Self-hatred,the right to a life,and the tasks of mid-life

In this article the developmental tasks of mid-life are explored. The difficulty that self-hatred brings to the mid-life passage and the contribution of both separation guilt and survivor guilt to self-hatred are discussed. Clinical work with a mid-life woman struggling to believe that she has a right to a life is presented.     

Family Cohesion in the Lives of Mexican American and European American Parents

This study investigated similarities and differences in relations between stress and parenting behaviors for 509 Mexican American and European American fathers and mothers in Southern California. Our model posited that family cohesion mediates the relation between stressors and parenting behavior, and we found that family cohesion strongly mediated most of the relations between stress and parenting behaviors. Important ethnic and gender differences were evident. In contrast with other groups, Mexican American fathers reported higher levels of family cohesion when faced with economic pressures. Implications for future research on stress and parenting are discussed.     

The Effects of Religious Fundamentalism and Religiosity on Preference for Traditional Family Norms*

This study examines the effects of religion on preference for a patriarchal family, one in which the husband makes decisions while the wife is subservient to him. The effects of both religious fundamentalism and personal religiosity are considered using a survey of adults in a Southwestern city. The analysis reveals a strong positive direct effect of adherence to a fundamentalist doctrine on support for the patriarchal family, but no direct effect of personal religiosity. An interaction effect of these two variables, reported in some other studies of the effect of religion on other family issues, is not found. The effect of religious fundamentalism is equal in magnitude to the effect of age, and greater than the effects of education, gender, family income, head of household occupational prestige, subjective class identification, race and rural background. With the exceptions of age and gender, religious fundamentalism serves as a crucial intervening variable in the relationships between these variables and endorsement of patriarchal norms in the husband-wife relationship.     

The role of the father in the family: Toward a gender-neutral family policy

A review of the literature suggests that: (a) Women are not the exclusive potential contributors to quality child care; (b) men can provide care equally well; (c) a growing number of men want to increase their involvement in child care. A number of obstacles impede, however, increased paternal involvement in child care; these include the existing societal value system, the present structure of the labor market, and the nature of many existing social services. Therefore, various aspects of social and family policy are examined and a variety of options are proposed.     

Female-headed households in nonmetropolitan areas: Housing and demographic characteristics

This article describes selected demographic and housing characteristics of nonmetropolitan female-headed households. It compares nonmetropolitan female householders with the average U.S. household, including regional differences. Female heads are older and more likely to have members in poor health than U.S. households on average. Female heads are also more likely to be in poverty and to experience housing poverty. Although the female householders do not suffer from space and quality problems, housing affordability is a problem. Most female heads live in owned, single-family dwellings and are more likely to live in mobile homes than the average U.S. household. This research was funded under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research Service, and the experiment stations in Idaho, Indiana (Purdue University), Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and New York (Cornell University). Also supporting the research were East Carolina University, Illinois State University, Kansas State University, and Western Michigan University. The authors thank Mary Ann Horvath and Roxanne Miller for their assistance in preparing the figures and document. She received her Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. Her work includes research in housing and the economic well-being of women. She received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. Her research interests include housing and neighborhood assessment and women and public policy issues.     

Making the best of it: Themes of meaning among informal caregivers to the elderly

Interviews with 48 informal caregivers to the elderly indicate that the concept of caregiver meaning can help explain why many caregivers persevere in their roles despite the stress involved. Several general themes of caregiver meaning were found: Gratification and Satisfaction with the caregiving role, a sense of Family Responsibility/Reciprocity, the Friendship and Company which caregiving provided, and a commitment to Doing What Needs to Be Done. Less frequently utilized themes were: having a Caring Personality, and experiencing Personal Growth and an Improved Relationship with the elder. These themes echo the complexity of caregiver meaning reported in the literature to date, and two related interpretations of that complexity are posited: that meaning has both an emotional and a cognitive component, and that there are two different dynamics operating—searching for meaning and finding meaning.     

Reflections on the governing board's role in the United Kingdom

The Governance of Public and Non‐Profit Organizations: What Do Boards Do? Chris Cornforth, ed. London: Routledge, 2003. 288 pp., $95.00 cloth.     

Spot observation: Advantages and disadvantages for household time use research

The spot observation method of estimating time use is described in this article. Procedures for using this method in developing countries, where household activities are relatively easily observed, are contrasted with procedures used in countries characterized by very private living units and highly separated employment, educational, and household settings. Characteristics of various methods for collecting time use data are compared so that researchers can evaluate the trade-offs they can expect from selecting a particular method. A case example of using the spot observation method in a study of women's household and agricultural activities in the Njoro Region of Kenya is presented.Her research interests are household time allocation and women's economic status in developing countries.Her research interests include the time allocation of rural women and women in international development. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1995.The study of women's and children's time use reported in this paper was supported in part by the Center for African Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and by the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Egerton University, Njoro, Kenya.