JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY

United States of America (Minneapolis) 93

NOVEMBER 1997 - VOLUME 59, NUMBER 4

98.93.11 - English - Lindy WILLIAMS and Teresa SOBIESZCZYK, Department of Rural Sociology, Warren Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (U.S.A.)

E-mail : lbw@cornell.edu.

Attitudes surrounding the continuation of female circumcision in the Sudan: Passing the tradition to the next generation (p. 966-981)

This research examines behavioral and attitudinal data in order to investigate the perpetuation of the practice of female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation, in the Sudan. During the recent Sudan Demographic and Health Survey, women were asked about their own circumcisions, as well as those done or planned for their daughters, and they reported what they (and their husbands) felt about the continuation of the practice. We analyze the data on the likely prevalence of daughters' circumcisions, along with the attitudinal data on the continuation of the practice and on the preferred type of circumcision where continuation is supported. Close to 90% of all women surveyed either had circumcised or planned to circumcise all of their daughters. Roughly half of those women reported favoring the most severe procedures. The practice is thus likely to continue to be widely practiced, and the most severe forms may well continue to be most common. (SUDAN, FEMALE CIRCUMCISION, TRADITION)

98.93.12 - English - Lynn WHITE and Naomi LACY, Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588 (U.S.A.)

E-mail : lwhite@unlinfo.unl.edu.

The effects of age at home leaving and pathways from home on educational attainment (p. 982-995)

Using data from the 1986-1987 National Survey of Families and Households, this article examines whether age at leaving home and the pathway from home have long-term consequences for children's educational attainment. Young adults who leave home to attend school (approximately 25% of recent cohorts) average high educational attainment, regardless of their age at home leaving. Their educational attainment, however, is significantly lower if they ever have a home-returning episode. Among the 75% who use other pathways from home, delayed home leaving is associated with significantly and substantially higher education at every level through college graduation. Net of age at home leaving, choosing premarital residential independence or military service (for men) as a pathway from home is associated with significantly higher educational attainment than leaving home through marriage or cohabitation. Effects are modestly stronger among those in more recent cohorts. The results suggest that parental coresidence until at least age 21 and a period of premarital residential independence are associated with children's higher educational attainment. (UNITED STATES, YOUTH, HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION, LEVELS OF EDUCATION)

98.93.13 - English - Jutta M. JOESCH, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Box 357660, Seattle, WA 98195-7660 (U.S.A.)

E-mail : joesch@u.washington.edu.

Paid leave and the timing of women's employment before and after birth (p. 1008-1021)

From a theoretical perspective, a paid leave policy for childbirth has two effects: It encourages some women to interrupt work for a longer time, and it entices other women to return to their job after birth rather than quit, resulting in a shorter interruption of work. It is, thus, ambiguous on theoretical grounds alone whether, on average, paid leave leads to longer or shorter interruptions of work. This issue is investigated empirically in an economic framework with survival analysis and data from the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth. Women with access to paid leave were found to work later into pregnancy, to be less likely to work during the birth month, and to start work sooner once the infant was at least 2 months old. For women who had paid leave available, additional weeks of leave lengthened work interruptions but at a decreasing rate. All women in the sample had worked continuously for at least 6 months when they became pregnant and did not quit their jobs during pregnancy. (UNITED STATES, MATERNITY LEAVE, FEMALE EMPLOYMENT)

FEBRUARY 1998 - VOLUME 60, NUMBER 1

98.93.14 - English - Kathleen W. PIERCY, Department of Family and Human Development, College of Family Life, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-2905 (U.S.A.)

E-mail : kathyp@flcl.usu.edu.

