Howard M. Bahr

Widowhood, Morale, and Affiliation.

Data from sample surveys in five nations are examined in an assessment of the attitudes and affiliative ties of widowed and married persons. Results suggest that (1) neither self-theory nor role-theory perspectives are adequate to explain the differentials which appear, and (2) the negative, long-term consequences of widowhood seem to derive from socioeconomic deprivation rather than widowhood itself The widowed have seemed to have lower morale and to be less affiliated than the married because they are much poorer than married people. Researchers must apply adequate controls for economic status if the social and psychological impacts of widowhood are to be distinguished from the effects of poverty.

And Thy Neighbor as Thyself: Self- Esteem and Faith in People as Correlates of Religiosity and Family Solidarity among Middletown High School Students*

findings. The model tested in this paper suggests that church attendance and other dimensions of religiosity affect both self-esteem and attitudes toward other people. The dependent variables are Rosenbergs Self Esteem and Faith in People (misanthropy) scales. Independent variables include parental social class, family solidarity, measures of personal school achievement, church attendance, and religious preference. Data were collected in 1977 as part of a replication of surveys of the midwestern community of Middletown done by Robert and Helen Lynd in the 1920s. Subjects were randomly selected high school students (Total N = 1,673, but because there were alternate forms of the instrument the actual N for testing the proposed model is about 500). Findings reveal little relationship between religiosity and self-esteem, but church attendance is significantly related to faith in people. This paper explores the relationship between religiosity, as reflected in denominational identity and church attendance, and the attitudes one has toward other people and toward the self. As such, it falls into the category of research on the religion-personality nexus, which as recently as 1979 was described as a neglected area in which studies of self-esteem and religious variables were particularly scarce (Smith et al., 1978: 51). The proposition to be tested is a simple one: it is that religiosity, however measured, has a positive effect on self-esteem and attitudes toward others.

Conservatism, Racial Intolerance, and Attitudes toward Racial Assimilation Among Whites and American Indians

Summary Among samples of adult whites and American Indians in Seattle conservatism as measured by the Wilson-Patterson scale was inversely related to educational attainment, directly related to age, somewhat more evident among females than males, and not related to income. Factor analysis revealed four readily interpretable dimensions of conservatism among the whites (family and motherhood, religious factor, racial factor, and radical counterculture factor), but only two clearly interpretable factors among the Indians (religious factor, radical counterculture factor). The anticipated greater conservatism of the Indians did not appear; their cumulative conservatism scores were comparable to those of whites. The correlation between conservatism and support for Indian assimilation was positive, and stronger for whites than for Indians. There was a racial difference in the relation between conservatism and racial intolerance; among whites the conservatives were most likely to give intolerant responses about I...

Religious Intermarriage and Divorce in Utah and the Mountain States

Data from sample surveys of Utah and the Mountain States are used in conjunction with the State of Utahs annual statistical report on characteristics of divorcing couples to assess differentials in the probabilities of divorce by type of interfaith marriage. Results show same-faith marriages to be much more stable than interfaith marriages. Among interfaith marriages the particular combination makes a striking difference in the probabilities of divorce. The divorce rate for certain interfaith combinations is as much as nine times higher than that for other combinations. (EXCERPT)

Giving up Something Good for Something Better: Sacred Sacrifices Made by Religious Youth.

The concept of sacrifice was formerly a key variable in theorizing about religion and society. Secularization theory and conceptual models equating sacrifice with cost have reduced its usage and apparent relevance, although it continues to be of interest in anthropology and religious studies. Research on sacrifice has been neglected in the social sciences, especially in studies of religiosity and families. Seventy-seven religious adolescents in 55 religious Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Mormon families in New England and northern California were interviewed about whether they felt they had been asked to make sacrifices for their faith as they were growing up. This article discusses how contemporary religious youth view the sacrifices they make for religious reasons. Adolescents reported sacrifices in five domains: societal expectations, popular culture, comforts and pleasures, time and activities, and peer relations. Youth gave the following reasons for being willing to make sacrifices: connecting to a higher meaning or purpose, connecting to God, connecting to the faith tradition or community, fulfilling expectations, feeling affective benefits, and avoiding problems.

CORRELATES OF LONELINESS AMONG WIDOWS BEREAVED IN A MINING DISASTER

From interviews with 44 widows of victims of the 1972 Sunshine Mine disaster (Idaho) and comparison samples of wives of survivors of the fire and of miners employed in other mines two types of loneliness were identified—one (personal loneliness) referring to whether respondents felt “very lonely and remote from other people” and the other (community underinvolvement) to whether they felt as involved in community life as they wanted to be. The widows manifested very high levels of personal loneliness but not of perceived community underinvolvement. An hypothesized link between loneliness and low income did not appear, but education was related to both kinds of loneliness. Participation in organizations seems related to low personal loneliness. Contacts with friends and relatives, belonging to a variety of voluntary organizations, having satisfying daily employment, and participating in religious organizations are related to satisfaction with level of involvement in community. Both types of loneliness are inversely related to high morale, happiness, and perceived high quality of life among widows. There may be many dimensions of loneliness as the present two types have different correlates; successful prescriptions for these often differ.

Recent social trends in the United States, 1960-1990

Context -- Age groups -- Microsocial -- Women -- Labor market -- Labor and management -- Social stratification -- Social relations -- State and service institutions -- Mobilizing institutions -- Institutionalization of social forces -- Ideologies -- Household resources -- Lifestyle -- Leisure -- Educational attainment -- Integration and marginalization -- Attitudes and values.

Indian Education in the City: Correlates of Academic Performance

AbstractFive factors affecting the academic performance of Indian students are identified: self-concept, achievement motivation, anti-Indian discrimination, culture conflict, and family instability. Their impact on academic performance is assessed among Indian high school students in Seattle, Washington. Findings suggest that achievement motivation and culture conflict are the most important correlates of academic achievement among urban Indian students, and it is recommended that these serve as target variables in programs designed to improve academic performance.

Family Size and Stability As Antecedents of Homelessness and Excessive Drinking

Men from large families and from broken homes have been described as overrepresented in skidrow and alcoholic populations. A reassessment of the linkage between these variables based on (1) survey data from two skid-row populations and a control sample of lower-class men, and (2) a reinterpretation of some of the findings of previous investigators, leads to the conclusion that neither the broken home nor the large family are, in themselves, significant factors in the etiology of homelessness and excessive drinking.

On Diversity, Empathy, and Community: The Relevance of Johann Gottfried Herder

The writings of Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803) foreshadowed several of the dominant theories of sociology, social psychology, aesthetics, linguistics and literary theory. His ideas impacted generations of thinkers, but today he is uncelebrated, mostly unknown. His writings on populism, expressionism, and pluralism are relevant to contemporary sociology, especially community sociology. Here we consider his views on the nature and meaning of community, and his methods of studying and interpreting communities. These include an emphasis on the essential particularity of human communities and their connection to wider systems and networks. Herder urges special attention to the elements of context (place, time, language, culture) within which communities are situated. Herders is an embedded particularism, a focus on individuality and diversity within larger unities. He also sensitizes us to the multivalence and multiplicity of social phenomena. As the proper stance for community research he counsels involvement and empathy rather than objectivity and emotional distance, and he urges researchers to be sensitive to data from all of their senses, not merely sight. Drawing upon Herders writings, we conclude with several important methodological principles relevant to improving current work on the nature and conceptualization of communities.