Work patterns and marital status change

The impact of marital status changes on the lives of adults and children has increased importance as marriage, divorce, and remarriage have become more frequent patterns of family composition change. These events can often be predicted by the family members involved so that they may be accompanied by changes in labor market activity prior to the events themselves. The study reported here uses panel data to examine the labor market activity changes that precede marital status changes. Women who become divorced increase hours of work in the year or two before the divorce occurs, and women who become remarried decrease hours of work in the year of the remarriage and thereafter. For men there seems to be little change in labor supply during these years. However, hours of housework for men do seem to change.This research has been supported by the United States Department of Agriculture through the New York Agricultural Experiment Station under Southern Regional Project S-206. The data utilized in this work were made available in part by the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research. The data were originally collected by James N. Morgan, et al. The contents of this article do not necessarily reflect the view of the Inter-University Consortium or the institutions with which the researchers are affiliated. We wish to especially thank Robert Avery for his helpful comments throughout this research and Veronica Abel for her able research assistance.Jennifer L. Gerner is Associate Professor, Department of Consumer Economics and Housing, 137 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Her research interests include the economics of the family and family organization. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Catherine Phillips Montalto is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Consumer Economics and Housing, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Her research interests include the economic behavior of households. W. Keith Bryant is Professor and Chair of the Department of Consumer Economics and Housing, 117D Martha Van Rensselaer, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University.     

The impact of biological preferences on parental investments in children and step-children

A remarriage typically involves significant changes in a family’s financial circumstance, and these changes, combined with the relative bargaining relationship between spouses, likely affect the well-being of the children who are part of the family. In this paper, I use the separate-spheres model, a theoretical model that explains the determinants of bargaining power in marriage, to analyze how a remarried couple’s bargaining relationship affects their child investment in stepfamilies. Based on this theoretical model, I build and estimate an empirical model that investigates the determinants of parental investment. As evidence of parental preference for biological children over stepchildren, I find that an increased wage rate of a biological mother significantly improves her child investment when her husband is a stepfather of the child, while there is no such effect for mothers living with the biological father of the child.

我国老年妇女再婚问题初探——一种社会工作介入的视角

进入21世纪，全球老龄化趋势正在加速发展，诸多老年人问题当中老年妇女再婚问题尤当引起关注。本文从当前我国老年妇女生存及婚姻现状出发，就老年妇女再婚的心理生理特征进行分析，进而运用社会工作理论与实务进行介入，以期达到对老年妇女再婚问题的新视角剖析，从而实现助其自助，促进社会和谐与健康发展。     

Financial management in stepfamilies

This study is an investigation of the financial management practices of 105 remarried couples who have at least one child from a previous marriage. The majority of the couples pool their financial resources and share equally in decisions made about their finances. Financial management practices tend to be different from those of prior marriages. Remarried women experience more changes than remarried men. In general, remarried people are satisfied with how they are handling their finances. The data from this study partially supports Fishman's hypothesis that remarried families who pool resources are closer. Marital relationships are not affected by the method of pooling, but adult-child relationships are closer when resources are pooled than when they are not.This study was funded by the University of Missouri Weldon Springs Research Fund.Marilyn Coleman is Professor and Chair of Human Development and Family Studies, 28 Stanley Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211. She received her Ed.D. from the University of Missouri.Lawrence H. Ganong is Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies/Nursing, 313 School of Nursing, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211. Dr. Ganong received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri. Both he and Dr. Coleman are currently doing research on stepfamily dynamics as well as sex roles.     

Identifying Family Factors That Predict Children's Adjustment to Divorce

In order to provide a means for identifying children at risk for socio-emotional dysfunctions, an inventory was developed based on a systemic analysis of factors influencing their divorce adjustment. A conceptual model resulted from a thorough review revealing five general sources of variation with regard to children's post-divorce adjustments. Items were empirically developed and analyzed in each of the five conceptual areas. Items that discriminated between well and poorly adjusted children as well as "well" and dysfunctional families were retained for the inventory. The study involved a factor analysis of the selected items to test the original model and produced four general factors related to children's divorce adjustment.     

当代农村再婚问题探讨：以华中S县为例

随着再婚率的上升,中国当代农村人口的再婚问题成为一个值得学术界关注但通常被忽视的领域。关于西方社会和中国城市人口再婚的既有研究提出：女性丧偶者/离异者再婚的可能性远比男性低;随着年龄的增长,再婚率骤降,对女性尤其如此。但本文所呈现的定量数据和定性资料皆显示,这些结论不适用于中国农村的再婚情况。为了解释这个现象,本文结合一个根据“2005年1%人口抽样调查数据”的抽样数据集推算出的定量资料和笔者在华中S县所搜集的定性资料,从性别和生命历程的视角探讨了农村人口的再婚差异及其原因。文章由此揭示了影响农村人口再婚差异的个体性和结构性的因素,以及与再婚相关的家庭内部权力关系的变化。