Toward a general framework of family structure: A review of theory-based empirical research

For slightly more than a century, psychologists, sociologists, demographers, and others have been studying family structure. The enterprise has been repeatedly characterized as having strong empirical roots, but little theory to nurture it and help it develop. Recently, articles have been published calling for the formalization of family demography, which we define as the discipline devoted to the study of family structure. This paper has the following purposes: (1) To develop a general taxonomy of family structure that unites researchers from several disciplines under one framework; (2) To review important methodological and measurement problems involved in the study of family structure; and (3) To review the recent theory-based empirical literature. We conclude with an assessment of the state-of-the-enterprise.This research was supported in part by a junior faculty research fellowship from the University of Oklahoma to the first author. The Carolina Population Center and the University of North Carolina Department of Psychology provided research and library assistance. Special thanks are extended to Thomas Berndt, George Holden, J. Richard Udry, and several anonymous reviewers who read and commented on earlier drafts of this article.     

Cultural change and attitude change: An assessment of postrevolutionary marriage and family attitudes in Iran

This report is aimed at investigating beliefs and intentions of Iranian adolescents regarding marriage and family building approximately four years after the Islamic Revolution, which brought substantial political and cultural changes. Differences associated with gender and parental education were found in beliefs and intentions regarding marriage and family building. Also, the sample seemed to hold more traditional cultural values than did a comparable prerevolutionary sample of youth who were from the same geographical location and were of the same sex and parental educational background. However, it was found that even the groups from the lowest educational background showed some degree of nontraditional attitudes and intentions regarding marriage and family. Interpreting the findings in light of cultural observations and attitude change theory, it is argued that a certain degree of real attitude change has occurred, and is continuing, in the nontraditional direction among educated youth.     

The dynamics of outbreaks: Further simulation experiments with the western tent caterpillar

Summary A stochastic model of western tent-caterpillar populations on southern Vancouver Island was used to assess conditions leading to outbreaks. Three qualitatively different populations-declining, minimal, and recovering-were exposed to six-year climatic sequences incorporating various combinations of good, bad, and mediocre spring weather. Starting populations were either distributed randomly or concentrated in and around small-, medium-, or large refuges. The results showed that virtually any type of population could temporarily increase in numbers during two highly favorable springs. Only a very few vigorous populations, however, could sustain the momentum required to surge to outbreak proportions. No low-quality population could do so. And even vigorous populations could not achieve outbreak status unless they were initially concentrated in a sufficiently large refuge that was close enough to potentially suitable habitats to permit rapid immigration into such places as soon as their local climates improved. The concept of “climatic release” of insect populations is discussed in the light of these findings. The results demonstrate that climatic release is inextricably linked with a population's qualitative profile and spatial distribution. Order of authorship determined by chance.     

Family Financial Socialization: Theory and Critical Review

Financial literacy research of the past 40 years (1970–2010) has largely ignored the reasons for sociodemographic differences in financial outcomes. The primary purpose of this paper is to initiate a theoretical discussion regarding family financial socialization—what it is; why it is important; and how its tenets could help advance understanding of individual differences in financial literacy. To this end, we propose a conceptual model that integrates family socialization theory and recent trends in financial literacy research. The study concludes with an interdisciplinary critical review of 100 articles which provide illustrations, highlight gaps, and present opportunities for further research with many practical guidelines for advancing deeper understanding of financial literacy from a socialization perspective.     

Social Exchange and The Progression of Sexual Relationships in Emerging Adulthood

Research has extensively examined matching on race and other characteristics in cohabitation and marriage, but it has generally disregarded sexual and romantic relationships. Using data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examine the tempo of key transitions in the recent relationships of young adults aged 18 to 24. We focus on how the racial mix of partners in relationships is associated with the timing to sex, cohabitation, and marriage. We find evidence that relationships between white men and minority women proceed more rapidly than relationships involving other racial combinations from romance to sexual involvement and from sexual involvement to cohabitation. Our findings have important implications for social exchange perspectives on mate selection.     

A recent look at the factors influencing workforce retention in public child welfare

Consistency of services to children and their families continues to be an ongoing problem in public child welfare agencies. Worker turnover is high, thus affecting the availability of a well trained, experienced workforce. It is critical that we continue to explore the factors associated with worker turnover and retention in public child welfare agencies. Such knowledge will allow us to determine the needs of workers, administrators, and the agency in general, in an effort to create an environment that will result in worker retention, and a better quality of services. Children and their families will be major benefactors of such knowledge as the consistency and quality of services will be enhanced. Existing research has found that outcomes for families and children are affected by the workload and training of frontline workers, and organizational characteristics (GAO, 2003, NASW, 2004, and Milner, 2003). This study describes personal and organizational factors relative to worker retention for public child welfare workers in the northwest corridor of Georgia.     

A longitudinal study of newspaper and wire service coverage of nanotechnology risks

This study reviewed coverage of nanotechnology risks in 20 U.S. and 9 U.K. newspapers and 2 wire services from 2000 to 2009. It focused on information that citizens could come across in daily newspaper reading that could highlight the salience of these issues and alert readers to potential risks. Few articles about nanotechnology health, environmental, and societal risks were found in these publications during this period, averaging only 36.7 per year for both countries. The coverage emphasized three main narratives over time: runaway technology, science-based studies, and regulation. Health risks were covered most frequently, followed by environmental and societal risk issues. Regulation coverage was not as frequent but increased over time. The majority of the coverage focused on news events and 10 events drew modest media attention. Scientific uncertainty discussions appeared in about half of the articles, and scientists and engineers were the dominant information sources in both countries. Some significant differences between U.S. and U.K. coverage were found: U.K. coverage emphasized more societal concerns, while U.S. coverage paid more attention to environmental risks. Because the volume of coverage was not extensive and was counterbalanced by many more articles extolling nanotechnology's benefits, it is questionable whether this coverage alerted readers about potential nanotechnology risks. Coupled with citizens' minimal knowledge about nanotechnology, this type of coverage could create public distrust of nanotechnology applications should a dangerous risk event occur.     

Resilient and Vulnerable At-Risk Children

Data from a large representative sample of American kindergarten children were used to examine the role of risk and protective factors involved in vulnerability and resilience as they relate to the development of school-based competence. Better fine motor, gross motor, and interpersonal skills and internalizing behaviors were associated with good outcomes across competence domains, even among children from at-risk backgrounds. Resilient children (higher risk, higher competence) had much in common with their competent peers with no risk factors, including average or better fine and gross motor skills, parental educational expectations, home literacy environment, and social skills and behavior. Results suggest that center-based child care and literacy-rich home environments are tied to competence as well as resilience among at-risk children.