Family Diversity and Child Health: Where Do Same‐Sex Couple Families Fit?

Increasing family diversity during the past half century has focused national attention on how children are faring in nontraditional family structures. Much of the limited evidence on children in same‐sex couple families suffers from several shortcomings, including a lack of representative data. We use the National Health Interview Survey (2004–2012) and the National Survey of Children's Health (2011–2012) to identify children in different‐sex married and cohabiting families, never and previously married single‐parent families, and same‐sex couple families. Considering important characteristics such as the child's race or ethnicity and adoption status, household socioeconomic standing, family stability, and parent health, we examine the relationship between family type and parent‐rated overall child health. The results suggest that poorer health among children in same‐sex couple as well as different‐sex cohabiting couple and single‐parent families appears to be largely the product of demographic and socioeconomic differences rather than exposure to nontraditional family forms.     

从马克思主义的国家学说看达赖集团分裂祖国的反动本质

西藏自古以来就是中国的一部分,这无论是过去还是现在都是全世界各国所公认的事实.以达赖为首的民族分裂集团,自1959年叛逃后,在国外长期从事民族分裂活动,利用国际上提供的各种场合,到处宣称"西藏自古以来是一个独立国家"的反动谬论,利用混淆古代国家与现代国家的概念,不仅搞乱了人民群众的思想,模糊了人民群众的视线,同时也造成了极大的危害,为其推行"民族独立"的分裂活动张目.我们必须以马克思主义国家学说为指导,牢固掌握西藏自古以来就是中国的一部分的科学内涵,牢固树立正确的马克思主义祖国观,以实际行动抵制达赖的民族分裂活动,积极维护祖国统一和民族团结,为建设团结、富裕、文明、和谐的社会主义新西藏而努力奋斗.     

Age at marriage and marital instability: revisiting the Becker–Landes–Michael hypothesis

An early age at first marriage is known to be associated with a high risk of divorce. Yet, it has been suggested that beyond a certain point, the relationship between age at marriage and marital instability may become positive because as unmarried women begin to hear their biological clock tick, they may settle for matches far from the optimal. Analyses based on cycles 5 and 6 of the National Surveys of Family Growth show that the relationship between age at marriage and marital instability is strongly negative up to the late 20s, with a flattening of the curve thereafter.

How useful are the demographic surveys in explaining the determinants of early marriage of girls in the Terai of Nepal?

In recent decades significant changes in Nepalese society have greatly contributed to the increase in age at marriage of girls in Nepal. Factors responsible for these changes include educational development, urbanization and development of mass communications. However, many parents still marry their daughters at very young ages and this practice is particularly prevalent in the Terai region. This paper examines several demographic data sets with a view to assessing their utility for understanding the determinants of early age of marriage of girls in the Terai. The Nepal Family Health Survey (1996), Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys (2001, 2006), the Nepal Adolescents and Young Adults Survey (1999) and the 2001 Population Census of Nepal describe changes in at marriage over time. Factors such as sex, religion, education, geographic region, place of residence (rural/urban), economic status of the household and of women, and occupation are included in these data sets. However, other factors such as age at menarche, dowry and cost of marriage and cross-border marriage migration, which have been found to affect the prevalence of the lower age at marriage of girls in the Terai region, have not been included in the existing demographic surveys. Findings from the current study suggest that these variables should be included in future demographic surveys.     

从婚姻与家庭功能看性革命

本文从婚姻、家庭功能出发,对西方性革命、性解放做了理论上的探讨,并对西方性革命对目前中国性文化的影响做了深刻探讨,提出在中国弘扬健康文明的性文化的重要性.     

改革文学中的城市景观

改革文学以其对现实人生的执著关怀,再现了大变革背景下中国现代社会丰富多彩的城市景观。社会的个人化所伴随的价值观、道德观等的重新确立带来的个体精神困扰、惶惑与焦灼,使改革文学中凸显的变革时代城市特有的喧嚣与嘈杂,具有比表层的社会意义复杂得多的历史和心理学的内涵。     

Social Background Differences in Early Family Behavior

Social background has historically been recognized as a major factor influencing family behavior, though recent work has largely emphasized racial/ethnic influences. Here we use 1994 – 1995 and 2001 – 2002 Add Health data to examine the cohabitation, first marriage, and first birth experience of young women. In a multistate life table context, hypothetical cohorts specified in terms of race and mother’s education are followed, from age 11 to age 24, as they move through 6 family‐related statuses. The results indicate that, for both Black and White women, a higher level of maternal education is generally associated with less cohabitation, less marriage, fewer first births, and a higher percentage of women who experience none of those transitions before age 24. Racial and social background differences are conceptually and empirically distinct. Because mother’s education is associated with substantially different trajectories of early family behavior for both Blacks and Whites, we argue that social background merits increased attention in research on contemporary American family patterns.     

Promoting Fathers' Engagement With Children: Preventive Interventions for Low‐Income Families

Few programs to enhance fathers' engagement with children have been systematically evaluated, especially for low‐income minority populations. In this study, 289 couples from primarily low‐income Mexican American and European American families were randomly assigned to one of three conditions and followed for 18 months: 16‐week groups for fathers, 16‐week groups for couples, or a 1‐time informational meeting. Compared with families in the low‐dose comparison condition, intervention families showed positive effects on fathers' engagement with their children, couple relationship quality, and children's problem behaviors. Participants in couples' groups showed more consistent, longer term positive effects than those in fathers‐only groups. Intervention effects were similar across family structures, income levels, and ethnicities. Implications of the results for current family policy debates are discussed.