Kosovo – Winning its Independence but Losing its People? Recent Evidence on Emigration Intentions and Preparedness to Migrate

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008, but substantial proportions of its population are expressing their lack of confidence by preparing to emigrate. In this paper, we present evidence from a customized post‐independence survey (1,367 face‐to face interviews) on emigration intentions in Kosovo, carried out in June 2008. Thirty per cent of the respondents from the Albanian‐speaking majority have taken concrete steps to move abroad, and emigration intentions have again risen to their pre‐independence peak. Strikingly, it is the better educated and those with higher incomes that are more likely to exit. Ethnic Serbs (the largest minority group) are less likely to emigrate than Kosovo’s ethnic majority.     

The Impact of Adolescents' Classroom and Neighborhood Ethnic Diversity on Same‐ and Cross‐Ethnic Friendships Within Classrooms

This study examines how classroom and neighborhood ethnic diversity affect adolescents' tendency to form same‐ versus cross‐ethnic friendships when they enter middle school. Hypotheses are derived from exposure, conflict, and constrict theory. Hypotheses are tested among 911 middle school students (43 classrooms, nine schools) in the Netherlands. Multilevel (p₂) social network analyses show that students were more likely to engage in same‐ethnic rather than cross‐ethnic friendships. In line with conflict theory, greater classroom and neighborhood diversity were related to stronger tendencies to choose same‐ethnic rather than cross‐ethnic friends, among both ethnic majority and minority students. Diversity did not hamper reciprocity, as students in more ethnically diverse classrooms were even more likely to reciprocate friendships.     

Conflicting and Reinforcing Identities in Expanding Europe: Individual‐ and Country‐Level Factors Shaping National and European Identities, 1995–20031

This study examines how, within the context of the expansion of the European Union, various multi‐level factors circumscribe individuals’ national and European identity. Focusing on the differential impact of new opportunities that Europeanization offers to people with different backgrounds, we propose hypotheses regarding the effects of individuals’ geopolitical, ethnic, class, and national historical backgrounds on their national and European identity. Drawing on theories on sociopolitical identities, we hypothesize that minorities are more likely to identify with the European Union, but are less likely to identify with their nation and that more local lower‐level geopolitical attachments can enhance broader higher‐level ones. We also combine these individual‐level arguments with macro‐level theories and examine the impact of country‐level factors such as having a communist past, the duration of EU participation, and the levels of economic development and international integration. We test these hypotheses using ISSP survey data from 15 European countries for the years 1995 and 2003. Overall, the results support our predictions about minorities’ identification patterns and about the reinforcing relationships between local and macro identities in general. Our macro‐level analyses indicate different effects in postcommunist nations than in Western‐democratic states, indicating widespread disillusionment with the European Union in postcommunist countries.     

Do Marriage Preparation Programs Really Work?: A Canadian Experiment*

This paper reports on the development, implementation, and evaluation of an innovative marriage preparation program. The program used a small discussion-group format, had pre- and post-wedding sessions, and emphasized the importance of communication patterns and conflict resolution. It was hypothesized (1) that spouses who took part in such a program would be less likely to engage in destructive conflict with each other than those who had not taken part; and, (2) that spouses who took part in the program would seek assistance in solving either individual or marital problems more readily than those who did not take part. The data supported both hypotheses.     

Union Dissolution and Mobility: Who Moves From the Family Home After Separation?

We investigate which partner of a 2‐gender couple moves out after separation. We test hypotheses on the impact of differences between the partners in the costs of moving out and resources, using data from the Divorce in the Netherlands survey (N = 1,537 ex‐couples who separated between 1972 and 1998). Ex‐partners initiating the separation were more likely to leave, as were those for whom a new partnership was a reason for the separation. An ex‐partner with custody of children was less likely to leave, as was an ex‐partner with more resources. A woman was less likely to leave when the joint children no longer lived at home or when the partnership had been longer lasting.     

