Assessment of the Familial Relationships of Young Adult Children of Separated Parents

The aim of this work was the psychometric study of six scales designed to assess the familial relationships of young adult children of separated parents. The analyzed constructs are interparental conflict, loyalty conflict, coalition, parentification, children's perceptions of the parent–child relationships, and young adult perception of the separation–individuation process. Internal consistency and factorial validity was studied through a sample of 535 Spanish young adults from disrupted and nondisrupted families who were between 20 and 30 years old. The confirmatory factor analyses showed a certain acceptability of the original structures of all scales, with Bentler–Bonett Nonnormed Fit Index, Bentler–Bonett Normed Fit Index, and comparative fit indexes above .90 in all cases, and root mean square error of approximation below .05 in the multifactorial scales and slightly higher in the unifactorial ones. The internal consistency values were between .89 and .94 in the unifactorial scales, and between .70 and .92 in the multifactorial ones. The estimations found for the factor saturation supported the acceptability of the original structures. It is concluded that all the scales within this set present acceptable properties, in terms of dimensionality and internal consistency. The limitations are pointed out.     

Socio-demographic Components of Eudaimonic Well-Being: A Survey in an Italian Province

This work is part of a well-established strand of study about quality of life (QoL) and the different methodologies for its quantitative evaluation. The study focuses on a specific dimension of QoL, that of the eudaimonic well-being (EuWB), with two main objectives. On the one hand, we try to clarify how EuWB can be framed in the systematizations of QoL proposed in the literature. Its relation to the concept of subjective well-being is discussed, and the need to distinguish such approach from the so-called hedonic dimension of QoL is highlighted. On the other hand, the paper aims to investigate the link between the perception of EuWB and individual socio-demographic characteristics through a quantitative analysis based on the results of a survey. The survey carried out in Central Italy in 2010, involved a sample of 1,134 individuals, which are classified according to their perception of EuWB. An analysis of the socio-demographic characteristics within the EuWB groups is then performed in order to investigate the association between these variables and the perception of EuWB. Results are discussed with respect to the evidences from similar surveys found in the literature. The analysis confirms the influence of some variables on the perception of EuWB, yet it underlines the difficulty in comparing different studies on QoL without clarifying to which of the different declensions of this concept the survey methodology refers to.     

Investing with Prejudice: the Relationship Between Women's Presence on Company Boards and Objective and Subjective Measures of Company Performance

This paper presents a comprehensive archival examination of FTSE 100 companies in the period 2001–2005, focusing on the relationship between the presence of women on company boards and both accountancy‐based and stock‐based measures of company performance. Consistent with work by Adams, Gupta and Leeth this analysis reveals that there was no relationship between women's presence on boards and ‘objective’ accountancy‐based measures of performance (return on assets, return on equity). However, consistent with ‘glass cliff’ research there was a negative relationship between women's presence on boards and ‘subjective’ stock‐based measures of performance. Companies with male‐only boards enjoyed a valuation premium of 37% relative to firms with a woman on their board. Results support claims that women are found on the boards of companies that are perceived to be performing poorly and that their presence on boards can lead to the devaluation of companies by investors. Yet the findings also indicate that perceptions and investment are not aligned with the underlying realities of company performance.     

Marriage Patterns of the Foreign‐Born Population in a New Country of Immigration: The Case of Spain1

We use 2001 Spanish census microdata and multivariate logistic regression analysis to explore differences in marriage patterns between the foreign‐born population in Spain, a country that has experienced a dramatic increase in international migration rates in the last decade. In particular, we examine separately the prevalence of being in a consensual and in an endogamous union for a selected and representative group of origins. Results show that after controlling for individual and union characteristics, major differences in cohabitation between groups disappear while major differences in endogamy prevail. This suggests that, when appropriate data are available, future research should take into account contextual factors.     

Betwixt and between the market and the state: Israeli students' welfare attitudes in comparative perspective

Analysing comparable samples of students from the Cross-Cultural Variations in Distributive Justice Perception (CVDJP) project, we explore the multidimensionality of attitudes towards the welfare state in Israel compared with countries from liberal and social-democratic welfare regimes (the USA, Canada-Ontario, Sweden, Norway and The Netherlands). We derive six different attitudinal dimensions that constitute two distinct sets of opposing welfare ideological frames. The first set, market-based ideology, entails three coexisting criteria: individualism, internal attribution of inequality, and work ethic. The second set, welfare-statist ideology, entails three additional coexisting criteria: egalitarian redistribution, external attribution of inequality, and broad scope of welfare. Along with structural similarities, we find considerable variation in levels of aggregate attitudes across the different types of welfare regimes. Israeli respondents stand out because of their strongly ambivalent welfare attitudes. While scoring higher than respondents from the liberal regimes on market-based measures, they paradoxically record similarly high scores (comparable to social-democratic regimes) on state-based measures. On one criterion – attribution of inequality to external causes – Israeli respondents even score higher than respondents from both liberal and social-democratic regimes. We consider potential explanations for this ambivalence and suggest possible directions for further research.     

Spatial Mobility,Family Dynamics,and Housing Transitions

This paper summarizes theoretical approaches and empirical research on the links between partnership and family dynamics on the one hand and spatial mobility and housing transitions on the other. Spatial mobility includes residential relocations and commuting. We consider three types of partnerships—living apart together, unmarried and married co-residential unions—and the transitions between them. We also consider separations and the death of a partner. Moreover, we pay attention to childbirth and its consequences for relocation decisions and housing. We differentiate spatial mobility according to distance and direction; housing transitions are considered mainly with respect to changes in ownership status and housing quality (e.g. size of the accommodation). In line with the adjustment perspective on spatial mobility, this paper demonstrates that spatial mobility is a means for individuals and households to adjust their housing situation and their place of residence to requirements of a changing household size and composition as well as to demands of the labor market. At the same time, spatial mobility seems to be more than a mere adjustment process of individuals or households: it is also a determinant of life course changes.