DEMAND/WITHDRAW INTERACTION PATTERNS BETWEEN DIFFERENT TYPES OF BATTERERS AND THEIR SPOUSES

The investigation of subtypes of violent men could provide invaluable information to researchers and clinicians. In earlier studies, investigators examined whether subtypes of male batterers could be identified based on physiological markers in combination with observational and self-report perspectives. In a sample of batterers and their wives, they found a physiological marker that discriminated between two groups of violent men on several interesting dimensions. To highlight the importance of studying batterer typologies, the present study examined differences in marital interaction patterns across the two groups of batterers. Analyses revealed clinically relevant patterns of interaction in the two groups, and effect sizes indicating the possibility of differences between the two types of batterers. Implications for future research as well as therapy are discussed.     

Commercial sex between men: A prospective diary‐based study

This paper describes the results of a self‐reporting dairy completed by 186 male sex workers (MSWs) over a 2‐week period in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, Australia. The diary was completed following each commercial sex encounter by the MSW. The results reveal that MSWs reported 2088 commercial sex encounters during the study period, with an average of 11.2 encounters per MSW. The majority of sex encounters took place in either the client's or the MSW's residence, with significant variations by city. The average sexual encounter lasted 70 minutes, and comprised two sexual acts, masturbation and oral sex. Condom use was reported in 67.4% of all the encounters. Using the AIDS Council safe‐sex classification system, the majority of the commercial sex encounters fell in the “safer sex” category; however, there were significant differences by source of clients and place of the encounter. Use of drugs and alcohol reveal interesting patterns: Clients were more likely to use alcohol, while MSWs had significant differences of usage of the different drugs. This study demonstrates that the majority of MSWs are offering and practicing safe sex behaviours, however, MSWs working in the street setting are still likely to be practising unsafe sex. Male sex work is becoming an organised business and this provides opportunities to implement further public health interventions.     

The effects of welfare and child support policies on union formation

We use data from a new longitudinal survey – the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study – to examine how welfare and child support policies, and local labor market conditions, affect union formation among unmarried parents who have just had a child together. We use multinomial logistic regression to estimate the effects of the policy variables along with economic, cultural/interpersonal, and other factors on whether (relative to being in a cohabiting relationship) parents are not romantically involved, romantically involved living apart, or married to each other about one year after the child's birth. We find that – contrary to some previous research – higher welfare benefits discourage couples from breaking up, while strong child support enforcement reduces the chances that unmarried parents will marry; local unemployment rates do not appear to be strongly associated with union formation decisions after a nonmarital birth.     

The Demographic Consequences of Conflict, Exile and Repatriation: A Case Study of Malian Tuareg

A framework outlining the potential impacts of conflict on demographic behaviour is used to analyse the post-conflict demography of Malian Tuareg after substantial conflict-induced social, political and economic changes. A remarkable stability in both fertility and marriage leads to the conclusion that an important demographic consequence of persecution and conflict may be an entrenchment of demographic behaviour which reinforces the population’s demographic identity particularly with respect to reproduction. The importance of unique historical, political and cultural experiences of a population in responding to conflict precludes the development of a ‘demography of conflict’, suggesting we should be pursuing the ‘demography of conflicts’.     

Residential Mobility and Children's Social Capital: Evidence from an Experiment*

Objective. This article examines the effects of residential mobility on social connections that are likely to affect children's well‐being. Methods. We use data from a survey of participants in a housing experiment in Los Angeles, California to examine whether families that moved from public housing projects to other neighborhoods suffered short‐term losses of social capital. Results. Results indicate that residential mobility is associated with a reduced likelihood of parents talking with the parents of their children's friends. However, the effects of residential mobility on social capital are sensitive to adjustments for poverty levels in destination neighborhoods and factors that influence the probability of moving. Conclusions. Our results suggest that at least some of the negative effects of moving shown in previous studies may be due to negative selection. That is, families that move may be less successful at developing social ties than families that do not move. This finding suggests that future research on residential mobility needs to pay closer attention to factors that influence why and where families move.     

Unmarried Motherhood: Recent Trends,Composition, and Black-White Differences

The National Survey of Family Growth (1982) is used to examine the extent to which racial differences in premarital birth rates can be explained by differences in parents' socioeconomic status, family structure, and residential characteristics. The findings document a large diversity in premarital births within both populations. Black women from high-risk backgrounds are three times more likely to have a premarital birth than black women from low-risk backgrounds. Racial differences in premarital births arise because (1) black women are more likely to come from high-risk backgrounds and (2) black women from low-risk backgrounds are more likely to have a premarital birth than white women with similar characteristics. There are similar rates of premarital births by race among persons from high-risk backgrounds.     

Social Networking and Individual Perceptions: Examining Predictors of Participation

Social networking is a process and practice that draws people and organizations together in an electronic medium. This article explores social interaction-based theories to suggest a social networking participation model that may help organizations understand acceptance or rejection of participation. Responses from 191 public administrators were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM), focusing on relationships between participation and five constructs: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived improvement potential (PIP), intra-organizational trust, and type of use. The study found favorable model fit statistics that support positive correlations between the latent variables examined and participation in social networking activities. The results demonstrate the potential of the survey instrument to serve as an adoption and participation model to predict and promote social networking activities as they relate to perceived performance improvement.     

Some responses to economic change in Scottish farming and crofting family life, 1900–25

Our investigation of some of the processes involved in the emergence of ‘the modern family’is based on evidence from oral histories conducted with people who grew up in Scottish farming and crofting families in the early decades of the century. After showing how peasant and capitalist modes of production shaped both family structures and strategies for getting a living, we examine some of the ways in which the encroachments of the cash economy helped create new forms of gendered inequalities. Our discussion concludes with an analysis of recent papers concerned with the ways in which families are embedded in community life and the implications for long term change in authority structures.