Correlates of Women's Adjustment During the Separation and Divorce Process

This study sought to clarify those factors related to successful adjustment at different times during the divorce process. A longitudinal research design was used to study three diverse sam- ples of women in the process of adaptation. Certain variables previ- ously found to predict adjustment, such as the woman's a e and the f presence of children, were not significantly associated wit the mul- tiple indicators of adjustment used in this study. Sex role attitudes, social isolation, and inter-spouse acrimony emerged as stronger cor- relates of adjustment. The predictive power of several variables changed over time, emphasizing the importance of controlling the length of separation for a given sample.     

Family Policies and Children's School Achievement in Single‐ Versus Two‐Parent Families

We investigate the gap in math and science achievement of third‐ and fourth‐graders who live with a single parent versus those who live with two parents in 11 countries. The United States and New Zealand rank last among the countries we compare in terms of the equality of achievement between children from single‐parent families and those from two‐parent homes. Following a multilevel analysis, we find single parenthood to be less detrimental when family policies equalize resources between single‐ and two‐parent families. In addition, the single‐ and two‐parent achievement gap is greater in countries where single‐parent families are more prevalent. We conclude that national family policies can offset the negative academic outcomes of single parenthood.     

Single Parenthood and Children’s Reading Performance in Asia

Using the data from Program for International Student Assessment, I examine the gap in reading performance between 15‐year‐old students in single‐parent and intact families in 5 Asian countries in comparison to the United States. The ordinary least square regression analyses show negligible disadvantages of students with a single parent in Hong Kong and Korea, once students’ demographic characteristics and socioeconomic background are held constant. Students in single‐parent families in Indonesia and Thailand outperform their peers in intact families. The negative effect of single parenthood remains significant in Japan, even after parent‐child communication is controlled. Interpreting the weak effect of single parenthood in the Asian countries, I consider extended family systems and the relatively high proportion of widowhood among causes of single parenthood.     

Enrollment,Educational Expenditures and Work Among One-Parent Children in India

In this study, I examined the effect of single parenthood due to death, separation, divorce, or migration of spouse on educational inputs among school-age children in India. I used the nationally representative India Human Development Survey to study the implications of different types of parenthood on educational expenditure among children ages 6 to 11 and 12 to 18 years and work participation among the older age group. The study finds that the separated or divorced mothers on average spend less on education and older children of widows are more likely to work because of resource constraints associated with single parenthood. The results highlight the need for public policies that would support widows as well as separated or divorced mothers.     

Subsidized Housing and Household Hardship Among Low‐Income Single‐Mother Households

We investigate associations of housing assistance with housing and food‐related hardship among low‐income single‐mother households using data from the National Survey of America’s Families (N = 5,396). Results from instrumental variables models suggest that receipt of unit‐based assistance, such as traditional public housing, is associated with a large decrease in rent burden and modest decreases in difficulty paying rent or utilities and residential crowding. Receipt of tenant‐based assistance, such as housing vouchers or certificates, is associated with a modest increase in housing stability but also with modest increases in rent burden and difficulty paying rent or utilities. We find no associations between either type of housing assistance and food related hardship.     

Divorce Likelihood Among Anglos and Mexican Americans

In this paper, we examine ethnic differences in divorce likelihood for a sample of 900 divorce petitions filed in San Antonio, Texas, during 1985. The present study explores ethnic differences in the nature of the divorce process and examines the extent to which observed ethnic differences in divorce likelihood are accounted for by differences between groups in dimensions such as socioeconomic status, marital history, and nature of complaints. Divorce likelihood is viewed from the perspective of Levinger's (1965) exchange model of marital instability, as recently applied to the phenomenon of divorce petition withdrawal by Kitson et al. (1983). Observed differences between Spanish surname and non-Spanish surname petitions in divorce likelihood and divorce delay are largely explained by controls for background and exchange model variables. Significant interaction effects with ethnicity suggest the complexity of the divorce process.     

