Family Structure, Gender, and the Work–Family Interface: Work-to-Family Conflict Among Single and Partnered Parents

This study examined whether single parents experience greater reductions in work-to-family conflict from using resources than partnered parents do. The question of whether single mothers, single fathers, partnered mothers, or partnered fathers experienced differing levels of work-to-family conflict was also addressed. Data were from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce, and only those respondents with at least one child under the age of 18 living in the household were included in the analysis (N = 1325). Findings indicated that single-parent status was not directly related to work-to-family conflict. Rather single-parent status interacted with other variables, including gender, control over work hours, and the number of other adults in the home, in predicting work-to-family conflict.     

Marriage and Family Therapy

About the author: Chen Yiyun graduated from the Russian Language and Literature Departraent at Beijing University in 1964. She then enrolled at the Sociology Institute of the China Academy of Social Sciences in 1978. Upon graduation, she remained at the Institute as a research fellow. She later became editor-in-chief of the magazine Sociology Abroad. She translated and edited dozens of sociology books. In 1988, after she returned from the United States, she devoted herself to the research of sociology and marriage consultation. In 1993, Chen set up the Jinglun Family Science Center, a non-governmental organization which is a combination of scientific research and social practice. She organized scholars, social workers and volunteers from sectors of public health, education and legislation to conduct useful activities to promote democracy in the family, equality, health and civilization.     

Support,Demands, and Gender Ideology: Exploring Work–Family Facilitation and Work–Family Conflict Among Older Workers

Only recently have researchers begun to investigate issues surrounding the work experiences of individuals in late midlife. This article contributes to the literature on work–family facilitation and conflict among older workers. I focus specifically on the extent to which gender ideology is associated with facilitation and conflict and whether that relationship differs for women and men. Using a sample of older workers (n = 2,253), I find that gender traditional respondents are more likely to report work–family conflict than are nontraditional respondents, with no corresponding association for work–family facilitation. There are no sex differences in the effect of gender ideology on facilitation or conflict. Results are discussed in the context of the importance of understanding the work–family interface among older employees.     

Luo Xiuhua and Her Family

MANY women set a goal for themselves of devoting themselves entirely to their husbands and children, but at the same time, they want to be successful in their work as well. This is certainly hard to realize. But Luo Xiuhua, a Tujia ethnic woman from Hunan Province, has turned this ideal into reality. Luo Xiuhua was born in Dayong County of Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province. After graduating from a normal school in 1963, she taught in a village, and     

Zhang Zhongxing and His Family

TWO years ago, I traveled to the UnitedStates on private business when I wasembarrassed by a new discovery; nomatter what a person's racialbackground, if he could read MandarinChinese, be would mention ZhangZbongxing. At Harvard Square inBoston, an African-American studenttold me that Zhang's work featured thenobility and cultural tradition of Chineseliterary elites from the past 5,000 yearsand reflected the freedom and     

Family Structure,Mother–Daughter Relationship Quality,Race and Ethnicity,and Adolescent Girls' Health Risks

Using a sample of 7,114 adolescent girls (4,269 White, 1,707 African American, and 1,138 Hispanic) and biological mothers from Wave 1 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examined how family structure, girls' perceptions of mother–daughter relationship quality, and race and ethnicity related to girls' health risks. In general, results indicate heightened risk for both precocious events and depressive symptoms for girls in mother–stepfather, single-mother, and nonresident mother families compared to mother–father families. However, significant two- and three-way interactions suggest that adolescent girls' health risks vary considerably based on the combination of family structure, mother–daughter relationship quality, and race and ethnicity.     

Employed Rural,Low-Income,Single Mothers’ Family and Work Over Time

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine how low-income, single mothers manage their family and work lives. Analysis was based on longitudinal data collected from 28 rural, low-income, single mothers across 11 states who were continuously employed over three waves. Four main themes were identified: demands from family and work, resources the mothers used to maintain employment, work-family conflict, and strategies to retain employment. This study concludes that despite all the difficulties, mothers try to utilize their limited resources and adopt strategies for combining family and work life even though their demands and resources vary over time. Mothers employed in the same jobs receive consistent support from families. Implications for child care and leave policies are discussed.     

Lady Zhang Fuqing: Her Life, Family and Work Revisited

ZHANG Fuqing, born in June, 1919, was from Fenyang, Shanxi Province. During her childhood, she went to school in Beijing, where her knowledge was broadened and her field of vision was widened. She gradually grew into a talented and sedate girl. It was while she was still a little girl that she developed an interest in cooking. At home she often helped her parents to prepare meals. On New Year's Day or during other festivals, what interested her     

Self-Employment,Work–Family Fit and Mental Health Among Female Workers

We used the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce to investigate the effects of work type on women’s lives. Specifically, we hypothesized that self-employed women have better work–family fit than organizationally employed women. We also hypothesized that as a result of better work–family fit, self-employed women would report better mental health than organizationally employed women. The analysis shows limited support for the hypotheses. Of the different dimensions of work–family fit, self-employment directly influenced only job to home facilitation. Work type had no direct influence on mental health. It appears that work type may indirectly influence work–family fit and mental health through higher job satisfaction and increased autonomy.

