Linda Thompson

Gender in families: women and men in marriage work and parenthood.

The authors review the research on gender by focusing on 3 domains of family life - marriage work (both wage and family work) and parenthood. Regarding marriage they consider intimacy communication and conflict and wife-battering. Regarding wage work they consider women and men as providers and resistance to wives as co-providers. Regarding family work they consider the nature of family work and resistance to sharing housework and child care. Regarding parenthood they consider the images of motherhood and fatherhood activities and experiences of mothering and fathering and the gender differentiation that accompanies parenting. The authors conclude that gender specialization in families persists across the domains of marriage work and parenthood. Everyday and ultimate responsibility for marriage housework and parenthood usually remains with women. Responsibility for breadwinning usually remains with men. Most women help men with provision and many men help women with family work and parenting although partners collude to sustain the belief that men are primary providers but parenting is shared. Partners tend to view mens minimal help with raising children as substantial and womens substantial help with provision as minimal. Though a growing number of women are bothered by this lopsided arrangement most men and women do not consider family life unfair. (authors modified)

A Confirmatory Analysis of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale

The dyadic adjustment scale is critically evaluated by reconsidering the factor structure of the scale and its subscales using a maximum likelihood, confirmatory factor-analysis procedure. A new sample is studied three years later from the same geographical area. High reliability was confirmed for the overall scale. The four subscale factors appear robust and account for 94% of the covariance among the items, although subscale affiliations were not perfectly replicated in the confirmatory factor solution. The findings of the re-evaluation are encouraging, suggesting that confidence in the scale is warranted for subsequent users.

The Dyad as the Unit of Analysis: Conceptual and Methodological Issues

This work assesses conceptual and methodological issues in the use of the dyad as the unit of analysis in family research. Illustrative examples from dyadic research and a table to aid researchers in the generation of dyadic studies using one or two informants are included. The focus of dyadic research is the relationship between two people. All components of a study must be at the level of the dyad and each stage of research must have the relationship as the object of study. Conceptualizing the pattern between two people is an essential first step. The pattern can take many forms reflecting different conceptual models of relationships and interactions. Individual properties such as values or needs must be distinguished from relationship properties such as norms or roles. Information about the partners individual characteristics or relationship may come from many sources and it is necessary to specify whose construction is under examination. Issues of subjectivity or objectivity self-report or observation and one informant or two relate to generalizability of information. How relationships are conceptualized must also be congruent with choice of sampling procedures. Two major weaknesses are common at the level of data analysis: data from both members of the dyad are aggregated rather than reflecting the pattern between the two or the conceptual basis of the constructed relationship pattern is not clear. The paper concludes with a discussion of the range of research questions that can appropriately be addressed using one or both partners as informants.

Influence of Parents, Peers, and Partners on the Contraceptive Use of College Men and Women.

Self-administered questionnaires were completed by a nonprobability purposive sample of 434 never-married sexually active males and females between the ages of 17 and 22 years in order to investigate the relative influences of parents peers and partners on the contraceptive use of college men and women. Path analyses showed that the effects of involvement with partner sexual exclusivity and frequency of intercourse on contraceptive use are mostly indirect via influence from partner. Among the males in the sample partner influence emerged as a strong and singular contribution to contraceptive use. Involvement with partner was significantly and inversely related to contraceptive use unless the influence from partner intervened. A more complex pattern emerged among the females suggesting that young women are oriented toward partner and friends and the source of influence is related to extent of involvement with the sexual partner. Parents failed to significantly influence contraceptive use. Overall the models presented accounted for 31% of the variance in contraceptive use for females and 34% for males. Clearly influence from the partner to use contraception is a strong contributor to contraceptive use among young men and women.(AUTHORS MODIFIED)

Mothers and Daughters: Aid Patterns and Attachment.