Asian American Interracial and Interethnic Marriages: Differences by Education and Nativity1

Using the 1990 U.S. census data, we apply log‐linear models to examine Asian Americans' interracial marriage with whites and interethnic marriages between Asian ethnic groups. Japanese and Filipino Americans are most likely to marry whites, followed by Chinese and Korean Americans. Southeast Asian and Asian Indian Americans are least likely to marry whites. We further explore how interracial marriage differs by couples' educational and nativity combinations. The impact of educational attainment, generally, is very strong but is modest for Japanese Americans, the most assimilated group, and for Southeast Asian Americans, the least assimilated group. Interracial marriage is more likely for native than for immigrant couples, but immigrants marrying natives are more likely to marry whites than persons of their own ethnic group. Interethnic marriage between Asian ethnic groups is limited to several ethnic groups, but is much more frequent among natives than among immigrants. Japanese and Chinese Americans, who have lived in the United States for several generations, have the highest rate of interethnic marriage. We have shown two forms of integration for Asian Americans – integration into mainstream society through interracial marriage for both immigrants and natives and integration into Asian American pan‐ethnicity through interethnic marriage for later‐generation natives.     

The Relation Between Peer Victimization and Adolescents' Well‐Being: The Moderating Role of Ethnicity Within Context

This study examined the moderating effects of individual ethnicity and school ethnic composition on the relation between peer victimization and adolescents' well‐being. Participants were 4,593 sixth grade students attending 36 schools categorized as ethnically diverse or predominantly African American, European American, or Latino American. Multilevel models revealed relations between participants' ethnicity and their reported frequency of overt but not relational victimization. Findings did not support the hypothesis that adolescents in the minority group in their school would be more frequently victimized than adolescents in the majority group. Furthermore, contrary to hypothesis, the relation between the reported frequency of victimization and well‐being did not vary as a function of the interaction between adolescents' ethnicity and their schools' ethnic composition.     

Ethnic conflict without ethnic groups: a study in pure sociology1

Despite growing awareness of the limitations of group‐level analyses in ethnic studies, research on ethnic conflict has paid virtually no systematic attention to variation at the individual or micro level. Addressing that gap, the present paper draws upon data from interviews conducted with members of two broadly‐defined categories recently arrived in the Republic of Ireland, Muslims and Nigerians. Results indicate that while members of both immigrant categories experience a good deal of ethnic conflict or hostility, such conflict is rarely collective and invariably varies across individuals. The research data are consistent with Donald Black's theory of moralism. Black's theory, based on his theoretical system known as pure sociology, predicts that ethnic hostility increases with the social inferiority and cultural distance of the immigrant, and that higher status immigrants are more assertive in responding to hostility, though they experience less of it (the status paradox).     

Reporting to the police by Hispanic victims of violence

Though reporting violence to the police has been extensively investigated, the nature of Hispanic reporting of victimization has not. This is surprising because Hispanics are the fastest growing and largest ethnic group in the United States. Using over a decade of data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, this article investigates Hispanic reporting of victimization relative to non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, American Indians, and Asians. Findings show that Hispanics are significantly less likely to report the most serious of violence compared to non-Hispanic Whites, but are more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to report simple assaults. Few reporting differences between Hispanics and other victim groups were observed. In addition, analyses indicate a positive relationship between educational attainment and reporting by Hispanics-a predictor not shared by any other group.     

Generations,Identities, and the Collective Memory of Che Guevara1

Has the image of Che Guevara lost its power to evoke radical politics in the face of pervasive commodification? The commercialization of this 1960s political icon has called into question the power of the market to shape collective memories. Meanwhile, antisystemic movements of the left continue to erect his image at protest events. In light of this contest over how Che Guevara is remembered, we investigate, using data from a survey of Spanish citizens, who is most likely to recall him. We find qualified support for the theory of generational imprinting—Che is more often recalled by those generations who saw him rise to prominence during their formative years, although prominent as a collective symbol rather than as a living person. Our results also corroborate the claim that historical figures or events are more salient for, and therefore more likely to be remembered by, some subgenerational units than others. Thus, although the younger generations are in general more likely than their elders to recall Che, he is most frequently remembered by the highly educated leftists who espouse postmaterialist and posttraditionalist values and identify more with their local regions than with the nation of Spain. These patterns suggest that, in contrast to the dire predictions of mass culture theorists, the memory of Che Guevara has become increasingly tied to markers of social, ethnic‐regional, and political identity.     