Theorizing about family caregiving: The role of responsibility (p. 109-118)

Studies of family caregiving to older parents have focused on filial responsibility. In this study, the meaning of familial responsibility to older members was investigated by interviewing two or three generations in families providing assistance to older family members in a noninstitutional setting. Forty-three members of 15 families discussed the meaning of responsibility to older relatives who needed assistance. The data suggest that familial responsibility encompasses both responsibility to the older person and responsibility to other family members and that shared responsibility among several family members is not uncommon. Implications for future research and provision of services to families are discussed. (UNITED STATES, AGED, FAMILY, DEPENDANTS, RESPONSIBILITY)

98.93.15 - English - Joanna GREGSON HIGGINSON, Department of Sociology, University of Colorado, 219 Ketchum, Campus Box 327, Boulder, CO 80309 (U.S.A.)

E-mail : joanna.gregson@colorado.edu.

Competitive parenting: The culture of teen mothers (p. 135-149)

I evamined the competitive culture of adolescent mothers and the sociodemographic characteristics that explain the formation and diffusion of this culture. I gathered data during a 3-year participant-observation study of mothers enrolled in a high school program for adolescent parents. The mothers competed in several areas: the provision of material possessions, the physical and cognitive development of their children, their knowledge of parenting, and their care and leniency in comparison with other parents. I conclude that the competitive culture is shaped by the age, social class, and race of the adolescents. (UNITED STATES, ADOLESCENT FERTILITY, MOTHER, CULTURE)

98.93.16 - English - Patricia L. EAST, Department of Pediatrics, San Diego Medical Center, University of California, Mail Code 8449, 200 West Arbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92103 (U.S.A.)

E-mail : peast@ucsd.edu.

Racial and ethnic differences in girls' sexual, marital, and birth expectations (p. 150-162)

This study examines potential racial and ethnic differences in early adolescent girls' desired and perceived normative role timing and the extent to which various socioeconomic and family factors and school and job aspirations might be linked with girls' role-timing expectations. Using a racially and ethnically diverse sample, (n = 574; 183 Hispanics, 177 Blacks, 93 Whites, and 70 Southeast Asians; M age = 12.9), results indicated that young women of different races and ethnicities saw their life course unfold in different sequences based on different timetables and independent of their socioeconomic circumstances. Hispanics desired rapid transitions at a young age, and Southeast Asians desired more gradual transitions at an older age. Blacks perceived the greatest likelihood of nonmarital childbearing for themselves, the longest normative interval between first sex and first birth, but they desired the shortest interval between first marriage and first birth. Within-race regressions revealed that girls' future aspirations were important for their expected role timing, even within the context of socioeconomic disadvantage (welfare receipt, low family income). Findings suggest the importance of culture-specific age norms for motivating role timing and role sequencing in young women's lives. (UNITED STATES, ADOLESCENTS, WOMEN'S STATUS, RACES, ETHNIC ORIGIN, ATTITUDE, SEXUALITY, NUPTIALITY, FERTILITY)

98.93.17 - English - E. Michael FOSTER, Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies, School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University, University Plaza, Atlanta, GA 30303 (U.S.A.), Damon JONES, George Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, 1207 18th Avenue, South Nashville, TN 37212 (U.S.A.), and Saul D. HOFFMAN, Department of Economics, Purnell Hall, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 (U.S.A.)

E-mail : prcemf@langate.gsu.edu.

The economic impact of nonmarital childbearing: How are older, single mothers faring? (p. 163-174)

During recent decades, the rate of nonmarital childbearing among women aged 20 and older has increased steadily. Despite this increase, little is known about the economic status of the women involved and how it compares with that of their married counterparts or of teen mothers. This study examines the experiences of a sample of women drawn from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics; it assesses the economic situation of these women before and after giving birth. In general, the economic situation of older, single mothers is closer to that of teen mothers than that of married childbearers the same age. The results presented here also reveal substantial variation among older, single mothers. In particular, we find that these women fare better when they are White, 25 years old and older, did not begin having children as teenagers, or are cohabiting. (UNITED STATES, UNMARRIED MOTHERS, ECONOMIC RESOURCES, COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS)

98.93.18 - English - Lisa GREENWELL, Department of Sociology, California State University, P.O. Box 6846, Fullerton, CA 92834-6846 (U.S.A.), Arleen LEIBOWITZ, Department of Policy Studies, School of Public Policy and Social Research, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656 (U.S.A.), and Jacob Alex KLERMAN, RAND, 1700 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90406 (U.S.A.)

