Anna Rönkä

Personal control over development, identity formation, and future orientation as components of life orientation: A developmental approach.

Two components of life orientation emerged in a study of 145 men and 142 women at age 26: (a) Positive Orientation (PO), which included self-percepts of personal control over development, positive evaluation of the future, and identity achievement; and (b) Motivated Questioning (MQ), which consisted of identity exploration, motivated future orientation, and dissatisfaction with present achievements. Methods used were an identity status interview, a Personal Control Inventory, and a semistructured interview. In comparison with MQ, PO was more strongly associated with variables involved in adaptive psychological functioning: personal well-being, broad range of goals, social acceptance, and socially constructive ends (A. S. Waterman, 1992). Schjool success studied at ages 8 and 14 and socioeconomic status contrbuted to both PO and MQ more strongly in women than in men. Life orientation in men was more dependent on current variables involved in adaptative psychological functioning

Accumulation of problems in social functioning in young adulthood: a developmental approach.

Using longitudinal data from a sample of 369 Finnish adolescents, the authors examined whether problems in social functioning in young adulthood were interrelated and accumulated, and analyzed processes that may lead to cumulative problems. The log-linear modeling showed that an unstable career line of men at age 26 was related to poor social relations, a poor financial standing, drinking problems, and criminal arrests; for both sexes, drinking problems and criminal arrests were interrelated. At a personal level, the authors analyzed male patterns of problems in social functioning and pathways resulting in patterns of social functioning. The pathway leading to an unstable career, criminal arrests, and drinking problems among men included aggressiveness at age 8 and problems in school adjustment and in the family at age 14.

Turning Points in Adults' Lives: The Effects of Gender and the Amount of Choice

The study sought to discover what women and men in their 30s regard as the most important turning points in their lives, and whether the amount of choice they have in relation to these events influences the way in which turning points are evaluated. The study was part of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development, started in 1968. Data for the present study was collected by means of interviews conducted when the participants (n = 283) were 36 years old. Turning points were most often related to family, education, work, and social transitions. Women regarded parenthood, the health problems of people close to them, and moving to another community as turning points more often than men; whereas men regarded occupational events, military service, and changes in their lifestyle as turning points more often than women. Individuals tended to mention turning points over which they had a large amount of choice. The more personal choice the participants had enjoyed at the time of a turning point, the more positively they evaluated it at the time, and also later on.

The accumulation of problems of social functioning as a long-term process: Women and men compared

Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the developmental processes involved in the accumulation of problems of social functioning from age 8 to age 36 in men (n = 152) and women (n = 145). The accumulation of risk factors in childhood and adolescence, including low control of emotions (aggressiveness and anxiety), school problems (poor adjustment, success, and motivation), and problems in the family (parental drinking and low socioeconomic status), predicted career instability, early timing of parenthood, and a sense of failure at age 27 in both sexes. Similarly, the accumulation of problems of social functioning (e.g. poor financial standing, poor intimate relationships, and drinking problems) tended to continue from age 27 to 36, and be reciprocally associated with career instability at a corresponding age in both men and women. Risk factors in childhood and adolescence directly explained the accumulation of problems of social functioning at age 27 only in men. For women, the relationship was indirect: Asense of failure and the early timing of motherhood mediated risk factors to problems of social functioning at age 36.

Capturing daily family dynamics via text messages: development of the mobile diary

In this paper we introduce a new tool, the mobile phone, for use in diary research. We demonstrate, with reference to two family studies conducted in Finland, how daily family dynamics can be captured by using the mobile diary. In both studies family members sent text messages (SMSs) in answer to structured diary questions three times a day over a one-week period. The participants kept also paper-and-pencil diaries. Two mobile diary items measuring mood (stressfulness and feelings of competence) both at home and at work are reported here as examples. For both items we found statistically significant daily and weekly variation as well as individual fluctuation. The data gathered by the mobile diary were congruent but not identical with the data gathered by the paper-and-pencil diary. The mobile phone method of data collection facilitated participants’ answers at the agreed times and the participants reported that answering was easy and did not take too much time. The main limitation is the lack of space for answers; therefore, the few questions that are used have to be reliable and valid.