Labour Market Disadvantages of Second‐Generation Turks and Moroccans in the Netherlands: Before and during the Great Recession

This study uses two waves of panel data to examine the labour market integration of children of Moroccan and Turkish immigrants in the Netherlands. The data show a persisting educational attainment gap in terms of high school completion and post‐secondary attendance. The analyses of prime working‐age respondents indicate substantial ethnic penalties that accrue from the hiring process: controlling for educational background and demographics, the youngest cohort of the second generation is less likely to have employment than the native Dutch. We improve on earlier research on ethnic penalties in the Dutch labour market by including measures of precarious work – the chance of avoiding of non‐contracted work – and by comparing minorities’ standing in a pre‐recession (2009) and a peak‐recession (2013) labour market. The results indicate increasing employment disadvantages for both second‐generation groups at a time of labour surplus.     

The role of alcohol use in intimate partner violence and non-intimate partner violence

Alcohol use is a risk factor for violent victimization in general, and intimate partner violence in particular. However, there has been limited empirical attention on whether alcohol use is more often associated with IPV or non-IPV offenses. Further, few studies on the association between alcohol use and victimization have assessed for incident-specific alcohol use, or examined both victim and perpetrator alcohol use. We used data from the National Violence Against Women Survey to determine if incident-specific alcohol use is more prevalent in IPV or non-IPV physical assaults, and to determine if the association varied by gender. Results indicated that among women, perpetrator alcohol use was twice as likely in IPV incidents than in non-IPV incidents, but among men, perpetrator alcohol use was four times less likely in IPV incidents than in non-IPV incidents. Our results highlight the important role of gender in understanding the association between alcohol use and victimization risk.     

Race/Ethnicity,Attitudes, and Living With Parents During Young Adulthood

Non‐White young adults are more likely to live with their parents throughout their 20s, more likely to return home after going away to college, and less likely to leave again after returning. Scholars have speculated that subcultural differences in attitudes toward marriage and family play a key role in generating racial/ethnic differences in rates of coresidence with parents among young adults. Data from the National Education Longitudinal Survey of 1988 (N = 11,228) were analyzed in order to test this hypothesis. Attitudes toward marriage and family were significantly associated with coresidence, especially among young men, but did not substantially account for racial/ethnic differences in living arrangements. Among young non‐White women and young Black men, higher rates of coresidence were related to differences from Whites in socioeconomic or marital status (and sometimes both) that were largely independent of differences in attitudes toward marriage and family.     

Settlement assistance and intermarriage for immigrants to Canada

Canada initiated a points‐based admission system in 1967 to select immigrants, regardless of racial or ethnic origin, who were most likely to prosper economically and assimilate into the host society. If the points‐based admission system achieved its goal of selecting ‘assimilable ‘ immigrants, those persons admitted under the policy should be just as likely to marry outside of their nationality group as within it. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Economic and Social Adaptation of Immigrants to Life in Canada, multinomial logistic regression models of spousal choice were estimated for the 3,984 respondents who were single upon arrival in Canada. Nominated immigrants (those persons admitted with promises of settlement assistance) were found to have greater odds of intramarriage than independent immigrants.     

Parental Predivorce Relations and Offspring Postdivorce Well‐Being

This 2‐part study uses national longitudinal interview data from parents and their adult children to examine the way in which predivorce marital conflict influences the impact of divorce on children. In the 1st study, we find that the dissolution of low‐conflict marriages appears to have negative effects on offspring's lives, whereas the dissolution of high‐conflict marriages appears to have beneficial effects. The dissolution of low‐conflict marriages is associated with the quality of children's intimate relationships, social support from friends and relatives, and general psychological well‐being. The 2nd study considers how parents in low‐conflict marriages that end in divorce differ from other parents before divorce. We find that low‐conflict parents who divorce are less integrated into the community, have fewer impediments to divorce, have more favorable attitudes toward divorce, are more predisposed to engage in risky behavior, and are less likely to have experienced a parental divorce.     

