Developments in Spousal Power Relations: Are We Moving Toward Equality?

We present an analysis of developments in perceptions of spousal power relations, as reflected in decision-making and division of household labor. Based on research conducted from as early as the 1960s to the present, we analyzed theoretical approaches ranging from the classic resource theories and gender role ideology to more complex approaches. We also examined contextual factors that may impact spousal relations. In addition, we addressed spousal power relations in new family configurations, such as cohabiting and homosexual families. Regardless of the type of family under discussion, the core research question examined in this article was whether women's acquisition of increased resources has generated a trend toward more egalitarian spousal power relations. The findings reveal that today spousal decision-making patterns are more egalitarian than in the past. However, with regard to division of household labor, women still bear the main responsibility for household chores.     

Significant life events as a journey of meaning making and change among at-risk youths

The study examined at-risk youths’ meaning making of their own significant life events and the contribution of these events to changes in their lives. Narrative interviews with 14 Israeli at-risk youths (aged 16–18) revealed three themes: (a) the event as a powerful, emotional-awakening experience; (b) self-inquiry following the event, differentiating between life before and after, and (c) biographical changes in the youths’ lives. Despite the diversity of the events, certain similarities were identified among them: they were perceived as surprising in their timing and intensity, as conveying a broader message, and as the cause of the youths’ choice to take responsibility for themselves and their interactions with significant others. Use of narrative theories of personality provides insight into at-risk youths’ meaning making of their difficult experiences. The deep exploration and construction of these experiences reveal the process in which difficult life events can lead to positive changes.     

The Impact of Gender and Marital Status on Attitudes and Responses to Unemployment

The study examined differences in job search intensity, attitudes toward unemployment, and related responses among a sample of Israelis, based on gender and marital status (single vs. married). The findings indicate that gender-based differences were greater than those based on marital status. Regarding the impact of gender, women were more likely than men to reject jobs because of conflict with family responsibilities or unsuitable working conditions. Both men and women mentioned gender atypical characteristics of occupations as a reason for rejecting employement, although this tendency was especially prevalent among married women. Women also reported more stress reactions and decline in health as an outcome of unemployment. Regarding the impact of marital status, married men tended to seek jobs more intensively than respondents in the other research groups. Single respondents of both sexes were more likely than their married counterparts to view unemployment as a personal advantage because it gives them more time to themselves. Moreover, married respondents of both sexes were more likely to reject job offers because of conflict with family responsibilities or unsuitable working conditions. In light of the findings, practical recommendations for counselors are provided.     

Outsourcing of Housework and the Transition to a Second Birth in Germany

The struggle that women face in reconciling their work and family roles is one of the main explanations proposed for the rapid decline in fertility rates in some developed countries. This study examines the role of the outsourcing of housework in reducing such role incompatibility and in increasing fertility among women in Germany—a country with below-replacement fertility rates, which enacted a series of large-scale schemes from the beginning of the 1990s that give incentives to households to outsource housework. Based on Goode’s role strain theory and by using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, this study analyzed whether women who outsourced housework after the birth of their first child had a higher probability of having a second child. A survival analysis of 3990 person years demonstrates that, controlling for observables, the outsourcing of domestic labor is positively associated with a higher probability of a subsequent second birth in German women.     

Politics of Hospitality: African Students at the Hebrew University Medical School in the 1960s

From 1961-1965, the Medical School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem taught four cohorts of medical students from developing countries, mostly African. This article explores the program through the theory of hospitality. First, we find that hospitality is constructed and enabled by international interests. Second, those interests build a status which has unexpected consequences that reveal sorts of hosts, welcoming and xenophobic. Third, as an outcome of the international structure of student exchange, the guests' response to the terms of hospitality was mitigated by their privileged status as international medical students. On the one hand, they appreciated Israel as a model of post-colonial state-building; on the other, they criticized the racist reactions to their presence.     

Predictors of aggression among Palestinians in Israel and Gaza: Happiness,need to belong,and self-control

The present study examined a strong need for belonging (sensitivity to social rejection) as a risk factor and happiness and self-control skills as protective factors in predicting peer-directed aggression among 292 Israeli Palestinian Arab adolescents and 398 Gazan Palestinian Arab adolescents of similar ages (mean ~ 14 years). Findings demonstrated that the two Palestinian groups showed similar aggression rates, but Israeli Palestinians revealed higher self-control, higher happiness, and higher need for belonging than their Gazan peers. Moreover, each of the three predictors, separately, was significantly linked to aggression for the Israelis but not for the Gazans. Possible explanations are discussed related to sex, cultural differences, and life conditions.     

