The Cost of Parenthood: Unraveling the Effects of Sexual Orientation and Gender on Income*

Objectives. Prior research has repeatedly shown that parenthood affects employment outcomes; mothers have, on average, lower wages and are less likely to be hired than childless women. Some research indicates that this effect of parenthood on employment outcomes is dependent on sexual orientation. In particular, lesbian mothers might be treated more like childless women by those making employment decisions. This article examines the degree to which the lesbian wage advantage can be explained by lesbians avoiding the motherhood wage penalty experienced by heterosexual women. Methods. Drawing on 2000 U.S. Census data, this issue is first explored via ordinary least squares regression equations that estimate the effect of having a child present in the household on income. The Blinder‐Oaxaca method is then employed to decompose the earnings differential between heterosexual and gay individuals. Results. Results indicate that lesbians appear to experience a motherhood advantage that increases their wages by approximately 20 percent. Further, results support the notion that lesbians receive different returns to the presence of children in the household than do heterosexual women. Approximately 35 percent of the wage differential between lesbians and heterosexual women is attributable to differences in returns to child rearing. Conclusion. These findings have relevance for state and federal anti‐discrimination laws and work/family policies, as they provide further insight into the role that gender, and gender‐based assumptions, play in determining employment outcomes.     

Communicative Openness About Adoption and Interest in Contact in a Sample of Domestic and Intercountry Adolescent Adoptees

Adolescent intercountry (n = 122) and domestic (n = 40) adoptees and their adoptive parents were asked about their views on communicative openness. The adoptees were also asked for their thoughts on birth parents and contact. A modest association between communicative openness and feelings about adoptive status and self-esteem was found. Girls were more interested in many aspects of their adoptions than boys. Compared with the situation at 11 years of age, there was greater parent-child agreement on whether the child had difficulties talking about adoption. Nevertheless, at age 15, children were still nearly twice as likely to report difficulties talking about adoption issues than their adoptive parents realized. At the age of 15, the majority of the adoptees expressed a desire for contact with birth relatives, but this was a reduction from the numbers at age 11. They also reported finding it easier to talk about adoption issues than they did at the age of 11. The implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

An Analysis of the Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990

Advance directives (ADs) provide a way to express medical care preferences at the end of life, yet they are underutilized. This article analyzes the effect of the Patient Self-Determination Act and presents recommendations for the improvement of AD legislation. Although the Patient Self-Determination Act was intended to educate patients, clinicians, and the public about ADs, more work is needed to improve involvement in end-of-life care decision making for individuals who may be disenfranchised in this process.     

Constructing Authenticity: A Review of Trends and Influences in the Process of Authentication in Consumption

I review the processes surrounding consumption in the arts and leisure activities, through which consumers, producers, and marketers construct products as authentic. I examine how producers and marketers authenticate their products to differentiate them in an increasingly saturated global market, meeting consumer demand for products that appear ‘true’ or ‘real’. Such authentication creates value for products, which promotes consumption. I delineate what generic forms of authentication people favor, along with how individuals and organizations use various cultural resources to promote products as authentic. These forms include what I term otherizing and traditionalizing.     

Causality in Contemporary American Sociology: An Empirical Assessment and Critique

Using a unique data set of causal usage drawn from research articles published between 2006–2008 in the American Journal of Sociology and American Sociological Review, this article offers an empirical assessment of causality in American sociology. Testing various aspects of what we consider the conventional wisdom on causality in the discipline, we find that (1) “variablistic” or “covering law” models are not the dominant way of making causal claims, (2) research methods affect but do not determine causal usage, and (3) the use of explicit causal language and the concept of “mechanisms” to make causal claims is limited. Instead, we find that metaphors and metaphoric reasoning are fundamental for causal claims‐making in the discipline. On this basis, we define three dominant causal types used in sociology today, which we label the Probabilistic, Initiating and Conditioning types. We theorize this outcome as demonstrating the primary role that cognitive models play in providing inference‐rich metaphors that allow sociologists to map causal relationships on to empirical processes.     

“The Panhandle is Different than the Peninsula”: How Rural Colleges in Florida Implemented Education Reform

When it comes to the creation of higher education policy, state legislators are challenged with addressing the diverse academic needs of college students enrolled across a spectrum of institutions. In this paper, we explore how 203 individuals at five rural-serving colleges in Florida engaged in state-wide developmental education (DE) reform using the theoretical framework of “situated cognition.” Specifically, we ask whether the colleges implemented DE reform in unique ways that may have differed from their non-rural counterparts and what their rationale was for doing so. Our work indicates that institutional culture and capacity generated a combination of strengths and constraints in how reform played out in a rural context. In some ways, a rural-serving identity made colleges more flexible and better able to adjust their advising and curricular structures to comply with the mandates of SB 1720. But in other ways, rural-serving institutions lacked the resources necessary to adequately support students and campus personnel through this dramatic transition toward new ways of providing DE. In looking toward the passage and implementation of future education reform, we call upon policymakers to consider more deeply the design of policies to ensure they support rural and non-rural colleges alike.     

Qualitative insights into women's personal experiences of perinatal depression and anxiety

Background and aimSymptoms of perinatal depression and anxiety are usually described and understood from a nosological perspective. This research sought to gain insight into women's lived experience of postnatal depression and anxiety, the factors that contribute to these symptoms and the context in which they develop.MethodFace to face and telephone interviews were conducted with 28 women from metropolitan and rural areas across Australia, who had experienced postnatal depression and/or anxiety within the last five years. Analysis was conducted from a grounded theory perspective.FindingsParticular symptoms of anxiety and depression develop in the context of the numerous changes inherent to the transition to motherhood and contribute to a common experience of frustration and loss. Symptoms were also associated with feelings of dissatisfaction with the pregnancy and motherhood experience.ConclusionsThe findings provide useful insights into women's experiences of mental health symptoms during the perinatal period, how these symptoms present and the factors involved in their development and maintenance. The need to consider women's perspectives to develop resources and health promotions strategies, as well as within the context of relationships with health professionals is highlighted. The study emphasizes the need for greater, more accurate information surrounding perinatal depression and the need to increase the profile and awareness of anxiety disorders.     

Communicating during times of crises: An analysis of news releases from the federal government before,during, and after hurricanes Katrina and Rita

This paper examines the framing of crisis communication strategies before, during, and after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by analyzing news releases from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Homeland Security, and U.S. Senators and Governors from Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. A qualitative content analysis found that all entities analyzed did not acknowledge their parts in the crises, placed blame on others, and tried to distance themselves from the crises. State leadership also used a unifying approach where they included themselves in the hardships affected residents were experiencing.