E-mail : lgreenwell@fullerton.edu.

Welfare background, attitudes, and employment among new mothers (p. 175-193)

This article investigates whether new mothers' chances of being employed appear to be influenced by an intergenerationally transmitted welfare culture. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth are analyzed using logit and ordinary least squares regression. The findings show that, as adolescents, new mothers with welfare backgrounds were more willing than others to use welfare but were no less likely to have positive attitudes toward work. Adolescents' work attitudes influence their chances of being employed when they are new mothers, but adolescents' welfare attitudes do not. These results suggest that new mothers' chances of being employed are not influenced by an intergenerationally transmitted welfare culture. (UNITED STATES, FEMALE EMPLOYMENT, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, MOTHER, SOCIAL SECURITY, CULTURE)

98.93.19 - English - Bridget HIEDEMANN, Department of Economics and Finance, Seattle University, Broadway and Madison, Seattle, WA 98122 (U.S.A.), Olga SUHOMLINOVA and Angela M. O'RAND, Department of Sociology, Duke University, Box 90088, Durham, NC 27708 (U.S.A.)

E-mail : bgh@seattleu.edu.

Economic independence, economic status, and empty nest in midlife marital disruption (p. 219-231)

We examine the risk of separation or divorce later in the marital career from a family development perspective. With data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women, we use a hazards framework to estimate the effects of women's economic independence, couples' economic status, and family life course factors on the risk of middle-age separation or divorce. Several dimensions of economic independence and economic status influence the risk of midlife marital disruption. Moreover, the transition to empty nest influences the risk of marital disruption, but the effect of empty nest depends on the duration of the marriage. (UNITED STATES, MARRIED PERSONS, DIVORCE, SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS, RISK, FAMILY LIFE CYCLE)

98.93.20 - English - F. Nii-Amoo DODOO, Department of Sociology, Box 1811-B, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37205 (U.S.A.)

E-mail : dodoof@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu.

Marriage type and reproductive decisions: A comparative study in sub-Saharan Africa (p. 232-242)

The effect of marriage type - polygamy versus monogamy - on reproductive decisions is investigated using comparative data from the 1988, 1989, and 1993 Demographic and Health Surveys of Ghana and Kenya. The data provide no consistent support for the hypothesized negative effect of polygamy on women's ability to implement their fertility preferences. Rather, there appears to be some evidence of a stronger female influence, particularly in the polygamous 1989 Kenya sample, and a weak male advantage is discernible primarily in the monogamous samples. (GHANA, KENYA, TYPES OF MARRIAGE, DESIRED FAMILY SIZE)

98.93.21 - English - Ken R. SMITH, Department of Family and Consumer Studies, 228 AEB, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (U.S.A.), and Sally I. McCLEAN, Department of Mathematics, UNiversity of Ulster, Coleraine, County Londonderry BT52 1SA (Northern Ireland)

E-mail : smith@fcs.utah.edu.

An introduction to the analysis of paired hazard rates in studies of the family (p. 243-257)

Hazard rate models in studies of the family are becoming more common. Ironically, family studies scholars have generally used these techniques based on individuals, rather than explicitly on couples or families. We describe and apply selected techniques used to analyze paired hazard rates when event times are right censored. We illustrate the techniques by looking at mortality patterns in husbands and wives. Recently developed measures and models are introduced and applied to a sample of 1,031 married couples from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I) and the NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study (NHEFS). The advantages and disadvantages of the measures are discussed. (METHODOLOGY, RISK, MODELS, FAMILY DEMOGRAPHY)

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