Older women and the internet

This study was designed to explore the effects that training had on older adults' willingness to use the Internet to manage their health care. The most interesting result was that out of 70 self-volunteers, 58 were women. Results show that highly educated women who either own a computer or have access to one, and have low levels of anxiety toward computers, with strong feelings of self-efficacy toward computers and the Internet, and an internal locus of control, are more willing than men to use the Internet to find medical information to manage a chronic health problem.     

Marital instability and the economic status of women

This paper uses longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine the relationship between changes in marital status and economic status. Differences between men and women and between whites and blacks are also considered. A major finding is that, after adjusting for changes in family size, the economic status of divorced or separated men improves, while that of women declines. Components of income change are discussed, with special emphasis on changes in the labor force and welfare status of women who were divorced or separated during the analysis period. Finally, data on the magnitude and distribution of alimony/child-support payments are presented.     

Retirement for women: the impact of employment

This study compares the retirement experiences of professional and nonprofessional women. The analysis is based on 48 interviews with women ranging in age from 63-83 years. Participants provided personal and occupational histories and described their retirement decisions, transitions, and lives in retirement. The women's retirement experiences differed in five areas: (1) attachment to work, (2) professional identity, (3) social contacts, (4) family roles/obligations, and (5) community involvement. Findings indicate investment in the work role does affect how women transition to retirement as well as how they structure their time in retirement.     

Fertility of the Yi women in Liangshan]

An attempt is made to determine the causes for the high fertility rate of the Yi women in Liangshan, China. The Yi are one of China's 54 ethnic groups, the largest group of which are the Hans (making up 95% of China's population). The area surveyed was Liangshan Yi County, having a population of 1.4 million. The survey included Yi women between the ages of 13-29 and compared them on the basis of previously gathered fertility statistics dealing with 1st and 2nd marriages and changes in household arrangements. According to a 1980 report, 16.37% of 36,302 infants of Yi women were the 1st child, 20.33% were the 2nd, 19.05% were the 3rd, 16.55% were the 4th, and 27.36% were the 5th child. These figures show that the Yi women's fertility is still extremely high (and has been for the last 15 years). Their fertility rate is 3.03 times higher than that of the Han women and 1.5 times higher than the national average for women. Possible causes for this rate may be early marriage (the average age for marriage being 19), divorce, and remarriage, and changes in household arrangements (where married women cohabit with men other than their husbands). These findings indicate a great need for family planning in order to prevent further adverse effects on economic growth, living standards, and public health (e.g., malnutrition has been found among some babies).     

An analysis of the fertility of Chinese women]

The 1982 census provided detailed information on fertility in China. It recorded 20,689,704 births in 1981, producing a birth rate of 2.1%, a decrease, respectively, of 43% and more than 50% in comparison with 1952 and 1963. The birth rate has varied widely over the last 30 years, from 3.6% in the early 1950's, to 1.8% in 1961, after a planned birth program was begun, to a record high of 3.7% in 1962 following the economic recovery, to 3.3% in 1970, after a gradual decline through the 1960's. By 1981 the birth rate had declined to 2.1%, clearly resulting from the intense planned fertility promotion begun in the early 1970's. In the mid- and late 50's, urban birth rate was consistently higher than rural, with the mass move to the cities at the beginning of the People's Republic. General economic development after 1957 brought simultaneous declines of both urban and rural rates, both reaching a low point in 1961. Age structure of the population also has an influence, depending on the proportion of childbearing women in the population. In 1981, the fertility of China's childbearing women was 8.3%, lower than that of the developing countries, but higher than the developed countries. By age group, the fertility rates reached 14.7% and 23.9% respectively in women between 20-24 and 25-29 years of age; the legal marriage age is 20. The fertility rate in large cities is generally lower than that of provinces. Higher educational and socio-economic level also exert an inverse influence on fertility rates; in low socio-economic areas the rate reached 3.5%, and in more advanced areas it was held to 2.2%. In all professions with the exception of agriculture, fishing, and forestry, the percentage of families with 1 child was 81.8%. Since planned fertility was implemented, the overall fertility rate has dropped from 3% to 2%. China's fertility mode has changed to that of developed countries, with high intensity between 20 and 29 years of age. Appropriate measures should be taken to lower the fertility rate in different regions.     

Mindfulness-based programme on the psychological health of pregnant women

Problem

Preparation of psychological well-being is an important component of antenatal education for childbirth, but few courses focus on this component.

对妇女要求离婚问题的思考

妇女离婚的要求受法律保护,正确认识妇女离婚权的取得、行使和保护,对保护妇女的合法权益,深入观察和研究改革开放以来我国社会的发展变化具有重要意义。文章从分析离婚率攀升有无底线入手,引出制度变迁为妇女离婚提供法律保护,从而提出解决问题的途径。     

Soap operas,women, and the nation: Sri Lankan women’s interpretations of home-grown mega teledramas

This essay examines the place of home-grown soap operas, known as mega teledramas, in the lives of women in the South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka. While female audiences are often vilified for their consumption of mega teledramas in Sri Lanka, this study finds that these narratives have assumed a social role in women’s friendship networks, becoming a shared cultural source in their everyday lives. The representations in the mega teledramas were offering a range of diverse meanings to the women and their readings of women protagonists, central to the narratives, were intrinsically linked with nationally constructed notions of womanhood.     