Family Processes and Adolescents’ Financial Behaviors

This article examined the contribution of family processes (parental warmth, parental financial monitoring, and parent–child interactions about money) to explain cognitive and behavioral aspects of adolescents’ financial behaviors. Data came from the 2002/2003 Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a national sample of adolescent age 12–18 and their families (N = 1,471). Results indicated that higher levels of parent communication about child donations were positively associated with both children’s saving for future schooling and their likelihood of donating to charities. Higher levels of parental warmth were associated with saving for future schooling. Giving an allowance was negatively related to child financial anxiety. Implications for researcher and policy makers have been discussed.     

Birth Control and Family Planning in China

THIS year, Women of China asked two 30-year-old women from the Yimeng mountain area in Shandong Province about their chosen methods of birth control. Both women reported using intrauterine devices (IUDs), which they had placed by local gynecologists at the hospital 40 days after giving birth. Are these women aware of other contraceptive methods? Some rural women tell us they know of other methods such as oral contraception, contraceptive implants and tubal ligation.     

Iranian College Students’ Attitudes Toward Premarital Sex,Marriage, and Family Before and After the Islamic Revolution

ABSTRACT. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine Iranian college students’ attitudes toward premarital sex and marriage before and after the Islamic Revolution. Methods: Responses to a survey from 526 students at University of Shiraz in 2011 were compared to those from another study of 392 students from the same university who completed the same survey in 1977 (2 years before the Islamic Revolution). Results: No substantial changes were observed to indicate that college students adopted theocratic views on premarital sex and marriage after the Islamic Revolution. Conclusions: The Islamic regime's efforts to cultivate conservative attitudes toward sexuality and marriage have not achieved their goals.     

Work-Family Conflict Among Dual-Earners: Are Partner,Family, and Friends Resources or Liabilities?

Using dyadic data from a random sample of dual-earner couples from an upper Midwestern city in the US (N?=?99), this study examined how each partner’s strain and support from family, partner, and friends relate to work-family conflict. The findings showed several significant relationships. Among men, friend support was associated with lower work-to-family conflict and higher family-to-work conflict, whereas partner support was related to lower family-to-work conflict. Partner strain was associated with work-to-family conflict among women and family-to-work conflict among men. Men’s friend support was related to less work-to-family conflict among women, and women’s family support was associated with less family-to-work conflict among men. Men’s friend strain was associated with higher family-to-work conflict among women. The implications of these findings were discussed, with an eye towards identifying theoretical and practical implications of this study.     

Culture, Family Structure, and Psyche in Hindu India: The “Fit” and the “Inconsistencies”

While Kakar rightly describes important psychological tendencies among upper-caste Hindu men, contradictory tendencies among these men might be a source of change. The dominant psychological orientation among Hindu women differs from the male orientation, which Kakar describes, causing tensions in Indian society that may be a second source of change. While Kakar is right to note that family structure and psychological orientation tend to reproduce each other, cultural ideals and material interests also play an important role in reproducing distinctive Indian patterns of life.     

Indigenous Sistergirls’ Experiences of Family and Community

ABSTRACT

While increasing attention has been paid to the experiences of Indigenous sistergirls over the past decade there still remains a dearth of empirical research on the experiences of this diverse population of Indigenous people. This paper seeks to add to the small body of existing literature by reporting on a thematic analysis of existing media in which 18 sistergirls shared their experiences of family and community. The thematic analysis identified two themes within each of these topics. Specifically, when talking about family, both familial acceptance and rejection were salient themes. When talking about community, both the traditional role of sistergirls in their communities and negative responses from communities were salient themes. The paper concludes by suggesting that increased knowledge about the lives of sistergirls may assist social workers in supporting sistergirls both in their own outreach endeavours, and in providing more culturally competent services.     

Happy Spouses,Happy Parents? Family Relationships Among Finnish and Dutch Dual Earners

In this study links between spousal and parent‐child relationships among Finnish (n = 157 couples) and Dutch (n = 276 couples) dual earners with young children were examined using paired questionnaire data. Variable‐oriented analyses (structural equation modeling with a multigroup procedure) supported the spillover hypothesis, as higher levels of satisfaction in the spousal relationship were related to higher quality in the parent‐child relationship and lower parental role restrictions. These connections did not differ by gender or country. With family typological analyses (mixture modeling), 4 family types were identified: families with satisfying relationships (73.4% of the families), families with unsatisfying parent‐child relationships (13.4%), and families with either dissatisfied men (6.0%) or dissatisfied women (7.2%).     

Woman Sacrifices All for Family, Community

YUAN Shuguo, 82, is an amiable and kind woman. Despite many years of hardship and frustration, she has brought up and educated four children. Even her granddaughter is married. Many of Yuan's burdens have been lifted from her shoulders and she now lives a content life with her husband. Yet deep in her heart, there will always be one regret. This is her story, in her own words.     

“Come, Join Our Family”: Discipline and Integration in Corporate Organizational Culture

This article critically examines primaryprocesses and effects of the so-called neworganizational culture that is organized on theprinciples and practices of Total Quality Management(and its variations) and increasingly practiced incorporate organizations in the 1990s. The paperspecifically analyzes the effects of the organizationalcultural practices of family and"team" on the employee and discusses their role incorporate discipline, integration, and control. Data aredrawn from field research conducted in a largemultinational corporation and the analyses andinterpretive propositions are informed by a critical socialpsychoanalytic perspective. The paper disputes theconventional view that the practices of the "newculture" and its purported reform of thehierarchical, specialized, conflict-ridden workplaces oftraditional industrial organizationsempower employees and providemeaningful relationships in the workplace.It is argued, on the contrary, that these new designer culturalpractices serve as processes of regulation, discipline,and control of employee subject selves.