Children's drawings as a self-report measurement

The present exploratory paper addresses school-aged children's assessments of treatment outcomes using drawing as a self-report measure with usefulness for assessment and therapy. The process of using drawing in therapy can provide information on how a particular child perceives and conceives his or her own world. Examples are presented of drawings by three children with oppositional defiant disorder aged 10–11 years who participated in group intervention aiming to reduce aggressive behaviour. All three were asked to draw themselves twice on the same day at the end of treatment: (1) a retrospective drawing of themselves as they had been at the beginning of intervention; and (2) a drawing of themselves as they were now, after intervention. Children then described what they had drawn, revealing the change they perceived. Drawing as a self-report measure added information regarding: the child's ability for self-awareness; the link between thoughts, emotions and behaviours; and the process of change.     

Parental Authority in Divorced Families

This work examines the possible differences between divorced mothers and mothers of intact families in their inclinations to exert parental authority, and the possible relationship between the degree of parental authority and children's personal and social adjustment. For the purposes of the study, we developed the Haifa Parental Authority Questionnaire, which is a situation-depicted test based on a conceptual analysis of the construct of authority. The participants were 88 mother–child dyads, 56 from single (divorced) families and 32 from two-parent families. The results show that married mothers are more disposed than are divorced mothers to use their authority. Although adding family status and parental authority scores to the regression analysis yielded insignificant models for the two children's adjustment variables, the interaction between the variables was found to be significant. In the divorced family the more authoritarian the mother is, the worse is the child's personal adjustment, whereas in the intact family the more authoritarian the mother is, the better is the child's social adjustment. The results are discussed in the wider context of the mother–child relationship, the breakdown of the family's hierarchical structure following divorce, and the relationship of these factors with the exertion of parental authority.     

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DUAL-EARNER SPOUSES,STRATEGIES FOR COPING WITH HOME–WORK DEMANDS AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

Based on Bronfenbrenner's (1979 Bronfenbrenner, V. 1979. The ecology of human development, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.  [Google Scholar]) ecological approach, the present study examined attitudes toward various aspects of marital life (gender-role attitudes, reported division of domestic labour and perceived spousal support) among educated Jewish (n?=?59) and Arab-Muslim women (n?=?87) from dual-earner families in Israel. Moreover, we compared the types of strategies used to cope with stress resulting from conflicting home–work demands, as well as emotional well-being and its relation to the other variables under study. Data were collected through structured questionnaires in various parts of Israel, from women employed in the education system and in municipalities. Results point to some cultural differences: Jewish women expressed more liberal gender-role attitudes and reported a more egalitarian division of domestic labour. At the same time, both groups of women tended to use the active coping strategy of concerted efforts to reduce role conflict. Moreover, similar patterns were found regarding the variables that account for emotional well-being. The effect of culture is particularly significant with regard to structural characteristics of marital life, such as the division of domestic labour, but less significant with regard to spousal support and to variables that explain various dimensions of well-being.

Sur la base de l'approche écologique de Bronfenbrenner (1979 Bronfenbrenner, V. 1979. The ecology of human development, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.  [Google Scholar]), la présente étude examine les attitudes envers divers aspects de la vie conjugale (attitudes en matière de rôle sexuel, division des tâches domestiques et soutien perçu par le conjoint) parmi les femmes juives (n?=?59) et arabo-musulmanes (n?=?87) éduquées de familles à deux revenus en Israël. En outre, nous avons comparé les types de stratégies appliquées pour gérer le stress résultant des exigences contradictoires maison–travail, ainsi que le bien-être affectif et son rapport à d'autres variables étudiées. Les données ont été recueillies au moyen de questionnaires structurés dans diverses régions d'Israël, auprès de femmes employées dans le système éducatif et dans les municipalités. Les résultats indiquent plusieurs différences culturelles: les femmes juives ont exprimé des attitudes plus libérales quant au rôle sexuel et ont indiqué une répartition plus égalitaire du travail domestique. Par ailleurs, les deux groupes de femmes avaient tendance à utiliser la stratégie opérante active d'efforts concertés pour réduire le conflit des rôles. En outre, des modèles similaires ont été constatés au niveau des variables rendant compte du bien-être affectif. L'effet de culture est particulièrement significatif en ce qui concerne les caractéristiques structurelles de la vie conjugale, telle que le partage des tâches domestiques, mais est moins significatif pour ce qui est du soutien du conjoint et les variables qui expliquent certaines dimensions du bien-être.