Bisexual women in marriages

A clinical sample of women who were currently or previously married were surveyed regarding demographics, homosexual experiences before marriage, problems in marriage, and sexual orientation. The average age of the 45 participants was 35.9. Before marriage, 21 (47%) were somewhat aware of their homosexual feelings but were much less likely to have thought of or identified themselves as homosexuals. Sexual difficulties were very common in these marriages (89%), the most cited sexual difficulty being a lack of sexual desire for their spouse (62%). Based upon Kinsey-type ratings, the sample could be described as almost exclusively heterosexual in behavior and fantasies before marriage. Some changes could be seen during marriage toward more of a homosexual orientation. The dramatic change, however, occurred following marriage, when the women reported even more of a homosexual orientation, tending toward the homosexual end of the Kinsey continuum. At the time of the study, a majority of the sample was, in fact, relating almost exclusively to other women. This study found that, compared to homosexual men who have been married, these women are more likely to marry at an earlier age, unlikely to be aware of their homosexual feelings prior to marriage, and more likely to terminate their marriage earlier because of conflicts arising as a result of their bisexual orientation and sexual dissatisfaction.     

中国女性老年人口状况分析

女性老年人口自身的特点决定了女性老年人口问题具有一定的特殊性。本文利用五普数据,详细分析了中国女性年人口的基本状况,包括:人口特征、社会特征和经济特征等,并与四普时的相关状况进行对比,指出了我国女性老年人口的基本现状与存在问题。     

What do women really want? Exploring contemporary Ukrainian women’s magazines

Around the world, magazines for women have been one of the most popular media forms. Such periodicals have played and continue to play an important role in the production, reproduction to hegemonic cultural norms around gender, class, race, and sexuality, as well as challenges to such norms. Based on our reading of these magazines and drawing upon data from a survey and from interviews with a wide age range of women readers, we argue that Ukrainian women’s periodical press does not fully meet the needs of its audience in today’s society. The interests of women are much broader than the topics presented in these publications. Our study reveals that women readers are of the view that there is a need to expand the range of content to include a wider array of practical advice, educational, social, and political material. Finally, our research findings suggest that the narrow range of stereotypical gender-based content typically found in such magazines contributes to placing limits on what is imaginable and therefore politically possible in terms of advancing women’s equality in the Ukraine.     

Personal meanings of occupation for women in later life: two women compared

Understanding the meaning of occupation for older women presents challenges to care providers because of the highly individual manner in which they enact those meanings. Two women interviewed in depth over a two-year period demonstrate the unique characteristics of activity patterns of older women, the meanings they ascribe to them, and the contribution of those activities to quality of life. The women were demographically similar, and described engaging in several common activity categories (connection to others, doing good, spiritual expression) that were particularly meaningful to them. The specific activities that they undertook were quite different. Findings suggest the importance of obtaining detailed information about older women in making plans for intervention to support desired activities in later life.     

How women experience menopause: the importance of social context

This study analyzes personal accounts of women's menopausal experiences to understand why most women view menopause as an insignificant event, despite negative cultural and medical constructions of menopause as a time of "loss." We analyze 16 in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of women to examine how social contexts affect women's experiences with menopause and the meaning of those experiences. We find that most women view menopause as inconsequential because other events of midlife are more important or stressful to them. However, when cultural and medical contexts are examined, we find that some women do not avoid others' negative constructions of menopause as a time of "loss."     

The fallacy of the five million women: A re-estimate

Explicit policy to control fertility in the United States to date has focussed on the “unmet need” for contraceptive services in 1966 among an estimated five million poor and near-poor women. This paper reestimates the number of women in need of contraceptive services by disaggregating (on the basis of tabulations from the Current Population Surveys for 1966 and 1967, and the 1965 National Fertility Study) all poor and near-poor women into 54 subgroups differentiated by age, marital status, religion, and color. Data from the 1965 National Fertility Study, and from other studies, are then used to estimate for each subgroup deductions for sterility, pregnancy, waiting time for conception, and negative attitudes toward and current use of contraception. The residual number of women who both want and require contraceptive services, but do not have them, is estimated to be 1.2 million, rather than 4.6 million. The fact that the re-estimate takes into account both existing contraceptive practice and negative attitudes toward family limitation accounts for much of the difference between it and the original figure.     

Timing of the transition to nonvirginity among unmarried adolescent women

This article focuses on differences between teenagers who became sexually active in early adolescence (15 or younger) and those who did so in late adolescence (16–19). It reviews research on adolescent sexual behavior and summarizes findings on factors associated with adolescent coitus. The few findings on the meaning of first coitus are also noted. A study which used a sample of already-pregnant adolescents is presented in detail. While few differences between those who first had coitus during early adolescence and those who had it later were significant, most were in the predicted direction, and none were contrary to the hypotheses. A major significant difference concerned the relationship between sex and love; those who found the two related tended to start their sexual careers later than those who did not. Policy implications of research findings are discussed, especially those relevant to sex education.This research was supported in part by Grant No. HD 11099 NICHD, and in part by Grant No. 78-499, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.This article is a revision of a paper presented at the Annual Meetings of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, August 26, 1980, New York, N.Y.     

Educational mobility and the fertility of black and white women

In a test of the minority group status hypothesis, this study examines the effect of intergenerational educational mobility on the fertility of black and white women. Regression analysis of data from the National Survey of Family Growth provides only limited support for the hypothesis that upwardly mobile black women have lower fertility than their white counterparts. The main finding is that the parity of upwardly mobile black women is influenced more strongly by educational origins (parents' education) than is the parity of upwardly mobile white women. Thus, future studies should consider the effects of social origins on racial differences in fertility.This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, 23 August 1992, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.