In this paper we examine the association of aid exchange with attachment in two sets of mother-daughter relationships-student women and their mothers (139 pairs) and these same middle-aged mothers and their mothers (110 pairs). In each case both partners are respondents. Each pair is categorized by the pattern of aid exchange-high reciprocity, low reciprocity, mother dependent, daughter dependent. Attachment reflects emotional dependence. Mothers reported greater attachment than daughters in the older pairs. There was a main effect for aid pattern on attachment in older pairs; high reciprocity relationships displayed greater attachment than other aid patterns. In the younger pairs, there was an interaction effect of aid pattern and generation on attachment. Mothers and daughters perceived attachment differently in nonreciprocal relationships but not in reciprocal relationships; the dependent partner reported less attachment. Different results for the two sets of intergenerational relationships are discussed in terms of individual and relationship development.

The End of Marriage and Acceptance of Marital Termination.

The circumstances surrounding the termination of marriage are examined in relation to the aftermath of marital separation. Social exchange theory provides a framework for representing the end of marriage. Data were collected from a nonprobability sample of 205 individuals in central Pennsylvania, who were first interviewed in depth soon after their final separation. Measures are developed to assess the attractions in marriage, external pressures to remain married, alternative attractions to the marriage, and acceptance of marital termination. Multiple regression analysis demonstrates that 41 % of the variance in acceptance of marital termination can be explained by marital history variables. Several bivariate and multivariate hypotheses are tested, providing insight into the similarities and differences between males and females in postmarital adjustment. The paper concludes with a descriptive analysis of several dimensions of the process of marital dissolution and its aftermath.

Feminism and Family Studies

Three basic tenets of feminism (the belief that women are exploited, devalued, and oppressed; a commitment to changing the conditions of women; and the adoption of a perspective critical of intellectual traditions) are discussed. At times these principles are at odds with traditional science. Therefore, we address the question: “Can one be both a scientist and a feminist?” and answer in the affirmative. A review of a sample of JMF articles over the past 20 years shows some substantive but little methodological evidence of feminist scholarship. Analysis of NCFR board composition, and editors and authors in NCFR journals over the same time period reveals a pattern of underrepresentation of women. Scholars in the profession, ourselves included, are called upon to integrate feminist scholarship into the field. The degree to which NCFR adopts and applies gender-neutral standards is the degree to which achievement of feminist goals will be possible.

Two Generations of Mothers and Daughters: Role Position and Interdependence.

Using both partners as informants and three interdependence measures (contact, aid, and attachment) as criterion variables, we address the assumption that womens orientation to and dependence on other generations differ because of unique roles. In 135 pairs of student women and their mothers and 119 pairs of middle-aged women and their mothers, we ask how a womans role position interacts with her partners role position in regard to interdependence. Both dyadic and individual role combinations are examined. In younger pairs, we examine the combination of daughters marital status and both mothers launching and work statuses; in older pairs, we examine the combination of mothers marital status and both daughters launching and marital statuses. Regression analyses demonstrate that, except for younger pairs where married daughters and their mothers are less interdependent than single daughters and their mothers, interdependence is remarkably unrelated to role positions, singly or in combination. Results suggest normative pressures toward new conjugal bonds and stability in womens family roles.

Developmental Stage and Perceptions of Intergenerational Continuity

Previous research has found generational differences in perceptions of continuity. Bengtson and Kuypers offer the notion of developmental stake to explain why youths exaggerate differences between themselves and their parents and parents minimize intergenerational differences. The identity and intimacy concerns of a young adult child color perceptions of intergenerational continuity differently from the way the generative concerns of midlife parents do. Using a probability sample of college students and both their parents (282 families), we surveyed each generations actual attitudes and their perceptions of the other generations attitudes. We also assessed the psychological development of youth (identity and intimacy) and of midlife parents (generativity). Although our results confirm that youths perceive less intergenerational continuity in attitudes than their parents, our results call into question the connection between psychosocial developmental status of either generation and their perceptions of continuity. We offer alternative interpretations of generational differences in perception and make suggestions for broadening the study of developmental stake and intergenerational continuity.

Child Care Decisions among Female Heads of Households with School-Age Children.

Depth interviews with 16 urban female heads of households (FHHs) were the basis of this qualitative study on decisions regarding child care for school-age children. FHHs attempted to choose care that was compatible with their role as provider and with their resources. Resources included knowledge of caregivers and settings, network support, and material resources (income and car). Women who had limited resources and restrictive provider roles functioned by forced choice and were at risk for decisions that violated their own goals and values. Feelings, values, and childrens opinions played a role in decisions.