Declining first-marriage rates in England and Wales: A change in timing or a rejection of marriage?

During the 1970s, first-marriage rates in many Western European countries declined sharply. We use two different methods (devised by Ryder and by Le Bras and Roussel) to assess how far the changes in first-marriage rates in England and Wales arise from a shift to marrying at later ages or from a decline in the popularity of formal marriage. The two methods yield consistent results, and indicate that the majority of young people in England and Wales will continue to marry but that during the 1970s many were postponing marriage. The pattern of cohabitation and prevailing attitudes to marriage are compatible with such a finding. Recent marriage patterns in England and Wales are found to differ from those in France and Sweden.     

‘Coming Out Tales’: Adult Sons and Daughters' Feelings About Their Gay Father's Sexual Identity

Coming out to their children is a dilemma that concerns many gay, bisexual, and lesbian parents with children from previous heterosexual relationships. How children found out about having a father who identified himself as gay, and their feelings about their father's sexual identity, were explored through qualitative analysis of semi‐structured interviews with 36 sons and daughters (aged 19 to 36 years) whose gay fathers participated in the Gay & Bisexual Parenting Survey (Barrett and Tasker, 2001). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis revealed that awareness of their father's sexual identity was often left unspoken for various reasons, and that acceptance came about through gradual understanding as well as direct discussion. Interview data indicated the complexity of the relationship between the young adult's personal acceptance of their father's gay identity and their consideration of social context when deciding how open to be to others about their father's sexual identity. This research has varied implications for therapeutic work with gay and bisexual fathers coming out to their children from previous heterosexual relationships.     

ARE SMALL FIRMS MORE BEAUTIFUL OR IS BIGGER BETTER? A Study of Compensating Differentials and Law Firm Internal Labor Markets

Research on the size–job rewards relationship emphasizes extrinsic rewards that are typically more prevalent in large, complex organizations. We examine whether certain intrinsic rewards are more characteristic of small firms and shift the focus from manufacturing industries to professional service (law) firms. We find that small is not entirely beautiful. Smaller firms offer more autonomy but no more challenging work or better coworker relations, whereas larger firms offer lucrative salaries, enhanced benefits, and greater promotional opportunities. Our results challenge the compensating differential explanation whereby large firms offer superior extrinsic rewards to compensate for a shortfall of instrinsic job rewards.     

Midwives and clinical investigation: A review of the literature

Background

An allegation of negligence or an adverse outcome during childbirth can lead to clinical investigation of a midwife’s practice. Anecdotal evidence suggests midwives find this stressful and disturbing.

Theory in Highly Cited Studies of Sexual Minority Parent Families: Variations and Implications

This article includes a systematic review and citation analysis of the literature regarding sexual minority parent families, particularly attending to what theories have been used, and how. We consider the importance of theoretical frameworks for future research and implications for policy, practice, and law related to sexual minority parent families. Our review targets 30 highly cited studies located through Google Scholar (as an interdisciplinary search engine) and published within a specific timeframe (2005–2010). We highlight the dominant theoretical models employed across disciplines studying sexual minority parent families. Although the majority of studies reviewed referred to theoretical models or perspectives, explicit theoretical grounding was frequently lacking. Instead, the empirical work reviewed appeared to have a predominantly applied focus in addressing public debates on sexual minority parent families. We provide recommendations for how theory might be more fully integrated into the social science literature on sexual minority parents and their children.