Constructions of Mate Selection Mistakes Among Divorce Applicant Women

This qualitative study aims to explore the patterns and conditions of the wrong decisions women make in choosing their life partners. Grounded theory was employed as the methodological framework. Accordingly, 31 women who had applied for a divorce in the city of Yazd were selected to participate. Purposeful sampling and semistructured interviews were used to select samples and collect data. The findings show wrong decisions in choosing one’s husband were due to heterogeneous partners; emotional, self-willed, and blind decisions; arranged marriages; marriages of convenience; immaturity; conceiving of marriage as an escape from a crisis; dysfunctional parental families; oppressive families; bring destitute; and normative pressure.     

An Empirically Based Framework for Content Selection and Management in Divorce Education Programs

Contemporary research has shown that divorce education programs are becoming mandated or recommended in numerous states throughout the nation. Cooccurring with the popularity of these programs is the variation in content of divorce education programs. The focus of this project was to systematically explore the research literature on factors related to divorce adjustment and identify findings to be used in content selection and development for divorce education programs. The divorce-stress-adjustment perspective was utilized to frame the divorce process affecting both children and adults. A systematic literature review resulted in identification of 103 published studies that fit the project criteria. Selected research findings identified in the literature review process were organized according to a conceptual framework designed to categorize content in a tiered approach useful for selecting and managing content in divorce education programs. Implications of the project findings for content identification in divorce education, program development, and program evaluation are explored.     

Resiliency in Divorced Families

Abstract

The aim of this cross-sectional and exploratory study was to identify resiliency factors that are associated with family adaptation after divorce. Questionnaires (The Family Hardiness Index, The Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales, The Relative and Friend Support Index, The Social Support Index, The Family Sense of Coherence Scale) and an open-ended question were used to collect data independently from parents and children belonging to 68 divorced families in Belgium. Results indicate that there is a significant positive correlation between the three components of family hardiness (commitment, challenge, and control—according to the parents) and the family's adaptation to its changed circumstances. There are also positive correlations for both parents and children between the positive redefining of stressful situations by the family, the social support of the family, and the family's adaptation after divorce. According to the children there are also significant positive relationships between the family's use of avoidance strategies, the parents' educational level, the number of years that the parent had been divorced, and the family's adaptation.     

Partnership Transitions and Maternal Parenting

We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 1,975) to examine the association between mothers' partnership changes and parenting behavior during the first five years of their children's lives. We compare coresidential with dating transitions, and recent with more distal transitions. We also examine interactions between transitions and race/ethnicity, maternal education and family structure at birth. Findings indicate that both coresidential and dating transitions were associated with higher levels of maternal stress and harsh parenting; recent transitions had stronger associations than distal transitions. Maternal education significantly moderates these associations, with less educated mothers responding more negatively to instability in terms of maternal stress, and more educated mothers responding more negatively in terms of literacy activities.     

“Separation Guilt” in Women Who Initiate Divorce

This paper explores the “separation guilt” of women who initiate divorce. The paper argues that the gender-specific processes of separation individuation and socialization that women undergo in childhood make them vulnerable to similar guilt feelings when they initiate divorce, only towards the husband they are leaving. It further argues that these feelings may impair their post-divorce adjustment. The paper illustrates these points with two case studies, one showing how the woman’s separation guilt thwarted the development of new intimacy, the other showing how it impaired her maternal functioning. Recommendations are made for treatment and research. Nehami Baum Ph.D., is a lecturer at the School of Social Work at Bar Ilan University. She is a social worker with experience in both public and private practice. Her special interests include non-death related loss, divorce, men in therapy, treatment termination, social work students’ professional identity formation, guilt, and social work in times of terror and political tension.     

Status of Family Theory and Research in Japan

. This paper examines the development of family research and theory in Japan in the context of family change sinceWorldWar II. Among the topics explored are: the increasingly aging society, decrease in birth rate, child rearing practices of over-protection and non-supervi- sion, increasing independence and its impact on family cohesiveness, and economic and technological development. Theoretical approaches to fam- ily research in Japan are discussed; including the life course perspective, family stress theory, the feminist perspective, and social network theory. Comparative studies are reviewed.     