Bridging the Ethnic Divide: Student and School Characteristics in African American,Asian‐Descent,Latino, and White Adolescents' Cross‐Ethnic Friend Nominations

Based on the revised social contact theory, correlates of cross‐ethnic friend nomination among 580 African American, 948 Asian‐descent, 860 Latino, and 3986 White adolescents were examined. Socioeconomic and academic disparities between ethnic groups differentiated cross‐ethnic friend nomination between schools for all groups but African Americans. For all groups, cross‐ethnic friend nomination was less likely among students who preferred same‐ethnic friends. Academic orientations were associated with cross‐ethnic friend nomination positively for African American and Latino, but negatively for White participants. Longer family residence in the U.S. and English language facility was associated positively with cross‐ethnic friend nomination for Asian‐descent and Latino participants. Results point to the need to differentiate hypotheses by ethnic group, and to consider individual‐in‐context models in cross‐ethnic friend nomination.     

Health lifestyles in Russia and the socialist heritage

This study examines the relationship between socialist ideology and the current negative health lifestyles of the Russian population. We explore the possibility that Soviet-style socialism with its negation of individuality and individual initiative in health matters promoted the development of a passive orientation toward healthy living. Using a national sample, we compare the health practices of those Russians who wish to return to socialism as it was before Gorbachev to those of Russians who favor staying with the present political and economic course or adopting other reforms. If a socialist ideology has indeed fostered a lack of responsibility for individual health promotion in Russia today, those persons wishing to return to socialism would be less likely to adopt a positive health lifestyle. Our data show that this is indeed the case, as pro-socialist respondents demonstrate less activity toward achieving health than antisocialists--although neither group collectively practices a healthy way of life.     

INTERPERSONAL CONTEXT AT WORK AND THE FREQUENCY,APPRAISAL, AND CONSEQUENCES OF BOUNDARY‐SPANNING DEMANDS

Compared to job‐specific conditions, the interpersonal context of work has received less attention from work–family scholars. Using data from a 2007 U.S. survey of workers (N = 1,286), we examine the impact of workplace social support and interpersonal conflict on work–family conflict and exposure to boundary‐spanning demands—as indexed by the frequency that workers receive work‐related contact outside of normal work hours. Findings indicate that workplace social support is associated negatively with work‐to‐family conflict, while interpersonal conflict at work is associated with higher levels of work‐to‐family conflict. Results also indicate that both supportive and conflictive work contexts are associated with more frequent exposure to boundary‐spanning demands. However, workers in supportive contexts are more likely to appraise these demands as beneficial for accomplishing work tasks, and are less likely to appraise them as disruptive to family roles. By contrast, workers in conflictive contexts are more likely to appraise demands as disruptive to family roles, and are less likely to appraise them as beneficial for paid work. Consequently, our findings underscore the resource and demands aspects of interpersonal work contexts and their implications for the work–family interface.     

A Research Note on the Stability of Coresidential Unions Formed Postconception

There is a large literature examining the stability of mid‐pregnancy unions, and parallel work on unions formed after a nonmarital birth, but research has yet to compare pre‐ and postbirth unions and simultaneously consider whether the union is with the father or a new partner. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort, the author compares the stability of coresidential unions (cohabitations and marriages) among three groups of mothers with nonunion first conceptions: those with a mid‐pregnancy union with the father (n = 203), those with a postbirth union with the father (n = 333), and those with a union with a new partner (n = 342). Compared to mid‐pregnancy unions with the father, postbirth father unions are 35% more likely to dissolve. New‐partner unions are more likely to dissolve than both types of father unions. These associations persist when accounting for union type and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics.