The 1960s: A decade of progress for blacks?

Between 1960 and 1970 blacks, as well as whites, improved their socioeconomic status. Among both races, educational attainment increased, the occupational distribution was upgraded, and real purchasing power rose markedly. In almost every comparison, the gains were somewhat greater among blacks than among whites and thus most indicators of racial differentiation declined. Nevertheless, the changes of this decade failed to eliminate racial differences with regard to socioeconomic status. In all comparisons, except for the income of certain groups of women, blacks were at a disadvantage when compared to whites both at the start and at the end of this decade, and very large racial differences remain. Further socioeconomic progress by blacks during the 1970s will probably not eliminate racial differences. The article concludes by relating the socioeconomic trends to such other aspects of race relations as integration, governmental policy, and the attitudes of whites and blacks.     

Measurement issues involved in examining contraceptive use among young single women

The objective of this study was to determine how research findings on contraceptive use among young single women are affected by differing operational definitions of contraceptive use. Data were analyzed from a student sample and a clinic sample. In the analysis of the student sample were 244 high school and college women aged 16–22 who had experienced sexual intercourse. In the birth control clinic sample were 432 women aged 13–20. Six operational definitions of contraceptive use were analyzed. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationship of predictor variables with the six definitions separately for each sample. The variance explained for each of the contraceptive measures ranged from 8 percent to 44 percent in the student sample and from 9 percent to 24 percent in the clinic sample.     

Adolescent alienation: Evaluating the hypotheses

Statistics reveal the steady, long-term, increase of self-and-other-destructive conduct among American youths. The conduct involved includes suicide, homicide, out-of-wedlock births, drug abuse and recorded crimes. A variety of hypotheses have been proposed to interpret this conduct — and to indicate possible remedies. Some of these hypotheses are briefly characterized, generally evaluated, and rejected. One hypothesis, the so-called youth bulge theory, suggests that the conduct is due to a disproportinate relationship between the youth population and the adult population; this disproportion — the so-called youth bulge — ultimately led to various modes of youth alienation. The youth bulge hypothesis was tested through a regression analysis which estimated the contemporaneous relationship between a measure of adolescent disorder (the youth suicide rate over time) and the proportion of youths to adults. A statistically significant but small relationship was found between the two variables. The implications of this conclusion are briefly sketched.     

The Rhetoric of Violence in Rap and Country Music

This study is a semiotic ethnography and ethnomusicological comparison of the rhetoric of violence found in two increasingly popular musical forms, rap and country. Based on the production-of-culture perspective, musical genres are considered socially constructed organizing principles and lyrics, the primary data, are viewed as ensembles of texts. The strategy is to address rap and country songs as they present claims concerning the focal concerns of trouble and toughness. First, analysis is framed in terms of three violent crimes–murder, manslaughter, and assault. Second, dimensions of toughness are specified–physical prowess and masculinity. This study illustrates the hidden resemblances between rap and country and highlights parallels between these essentially incompatible musical domains.     

The heirs of the American revolution

Sean Wilentz, Chants Democratic: New York City and the Rise of the American Working Class, 1788–1850 (1984), xiv+496 (Oxford University Press, New York, £31.50).

Jan Lewis, The Pursuit of Happiness : Family and Values in Jefferson's Virginia (1983), xix+290 (Cambridge University Press, £20.00).

Jay Fliegelman, Prodigals and Pilgrims: The American Revolution against Patriarchal Authority, 1750–1800 (1982), viii+328 (Cambridge University Press, £20.00).     

Economic dissatisfaction, potential unionism, and attitudes toward unions in Canada

Cet article examine une première tentative mise au point dans le but d'évaluer le lien entre le mécontentement économique et l'appui accordé aux syndicats en ayant recours à des données provenant de diverses réunions-débats qui ont eu lieu à travers le pays. Un modèle de variable latent (LISREL) est utilisé pour étudier les positions prises par un échantillon représentatif de canadiens entre 1977 et 1981. Selon les résultats, il existe en général une stabilityé considérable pour ce qui est de l'attitude à l'endroit des droits syndicaux et des pouvoirs. Une période de mécontentement économique tend à noircir l'image des syndicats aux yeux des membres. Des tendances nettement différentes séparent, d'une part, les membres actifs et éventuels des syndicats, et, d'une autre part, ceux qui ne sont pas membres en puissance.
This paper represents the first attempt to assess the relationship between economic dissatisfaction and support for unions, using panel data collected at the national level. A latent variable (LISREL) model is employed to examine the attitudes of a representative sample of Canadian respondents during the period from 1977 to 1981. The findings indicate considerable stability in attitudes about union rights and powers over time. There is some tendency for economic dissatisfaction to produce more negative perceptions of unions among union members. Significantly different patterns are found for union members and 'potential' union members, on the one hand, and individuals who are not potential members, on the other hand.