Demographic Responses And Population Change

Most Western societies have gone through a process of population change during the past 100-150 years. One important aspect is the socalled demographic transition: the shift from high to low birth and death rates, and accelerated growth resulting from the lag between falling mortality and falling fertility, in national populations. Equally important has been the "rural-to-urban" transition, which involved the migration of millions of people from rural areas. It is hypothesized, following the suggestion of Davis (Theory of the Multi-Phasic Demographic Response), that the adjustment in reproductive behavior made by a community in response to a rising "strain," such as that resulting from higher natural increase, is likely to differ depending upon the ease with which the community can relieve the strain through out migration. Relationships among such characteristics of modernization as intensity of industrialization, speed of urbanization, structural changes in the agricultural system, and declining fertility are implied. Case studies of England and Sweden lend support to the hypothesis: more rapid urban-industrial development, larger-scale movement from rural areas, and a delayed decline in the rural birth rate distinguish the English transition.     

The Economic Returns of Immigrants’ Bonding and Bridging Social Capital: The Case of the Netherlands1

This paper aims at explaining to what extent social capital can help immigrants in the Netherlands make headway on the labor market. Two forms of social capital are identified. Bonding refers to a dense network with thick trust and is measured as the strength of family ties and trust in the family. Bridging implies a crosscutting network with thin trust and is measured as inter-ethnic contacts and outward orientation. It is examined to what extent bonding and bridging for immigrants in the Netherlands can be associated with a higher likelihood of employment and higher income. Results show that (1) bridging networks are positively associated with both employment and income; (2) bonding networks do not affect economic outcomes; and (3) levels of trust (neither thick nor thin) cannot explain economic outcomes.     

Dimensions of work-home culture and their relations with the use of work-home arrangements and work-home interaction

This study examined the associations of work-home culture with (a) demographic and organizational characteristics, (b) the use of work-home arrangements, and (c) negative and positive work-home interaction, among 1,179 employees from one public and two private organizations. Substantial support was found for a 2-factor structure of a work-home culture measure differentiating between “support” (employees' perceptions of organization's, supervisors', and colleagues' responsiveness to work-family issues and to the use of work-home arrangements) and “hindrance” (employees' perceptions of career consequences and time demands that may prevent them from using work-home arrangements). This 2-factor structure appeared to be invariant across organizations, gender, and parental status. Significant relationships with organizational characteristics, the use of work-home arrangements, and work-home interaction supported the validity of these two cultural dimensions. It is concluded that if employers want to minimize work-home interference, to optimize positive work-home interaction, and to boost the use of work-home arrangements, they should create a work-home culture that is characterized by high support and low hindrance.     

Commercial,non‐profit and governmental residential elderly care in Flanders: Differences in client selection and efficiency?

Verschuere B, Moray N, Decramer A. Commercial, non‐profit and governmental residential elderly care in Flanders: differences in client selection and efficiency? Inspired by New Public Management, governments have stimulated competition, outsourcing and privatisation in the public sector. Also, in care of the elderly, there has been a substantial increase in commercial provision. The present study explored the presumed differences in the performance of public (governmental), private non‐profit and private commercial elderly care organisations. We used quantitative indicators on the population of residential elderly care organisations in Flanders (Belgium). Although we found that commercial elderly care facilities tended to be more input‐efficient while non‐profit and public elderly care facilities tended to be more attentive to recruiting and housing residents with high care needs, these results need to be interpreted in light of the regulatory framework in which the different types of elderly care facilities operate.     

Demographic responses and socioeconomic structure: Population processes in England and Wales in the nineteenth century

This paper explores some theoretical and empirical aspects related to the theory of change and multiple response. The empirical analysis focuses on 600 relatively small and homogeneous geographical units of England and Wales for the period 1851-1910. These units are classified into six identifiable socioeconomic types and the analysis is male for each of them. Two interrelated tissues are studied. First, a set of explanatory variables, connected either with strain or with factors relieving strain, is constructed. The effects of these explanatory variables on nuptiality, marital fertility, and migration responses are examined for each socioeconomic type, with respect to their significance, intensity, and direction. The patterns of these effects show general consistency with multiphasic response considerations for all socioeconomic types. A significant finding in this part is that migration affects very strongly the intensity of the marital fertility decline response. The second issue deals with theoretically expected patterns of interrelationships among responses in terms of substitutability and complementarity. The theoretical interrelationships are compared with the empirical for each socioeconomic type; and in general, consistency is established. Moreover, these interrelationships can be interpreted for each socioeconomic type in a way that appears to be consistent with multiphasic response considerations. An important finding in this part is that emigration and marital fertility decline are substitute responses in agricultural-based districts. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Childlessness revisited: A longitudinal study of voluntarily childless couples,delayed parents,and parents

A seven-year follow-up study of couples who were voluntarily childless, delayed parents, and parents was carried out utilizing questionnaire items from the original study by the author (Bram, 1974). At the time of the follow-up, the subjects were 33 years of age and were married nine years, on the average, thus facilitating an investigation of childbearing decisions over the life cycle. Data were collected on attitudes toward children and parenthood, self-image, marriage, lifestyle, and goals. Most of the original fertility statuses and expectations have held true: over two-thirds of the Childless have remained childless and most of the Delays have had children. Although the Childless are still relatively more nontraditional than the Delays and Parents, as in the original study, there are some convergences among the groups, e.g., the Delay and Parent women have become more achievement-oriented over time. There are divergences in the development of attitudes among the Childless men and women in regard to the meaning of childlessness and the value of work. The perceived quality of life varies according to both gender and fertility status, with the Delays expressing the greatest dissatisfaction.The original study on which this follow-up was based was funded by a grant from the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations Program in Social Science, Law, and Population Policy (1972–1973). The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Elisabeth Moore, R.N., M.S., and Deborah Oakley, Ph.D. Requests for reprints should be sent to: Susan Bram, Ph.D., New York Hospital—Cornell Medical Center, Westchester Division, 21 Bloomingdale Road, White Plains, New York 10605.     

Hostile interpretation as a transdiagnostic factor for cooccurring anxiety in boys with aggressive behavior problems

Many children with aggressive behavior problems also suffer from anxiety. This cooccurrence may perhaps be explained by transdiagnostic factors. Identifying these factors seems crucial, as they may be important targets to treat these cooccurring problems effectively. This two-study paper investigates whether hostile interpretation of others’ intentions is a transdiagnostic factor for cooccurring aggression and anxiety problems, examining two samples of boys in middle childhood. We assessed boys’ aggression and anxiety using teacher-report in Study 1 (N = 84, M_age = 10.10), and parent-report in Study 2 (N = 115, M_age = 10.55). In both studies, we assessed hostile interpretation using vignettes describing ambiguous provocations by peers. Both studies revealed a strong association between aggression and anxiety problems, underscoring the necessity to examine factors that can explain this cooccurrence. However, in neither study was this association reduced when we added hostile interpretation to the model, suggesting that hostile interpretation did not function as a transdiagnostic factor in our samples. One possible explanation for these findings is that hostile interpretation predicts both aggression and anxiety problems, but in different children. We, therefore, encourage scholars to conduct more research to explain the high comorbidity of aggression and anxiety problems in children. Future research should also examine hostile interpretation as predictor or transdiagnostic factor for aggression and anxiety problems in more diverse population, including girls and other age groups.