R. Brooke Jacobsen

COMPARISON OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS: HOMOSEXUAL VERSUS HETEROSEXUAL WOMEN

The purpose of this study was to compare nuclear family characteristics of homosexual and heterosexual women. Data of two samples (34 homosexual and 31 heterosexual women) were analyzed for differences and similarities of the nuclear families. Statistically significant differences indicate that lesbians experience less positive nuclear family relationships. However, personal comments by the subjects may be of more interest to the reader than the statistical analysis. Findings are consistent with other research on this problem, pointing to the need for systematic analysis of family variables and how they relate to development of sexual identity.

An Empirical Test of the Generation Gap: A Comparative Intrafamily Study

The present study empirically tests the existence, universality, and specific locus of the generation gap through a comparative intrafamily study of fathers and their college-age children. Intrafamily agreement-disagreement coefficients are computed between fathers and offspring on their rankings of eight important contemporary issues, and analyzed via seven independent variables. Results show first that a general consensus level characterizes fathers and offspring; and, second, that specific foci of disagreement emerge-related to sex and year-in-college of the student and to the working-class origins of the father. Hence the generation gap is apparently not a ubiquitous, universal family event.

Black Versus White Single Parents and the Value of Children

Differences between black and white single parents concerning the value of children in the United States are examined and recent studies on this subject are reviewed. Data were collected at a private day care center in a large metropolitan area. (ANNOTATION)

Families in Crisis: Research and Theory in Child Mental Retardation

A review of pertinent research uncovers some of the assumptions and hypotheses that have combined into a construct of a retarded childs effect on the family. Concepts in wide use focus on the family as an interacting unit and on individual responses; with related hypotheses, these make a framework to guide further research.

Children's Perceptions of “Goodness” and “Badness” in Sibling Roles

Perceptions of “goodness” and “badness” in sibling roles were investigated in a cross- sectional study of second-born children aged 5–13 years. The study focused on changes in descriptions of these sibling role concepts as a function of age of child, sex of child, sibling status of child, and age-spacing between siblings. Results indicated that a “good” sibling was perceived in different terms than a “bad” sibling, and these descriptions varied with increasing age. Sex of sibling and degree of age-spacing between siblings produced markedly different perceptions of the role concepts. Results are discussed in relation to the degree of a childs ex perience with an older sibling.

Cultural Correlates of Parent-Nonparent Stereotypes: A Multivariate Analysis.

This study empirically examines the cultural meanings of parental and nonparental roles. A multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the influence of generational group, family size, and place of residence on ratings of personality traits for each role by 57 mother- daughter pairs. Respondents perceived the nonparental role very differently from the parental role with generational group emerging as the main driver variable. The findings of this study strongly suggest that parental role stereotyping does not occur in a simple bivariate manner but results from the interplay of several factors.

Behavioral Cues from Children: Analysis of Adult Responses to Childhood Danger vs. Non-Danger Situations.

A common problem facing individuals is caregiver competency, i.e. responding to and en suring childrens well-being. Traditional socialization theory assumes that information (in cluding that regarding health and safety topics) flows from parent to child. Current research takes the opposite approach, i.e. childrens behavioral cues influence adult responses to them. This study tests an “experience” hypothesis by analyzing responses of a mother and a student sample to children depicted in a nonthreatening and a danger setting. Significant differences in type of response of adults to children were found for both settings. Findings are interpreted via the “experience” hypothesis in caregiving.

Logistic Cycles in Research on Black Americans

The principal focus of the sociology of science is to discover the impact of social forces and events affecting the emergence of trends in research and theory-building. A recent article by Gaston and Sherohman (1974: 75-82) is a particular case in point. We consider this to be an interesting article principally for its potential as a pacesetting effort in the analysis of ethnic factors influencing the development of contemporary social research. The essential thrust of the Gaston-Sherohman article is twofold: first, to identify the social origins of authors producing research on black Americans; and second, to identify salient historical trends affecting this research. Specifically, Gaston and Sherohman gathered two major sets of data strategically designed to answer to basic questions on social origins and historical trends. First they selected a population of articles from four major sociological