Back to home page1994 - VOLUME 19, NUMBER 1
94.12.01 - English - Daniel SCOTT SMITH, Department of History, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (U.S.A.)
A Higher Quality of Life for Whom? Mouths to Feed and Clothes to Wear in the Families of Late 19th-Century American Workers (p. 1-33)
Children need to be fed, clothed, and sheltered. Historically, an additional baby usually implied a reduction of consumption by other members of a family, a burden that was not necessarily shared equally. Social historians have ignored the issue of inequality within the family. Using the household budgets of nearly 6,000 American workers surveyed in 1889-1890, this article attempts to remedy that neglect. It analyzes the differential impact of higher fertility, measured by the number of children in the household under age five, on the consumption of husbands, wives, and siblings. In response to higher fertility, the wife rather than the husband sacrificed more. Contemporary opinion demonstrates that clothing expenditures provide a good indicator of the extent of involvement in social life beyond the household. A statistical study of expenditures for the clothes of husbands, wives, and children corroborates this interpretation and suggests that the family consumption economy could be an arena of conflict. Finally, the article explores the meanings of the improving consumption status of wives during the 20th century. (UNITED STATES, HISTORY, FERTILITY, STANDARD OF LIVING, FAMILY CONSUMPTION)
94.12.02 - English - Jacob GOLDSTEIN and C. Abraham FENSTER
Anglo-American Criteria for Resolving Child Custody Disputes from the 18th Century to the Present: Reflections on the Role of Socio-Cultural Change (p. 35-56)
Transformations (from the 18th century to the present) of legal and cultural criteria pertaining to child custody are examined, with special reference to issues pertaining to ipso facto preference for the father or the mother as the custodial parent. Starting out with (1) the traditional doctrine which (in theory) gave the father an absolute right to custody in the event of divorce or separation, the essay traces (2) early modifications of that doctrine, with incipient concern for the child's best interests; (3) the "tender-years " doctrine, which favored the mother as the caretaker for very young children; (4) a preference (in an almost 180-degree reversal of the traditional doctrine) for the mother as the custodial parent, except in case of the presence of what were viewed as strongly disqualifying factors; and (5) the egalitarian standard, which rejects ipso facto preference based on the parent's sex. These transformations are discussed in relation to fundamental alterations in perception of sex roles and of children's rights; to changing social and economic realities; to judicial attitudes; and to trends in de facto custody arrangements. Disparities between legal principles and social practices are noted. (UNITED STATES, HISTORY, CHILD CUSTODY, SOCIAL NORMS)
94.12.03 - English - Antonio McDANIEL, Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (U.S.A.)
Historical Racial Differences in Living Arrangements of Children (p. 57-77)
The African American family is not simply a product of existing social conditions but a reflection of a history and a culture that has been conducive to the survival of the African American population. The effect of social and economic exploitation and exclusion of the African population in America during slavery and its aftermath is summarized by a historical approach, which is sensitive to culture. The contemporary household structures of the European and African American populations differ in a similar although more extreme manner than in the past. (UNITED STATES, BLACKS, HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION, CULTURE)
94.12.04 - English - Roxanne CAFTANZOGLOU, National Center of Social Research, Athens (Greece)
The Household Formation Pattern of a Vlach Mountain Community of Greece: Syrrako 1898-1929 (p. 79-98)
This article explores the forms of family organization in a mountain community of Greece during the end of the 19th and the early 20th century. Special attention is paid to the concept of a system of household formation. It is argued that the dominant models fail to provide adequate understanding of the ways in which the desired domestic structures come into being and that one has to search beyond the "classical" demographic criteria to achieve a comprehensive account and understanding of household formation behavior. (GREECE, HOUSEHOLD, FAMILY FORMATION, HISTORY)
1994 - VOLUME 19, NUMBER 2
Research on the population history of Czech and Slovak Republics
94.12.05 - English - Pavla HORSKA, Commission on Historical Demography and Sociology, Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague (Czech Republic)
Historical Models of the Central European Family: Czech and Slovak Examples (p. 99-106)
Preliminary research on the history of family and demography among Czechs and Slovaks in the pre-modern period suggests that these central European peoples shared both western and eastern characteristics, but also that results depend very much on the geographical location of the community being analyzed, on its nationality composition, and its socioeconomic characteristics. Using internationally accepted analytical techniques such as family reconstitution and household-structure analysis, research continues on a wide range of sources such as ecclesiastical registers, household listings, and the population sources known as status animarum. (CZECH REPUBLIC, HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY, FAMILY, HOUSEHOLD, RESEARCH)
94.12.06 - English - Ludmila FIALOVA, Commission on Historical Demography and Sociology, Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague (Czech Republic))
Changes of Nuptiality in Czech Lands and Slovakia, 1918-1988 (p. 107-115)
During the period between the World Wars differences in the age at first marriage and proportions married in the Czech and Slovak areas of the Czechoslovak Republic showed the two to be distinct regions. In the post World War II period, however, differences in both measures have diminished and have almost disappeared, suggesting homogenization of demographic behavior. Current ages at first marriage have fallen to the levels interwar demographers believed to be conducive to family instability. (CZECH REPUBLIC, HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY, REGIONAL DEMOGRAPHY, AGE AT MARRIAGE)
94.12.07 - English - Petr SVOBODNY, Charles University, Prague (Czech Republic)
Child Mortality in the Italian Hospital in Prague, 1719-1789 (p. 117-129)
During most of the 18th century the Italian Hospital in Prague served mostly as a home for foundlings and orphans, who remained in the Hospital until they were around age twenty. The Hospital's death register is an important source for the study of mortality patterns among infants, children, and young persons in their teens, but the information in it has to be evaluated critically. Analysis of death patterns suggests that the Hospital's care system was not able to reduce significantly the expected high infant and child mortality rates, but also that the Hospital's residents did enjoy certain kinds of care that were not available to children in private homes. (CZECH REPUBLIC, HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY, INFANT MORTALITY, YOUTH MORTALITY, ABANDONED CHILDREN, ORPHANS)
94.12.08 - English - Jitka RYCHTARIKOVA, Department of Demography and Geodemography, Faculty of Sciences, Charles University, Prague (Czech Republic)
Czech and Slovak Families in the European Context (p. 131-147)
During the past two decades most of the developed countries of Europe have witnessed changes in such family-related demographic phenomena as nuptiality, divorce, and fertility. For the time being, the Czech and Slovak Republics continue to exhibit patterns established earlier in history. Marriage is universal and is contracted at young ages. Children are born to young parents and at short childbirth intervals. The proportion of childless women is below 1O%, which is comparatively low. The 8% of children born out of wedlock is comparatively low by European standards. Longitudinal indicators are characterized by great stability. As a result of recent profound political, social, and economic changes, it is reasonable to expect changes in demographic behavior as well. The first of these may be a marked decline in fertility along the lines already experienced by southern European countries. (CZECH REPUBLIC, DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES, TRANSITIONAL SOCIETY, FERTILITY DECLINE)
94.12.09 - English - Markus CERMAN, Institut für Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte, University of Vienna, Vienna (Austria)
Bohemia After the Thirty Years' War: Some Theses on Population Structure, Marriage, and Family (p. 149-175)
The impact of the Thirty Years' War on the population of Bohemia has been overestimated, because research on a variety of sources for the period around the year 1651 suggests not only that there were long-term continuities in marital behavior (such as high proportions married) but also that some of the consequences attributed directly to warfare might well be explained by reference to inaccuracies of the source or to such population dynamics as emigration. A joint research project involving the University of Vienna, Charles University in Prague, and the State Central Archives in Prague is exploring socioeconomic dimensions of population change in mid-17th-century Bohemia in order to test older assumptions and to develop new insights. (CZECH REPUBLIC, HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY, WAR, RESEARCH PROJECTS)
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