Poverty at a Racial Crossroads: Poverty Among Multiracial Children of Single Mothers

Although multiracial youth represent a growing segment of children in all American families, we have little information on their well‐being within single‐mother households. This article examines multiracial children's level of poverty within single‐mother families to identify the degree to which they may stand out from their monoracial peers. Using data from the 2006–2008 American Community Survey (3‐year estimates), we explore the level of racial disparities in child poverty between monoracial White children and monoracial and multiracial children of color. Fully adjusted multivariate logistic regression analyses (n = 359,588) reveal that nearly all children of color are more likely to be poor than White children. Yet many multiracial children appear to hold an in‐between status in which they experience lower rates of poverty than monoracial children of color. The high level of variation across groups suggests that the relationship between race and childhood poverty is more complicated than generally presumed.     

Educational Achievement of Children From Single‐Mother and Single‐Father Families: The Case of Japan

This article examines the relationships between single parenthood and student achievement in Japan. The study uses sixth‐grade data from the 2013 National Assessment of Academic Ability and the Detailed Survey, which was the first nationally representative parental survey collected through schools in Japan. The results indicate that children of single‐mother and single‐father families perform academically lower than children of two‐parent families. For children living in single‐mother families, more than 50% of the educational disadvantage was explained by a lack of economic resources. For children living in single‐father families, the educational disadvantage was explained more by a lack of parenting resources, measured by discussions at home, supervision at home, and involvement in school, than economic resources. These findings suggest that the gendered labor force and division of labor among spouses in Japanese society may deprive parents of the ability to buffer the negative relationship between single parenthood and children's educational achievement.     

The Influence of Grandparents in Single‐Mother Families

This article examines whether children living with single mothers benefit when they also live with a grandparent, using data from the 1979 to 2002 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth merged mother‐child file (N = 6,501). Results indicate that for White children, living with a single mother and a grandparent is associated with increased cognitive stimulation and higher reading recognition scores, compared to living with a single mother alone. For Black children, grandparent coresidence is associated with less cognitive stimulation. Thus, in some instances, living with a grandparent can benefit children, but the pattern of results differs by race.     

Cohabitation in the Philippines: Attitudes and Behaviors Among Young Women and Men

We examine data from a national survey of 15 – 27 year olds in the Philippines to assess attitudes toward marriage and cohabitation, and we analyze the marital and nonmarital union experiences of 25 – 27 year olds. We find that attitudes toward cohabitation remain quite conservative among young Filipinos, although men view cohabitation more favorably than do women. We also find that men’s socioeconomic status affects their ability to enter unions, particularly marriage, whereas women’s union formation patterns are influenced by the family in which they grew up, their participation in religious services, and to some degree by their place of residence. Both men and women who hold more liberal attitudes on a range of issues are more likely to have cohabited than are individuals who do not share those views. For now, however, we do not expect cohabitation to become a widespread substitute for marriage in the Philippines.     

Single Motherhood,Living Arrangements,and Time With Children in Japan

The authors examined relationships between single parenthood and mothers' time with children in Japan. Using data from the 2011 National Survey of Households with Children (N = 1,926), they first demonstrate that time spent with children and the frequency of shared dinners are significantly lower for single mothers than for their married counterparts. For single mothers living alone, less time with children reflects long work hours and work‐related stress. Single mothers coresiding with parents spend less time with children and eat dinner together less frequently than either married mothers or their unmarried counterparts not living with parents, net of (grand)parental support, work hours, income, and stress. The findings suggest that rising divorce rates and associated growth in single‐mother families may have a detrimental impact on parents' time with children in Japan and that the relatively high prevalence of intergenerational coresidence among single mothers may do little to temper this impact.     

Children Living With Uninsured Family Members: Differences by Family Structure

Despite increased access to insurance through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, uninsurance rates are expected to remain relatively high. Having uninsured family members may expose children to financial hardships. Eligibility rules governing both private and public health insurance are based on outdated expectations about family structure. Using 2009–2011 data from the National Health Interview Survey (N = 65,038), the authors investigated family structure differences in family‐level insurance coverage of households with children. Children living with married biological parents were the least likely to have uninsured family members and most likely to have all family members covered by private insurance. Controlling for demographic characteristics and income, children in single‐mother families had the same risk of having an uninsured family member as children in married‐parent families. Children with cohabiting biological parents had higher rates of family uninsurance than children with married biological parents, even accounting for other characteristics.     

Interethnic Marriage and Divorce in Hawaii

No abstract available for this article.