytic view of parenting a disabled child emphasises responses of shock, grief and depression. Parent activists and social model disability authors dismiss such accounts as destructive and prejudiced, foregrounding structural barriers to accessing services and resources. Further, psychoanalysis is criticised for its anachronistic, ideologically uncritical discourse. Each position brings valuable insights as well as silences. This paper seeks to overcome an assumption of mutual exclusivity by creating a new synthesis, drawing on the work of Winnicott and Kittay. Conclusions are that it is both possible and necessary to allow for ambivalent feelings within parents, while attending to the external, material realities of contextual factors.     

How Do Children Matter? A Comparison of Gender Earnings Inequality for Young Adults in the Former East Germany and the Former West Germany

The former Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) differed sharply in their family policies. We follow 1950s and early 1960s birth cohorts from their first jobs to 1989 to see in what ways having children affected earnings for women and men. For the FRG, we find that being a parent had stronger earnings effects (positive for men and negative for women) than in the GDR, with much of this impact mediated by employment hours for women. This does not mean that having children was unimportant for women's and men's earnings in the GDR, but it indicates that the less variable life course led to more society‐wide than individual‐level impact. Further, in the East, some young women balanced family and employment by taking jobs below their qualifications, and this reduced their earnings.     

Meta-Analysis on the Roles of Fathers in Parenting: Are They Unique?

ABSTRACT

A meta-analysis was undertaken, including 34 studies, to determine whether fathers play a unique role in parenting that is different from mothers’ roles. Statistical analyses were done to determine the extent to which the effects of fathering children were distinct from that of mothering. In addition to examining this phenomena overall, the meta-analysis also specifically examined social measurements, psychological indicators, and academic achievement. The possible unique effects of fatherhood were also examined in relation to the age and gender of the child. The results indicate consistent statistically significant effects that emerged for the unique role that fathers have. This association between fathering and the outcome variables held across social measurements, psychological indicators, and academic achievement. This relationship also held for both boys and girls and across age groups. The effects of the unique role of fathering yielded effect sizes of about .14 to .23 of a standard deviation unit.     

Do You Do as I Do?: Young Toddlers Prefer and Copy Toy Choices of Similarly Acting Others

Recognizing similarity between one's own and others' actions is important for identifying others with whom to affiliate and from whom to learn. In this study, 40 19‐month‐old toddlers recognized when a puppet chose the same toys as them. Toddlers preferred to affiliate with a puppet who chose the same toys as themselves relative to a puppet who chose other toys and they modified their subsequent behavior by choosing the same toys as that puppet when presented with novel toys. Toddlers' actions were not based on perceivable features of the puppet (e.g., similar accent or language as oneself) or an association between the puppet and the preferred toys (as assessed in a control condition). Results indicate that toddlers identified and recognized the similarity in action choices between themselves and the puppet via comparison between their own and the puppets' actions. Identifying this similarity is critical for children's developing understanding of and engagement in interactions with others.     

Young Mothers’ Experiences of Receiving the Baby Bonus: A Qualitative Study

The year 2014 marked the abolition of the Baby Bonus and its replacement with a substantially reduced parenting payment. While often criticised as “middle-class welfare,” or publicly denounced due to its purported misuse by disadvantaged mothers, this paper argues that the Baby Bonus provided valuable financial assistance to families experiencing high financial stress. To investigate young women's experience of receiving the Baby Bonus, 19 semistructured interviews were conducted with young mothers in Melbourne who had recently had babies. Many were experiencing financial stress and this payment provided much needed financial support for the basic costs arising from having a baby. Several mothers perceived work as a luxury that was out of reach due to high childcare costs relative to their earning capacity and therefore saw Paid Parental Leave as a further privilege unavailable to them. Our results suggest that while the concerns of policymakers to achieve the best use of scarce resources are critical, it should also be acknowledged that the policy change may have serious implications for many young mothers and may exacerbate disadvantage, and young mothers’ sense of alienation, ultimately leading to greater inequalities.     

Mothers’ and Fathers’ Ratings of Parental Involvement: Views of Married Dual-Earners with Preschool-Age Children

In this paper, we examine how married dual-earner mothers and fathers of preschool-age children rate their own involvement in parenting, and their spouse’s involvement in parenting. Five dimensions of parenting are examined: discipline, support for spouse, spending time with children, praise and affection, and attentiveness. Several comparisons between mothers’ and fathers’ ratings are made. We find that both mothers and fathers rated themselves most highly on praise and affection and lowest on discipline and also rated their spouse least favorably in terms of discipline. In general, mothers were more generous in their ratings of fathers, than fathers were in their ratings of mothers. These findings are discussed in light of self-determination theory, which is used to frame our analysis.     

Desired Characteristics of Spouses and Best Friends: Do They Differ by Sex and/or Gender?

In view of the salutary effects that having one's spouse as one's best friend are said to impart (G. R. Lee 1988; Schwartz 1994), we investigated the relationship between desired characteristics of a best friend and of a spouse. Consistent with earlier scholarship in this area, we found that desired characteristics overlap considerably for those two roles. We also found that men's and women's selection of characteristics are highly similar and that having a current same-sex or cross-sex best friend did not modify the characteristics chosen for either best friends or spouses. We discuss these findings in terms of the trend toward nontraditional gender role identities and expectations in close relationships.