Claudia Geist

Marital Name Change as a Window into Gender Attitudes

The need to revise scholars’ approach to the measurement of gender attitudes—long dominated by the separate-spheres paradigm—is growing increasingly timely as women’s share of the labor force approaches parity with men’s. Recent years have seen revived interest in marital name change as a gendered practice with the potential to aid in this task; however, scholars have yet to test its effectiveness as one possible indicator of gender attitudes. In this article we present views toward marital name change as a potential window into contemporary gender attitudes and most centrally as an illustration of the types of measures that hold great potential for attitudinal research. Using quantitative analyses from a national survey, we show that views on name change reflect expected sociodemographic cleavages and are more strongly linked to a wide array of other gender-related attitudes than are views regarding gendered separate spheres—even net of sociodemographic factors. We then turn to interlinked qualitative data to illustrate three reasons why name-change measures so effectively capture broader beliefs about gender. We conclude by looking at what attitudes about name change can tell us about future directions for the conceptualization and measurement of gender attitudes.

Different Reasons, Different Results: Implications of Migration by Gender and Family Status

Previous research on migration and gendered career outcomes centers on couples and rarely examines the reason for the move. The implicit assumption is usually that households migrate in response to job opportunities. Based on a two-year panel from the Current Population Survey, this article uses stated reasons for geographic mobility to compare earnings outcomes among job migrants, family migrants, and quality-of-life migrants by gender and family status. We further assess the impact of migration on couples’ internal household economy. The effects of job-related moves that we find are reduced substantially in the fixed-effects models, indicating strong selection effects. Married women who moved for family reasons experience significant and substantial earnings declines. Consistent with conventional models of migration, we find that household earnings and income and gender specialization increase following job migration. Married women who are secondary earners have increased odds of reducing their labor supply following migration for job or family reasons. However, we also find that migrating women who contributed as equals to the household economy before the move are no more likely than nonmigrant women to exit work or to work part-time. Equal breadwinner status may protect women from becoming tied movers.

Conventions of Courtship: Gender and Race Differences in the Significance of Dating Rituals:

Dating rituals include dating—courtship methods that are regularly enacted. This study explores gender and race differences in the relative importance placed on certain symbolic activities previously identified by the dating literature as constituting such rituals. Using information collected from a racially diverse sample of college students (N = 680), it is found that some traditional gender differences persist, but that these are also cross-cut by racial contrasts. Men, overall, place more emphasis on gifting, as well as sexual activity. Gender differences, however, are significantly greater among African Americans as compared with Whites in the sample studied. African American respondents are also significantly more likely than White respondents to associate meeting the family with a more serious dating relationship. The findings highlight the need for greater efforts to uncover and account for racial differences in dating, relationships, and courtship.

Inequity among intimates: Applying equity theory to the family

Despite advocacy for greater dialogue between social psychologists and family scholars, there has been little cross-fertilization between the two. One exception is in the area of equity theory. We address how advances in equity theory and in family research each have even greater capacity to enrich the other. We do so by using the 1996 General Social Survey, 1992–1994 National Survey of Family and Households, and 2002 International Social Survey Programme to explore the relationship between emotion and perceived inequity in the family. We summarize key findings as a prelude to future scholarship in the United States and globally.

Somebody has to DUST! Gender, health, and housework in older couples

ABSTRACT This study examines the link between health and housework among older couples. For those out of the paid labor force, many of the standard arguments about relative resources and time availability no longer hold. Women spend more time on domestic tasks than men at any age; however, it is unclear how health shapes the household division of labor based on gender among older adults. This study examines the relative effect of three dimensions of health. Women’s poor health increases the chance of an equal division of labor, but the gender nature of household tasks may limit women’s ability to cut back.

Variation in reproductive outcomes of women with histories of bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, or eating disorder not otherwise specified relative to the general population and closest-aged sisters

OBJECTIVE This study seeks to examine the long-term reproductive consequences of eating disorders (ED), to assess variation in reproductive outcomes by ED type, and to examine reproductive differences between women with previous ED diagnosis and their discordant sisters. METHOD Using a sample of women with previous ED diagnosis generated by the Utah Population Database, this study compares the fecundity (parity) and age at first birth of women by ED subtype (bulimia nervosa [BN], anorexia nervosa [AN], and ED not otherwise specified [EDNOS]) (n = 1,579). We also employed general population match case-control, and discordant sibling pair analyses, to estimate the magnitude of association between EDs and reproductive outcomes. RESULTS Women previously diagnosed with AN or EDNOS experienced delayed first birth (HRR = 0.33, HRR = 0.34, respectively) and lower parity (IRR = 0.19, IRR = 0.22, respectively) relative to BN (p < .05), the general population (p < .05), and closest-aged sisters (p < .05). Women previously diagnosed with BN experienced more moderate reductions and delays to their reproduction, and had similar reproductive outcomes as their discordant sisters. DISCUSSION Clinicians should consider ED type and family fertility histories when addressing the long-term reproductive health needs of women with prior AN, BN, or EDNOS diagnosis. Women previously diagnosed with AN or EDNOS likely experience the greatest reductions and delays in reproduction across their lifespan. Reproductive health screenings may be especially critical for the wellbeing of women with a history of AN or EDNOS.