Continuity in Problems of Social Functioning in Adulthood: A Cumulative Perspective

Based on an ongoing longitudinal study involving 145 women and 152 men, this study analyzed the continuity in and accumulation of problems of social functioning from age 27 (year 1986) to age 36 (year 1995), and studied sex differences in these processes. The accumulation of problems of social functioning (e.g., poor financial standing, poor intimate relationships, and drinking problems) was more common in men than in women at both ages. Sex differences, however, narrowed because problems increased only among women during the follow-up period. Continuity, both in accumulated problems and in good social functioning, was stronger than continuity in single problems, as assumed on the basis of the theory of problem gravitation. The proportion of individuals with either accumulated problems or with good social functioning did not, however, increase relative to individuals with single problems, as the theory of problem gravitation has suggested. Continuity in problems of social functioning was partly mediated by career instability among both sexes. There was also a tendency for the quality of partner to moderate the relation between problems of social functioning between the two ages; in particular, a problematic partner was likely to add to womens problems.

Work Schedules and Work–Family Conflict Among Dual Earners in Finland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom

Many European families are affected by the 24/7 economy, but relatively little is known about how working parents experience nonstandard hours. The aim of this study was to analyze the possible associations of dual earners’ work schedules and other work-related factors with their experience of time- and strain-based work–family conflict. These phenomena were examined among dual earners living in Finland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, countries that differ in working time practices and policies. Multigroup structural equation modeling was used to analyze cross-cultural data on dual earners with children aged 0 to 12 years (N = 1,000). The results showed that working nonstandard schedules was associated with increased time-based work–family conflict, but only among Finnish and British parents. Poorer financial situation, working longer hours, more time spent working at very high speed, and lower work satisfaction were associated with both types of work–family conflict in all countries.

Childcare and parental work schedules: a comparison of childcare arrangements among Finnish, British and Dutch dual-earner families

This study examined the association between parental work schedules and non-parental childcare arrangements among dual-earner families in Finland, the Netherlands and the UK. Data from the ‘Families 24/7’ web survey were used, including 937 parents with children aged 0–12 years. Results showed a negative association between non-standard work and formal childcare across all countries. A similar association was found for using a combination of formal and informal childcare, whereas solely using informal childcare was not associated with work characteristics. Country differences showed that, compared with Finland, the probability of using formal childcare was lower in the Netherlands, whereas the probability of using informal childcare was higher in the UK. Interaction effects showed that the negative association between non-standard work and formal childcare was stronger in the Netherlands, compared with Finland. Also, the positive association between working hours and formal childcare was weaker for Dutch and British parents. This study identified the challenges that parents face when arranging childcare outside of office hours. Although the supply of formal childcare seems to be insufficient, using informal childcare introduces other potential problems. Because a considerable proportion of employees work non-standard hours, governments should help these parents in meeting their need for high quality childcare.

Daily wellbeing in families with children: A harmonious and a disharmonious week

Abstract What makes daily life in families with young children harmonious, and are there better and worse times? Applying a daily approach, the present study examined one week in dual-earner families with young children, with special focus on families that reported either a harmonious or a disharmonious week in their family interaction. Quantitative and qualitative diary data were collected with mobile phones and with paper and pencil from 45 families. Fourteen families representing either disharmonious or harmonious interaction were chosen for a detailed analysis of good and difficult moments in the spousal and parent–child relationship. What most clearly distinguished these weeks was not the characteristics of good and difficult moments, but the frequency of these moments.

Good moments in parents' spousal relationships: A daily relational maintenance perspective

This study examined positively experienced spousal moments among couples with young children. The diary data were gathered from 95 women and 55 men in 95 Finnish families over a seven-day period using an open-ended question. Seven kinds of activities were identified in the descriptions of moments: doings, conversations, presence, positivity, physical intimacy, support, and conflict management. Doings related to shared tasks and favors as well as conversations concerning catching up and family issues were more often mentioned by women than by men. Notably, positive spousal moments also often included children who were described as a landscape for the spousal relationship, as participants in family life, and as a shared responsibility. The results are discussed in the context of the relational maintenance literature.