Reproductive Outcomes Among Women with Eating Disorders or Disordered Eating Behavior: Does Methodological Approach Shape Research Findings?

BACKGROUND There is a well-documented link between eating disorders (EDs) and adverse health outcomes, including fertility difficulties. These findings stem largely from clinical data or samples using a clinical measure (e.g., diagnosis) of EDs, which may limit our understanding of how EDs or disordered eating behaviors (DEBs) shape female fertility. METHODS We compared reproductive outcomes from two longitudinal data sources, clinical and population-based data from the Utah Population Database (UPDB) (N = 6,046), and nonclinical community-based data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Young Adult Health (Add Health) (N = 5,951). We examined age at first birth using Cox regression and parity using negative binomial regression. RESULTS Using the UPDB data, women with diagnosed ED experienced later ages of first birth (hazard rate ratio [HRR] = 0.38; p < 0.01) and lower parity (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.38; p < 0.01) relative to women without EDs. Using the Add Health sample, women who self-reported DEB experienced earlier age of first birth (HRR = 1.16; p < 0.05) and higher parity (IRR = 1.17; p < 0.01) relative to women without DEB. CONCLUSIONS Conflicting results suggest two sets of mechanisms, physical/biological (sex specific) and social/behavioral (gender specific), may be simultaneously shaping the reproductive outcomes of women with histories of EDs or DEB. Discipline-specific methodology likely shapes Womens Health research outcomes.

One in three: challenging heteronormative assumptions in family planning health centers

OBJECTIVES To estimate the prevalence of sexual-minority women among clients in family planning centers and explore differences in LARC uptake by both sexual identity (i.e., exclusively heterosexual, mostly heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian) and sexual behavior in the past 12 months (i.e., only male partners, both male and female partners, only female partners, no partners) among those enrolled in the survey arm of the HER Salt Lake Contraceptive Initiative. METHODS This survey categorized participants into groups based on reports of sexual identity and sexual behavior. We report contraceptive uptake by these factors, and we used logistic and multinomial logistic models to assess differences in contraceptive method selection by sexual identity and behavior. RESULTS Among 3901 survey respondents, 32% (n=1230) identified with a sexual-minority identity and 6% had had a female partner in the past 12 months. By identity, bisexual and mostly heterosexual women selected an IUD or implant more frequently than exclusively heterosexual women and demonstrated a preference for the copper T380 IUD. Exclusively heterosexual and lesbian women did not differ in their contraceptive method selection, however, by behavior, women with only female partners selected IUDs or implants less frequently than those with only male partners. CONCLUSION One in three women attending family planning centers for contraception identified as a sexual minority. Sexual-minority women selected IUDs or implants more frequently than exclusively heterosexual women. IMPLICATIONS Providers should avoid care assumptions based upon sexual identity. Sexual-minority women should be offered all methods of contraception and be provided with inclusive contraceptive counseling conversations.

Constrained Intentions: Individual Economic Resources, Regional Context, and Fertility Expectations in Germany

Using five waves of the German Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam), we examine how economic circumstances are related to fertility intentions in childless young men and women in East and West Germany. We explore multiple dimensions of fertility intentions: short-term intentions for the next two years, long-term expectations about family size, and uncertainty about these short- and long-term intentions. Our findings suggest that economic circumstances constrain fertility intentions and increase uncertainty. Although fertility intentions differ between men and women and by region, the broad mechanisms that predict intentions are very similar across groups for long-term intentions and uncertainty. However, group differences emerge in short-term intentions.

Young Women with Eating Disorders or Disordered Eating Behaviors: Delinquency, Risky Sexual Behaviors, and Number of Children in Early Adulthood

Despite the well-documented link between eating disorders (EDs) and female infertility, it is unknown how EDs or disordered eating behaviors (DEBs) influence overall parity in early adulthood. Using longitudinal data, we examine whether EDs or DEBs during adolescence are linked to the number of children born to young women in early adulthood. We find that EDs or DEBs are associated with increased odds of having three or more children compared to no children in adulthood, even when we account for delinquency and sexual behaviors.