Research Reports and News Posted January 2001:

Fathers--Research    |     Children & Families    |     Census Data    |     Welfare Reform    |     NCOFF Abstracts



Fathers--Research

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• The Well-Being And Capacities Of Unwed Fathers, Melvin Wilson and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, Working Paper #01-01-FF, December, 20, 2000.

  Author Abstract:

  This article focuses on the well-being and capacities of 1759 new fathers in seven cities using data from the Fragile Families Study. Comparisons are made between married and unmarried fathers as well as between unwed fathers who are cohabiting, romantically involved but not cohabiting, not romantically involved but friends, and have no relationship with the mother. The six indicators of fathers' well-being capacities include physical health, depressive symptoms, drug and alcohol use, smoking, and physical abuse of the mother. These findings show that married fathers are more advantaged than unwed fathers vis-a-vis education, income, and age; they also are in better physical and mental health. Among the unwed fathers, those who are cohabiting are more advantaged and healthier than those who are not cohabiting, although the differences are not as great as those between married and unmarried fathers. Non-resident fathers who are romantically involved are similar in income, age and education to fathers who are not romantically involved but are friends, although the former are less likely than the latter to be using drugs, to be depressed or to have hit or slapped the mother. The fathers who have no relationship with the mother are most likely to exhibit unhealthy behaviors. Two percent of the married fathers, 3% of the unmarried cohabiting and romantically involved, 6% of the friends, and 11% of those with no relationship had hit or slapped the mother as reported by her. About one-half of the married fathers, a little over a third of the unwed fathers who are cohabiting, romantically involved or friends, and only one-sixth of the fathers with no relationship have none of the six behaviors. In contrast, one-fifth of the unwed fathers with no relationship, one-tenth of the unwed fathers with involvement, and 3% of the married fathers have three or more of the six risky behaviors. Implications for welfare reform and child support are discussed.

  For the complete paper in PDF format, visit the Center for Child Well-Being web site.

• Father Involvement and Birth Outcomes of Unmarried Mothers, Yolanda C. Padilla Nancy E. Reichman, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, Working Paper #00-22-FF, December 2000.

  Author Abstract:

  Previous studies have revealed that marital status is an important predictor of birth outcomes, with unmarried mothers having a higher probability than married mothers of delivering low birthweight babies. However, research on the impact of different mother-father relationships among unwed parents is virtually non-existent and little is known about whether and how father involvement affects birth outcomes. In this study, we use the sample of unwed parents in the 7-cities baseline Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing data to examine the effects of parents' relationship status and support provided by the baby's father during pregnancy on the likelihood of delivering a low birthweight baby, and to examine whether father involvement explains racial and ethnic disparities in low birthweight. We include several variables that past studies have suggested may be important in explaining birth outcomes but generally have not been able to include, such as mother's social support, her attitudes and values, and her religiosity. We find that having received monetary support from the baby's father has a negative effect on the likelihood of low birthweight and that mothers who are in a non-cohabiting romantic relationship with the father have significantly higher odds of low birthweight compared to mothers who cohabit with the father of their baby. Finally, racial and ethnic differences in birth outcomes within this population appear to be invariant to the level of father involvement. A major contribution of the study is that it uses rich new data to examine birth outcomes in a population at high risk-unmarried mothers-and incorporates measures such as parents' relationship status and father's financial support, along with an extensive set of demographic, social, and behavioral risk factors.

  For the complete paper in PDF format, visit the Center for Child Well-Being web site.

• The Determinants of Parental Involvement Among Unwed Fathers, Waldo E. Johnson, Jr., Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, Working Paper #00-19-FF, November 2000.

  Author Abstract:

  Paternal involvement among unwed fathers is examined during pregnancy and at birth using a number of demographic characteristics (relationship status, race and ethnicity, age, education, income, family structure and father values) as a proxy for expected future involvement. The findings suggest that overall there is a high degree of involvement among all the fathers examined. Relationship status is statistically significant and most predictive in assessing paternal involvement in each analysis. Fathers who are romantically involved and cohabiting are more involved than those who are romantically involved but do not cohabit. Fathers who are no longer romantically involved are least likely to sustain involvement. In addition, fathers who are employed are also more likely to sustain involvement.

  For the complete paper in PDF format, visit the Center for Child Well-Being web site.

• Fitting Fathers into Families: Men and the Fatherhood Role in Contemporary Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Family and Community Services, December, 2000.

  Executive Summary Excerpt:

  Preventative family-based programs in Australia are receiving greater attention as inter ventions to prevent child abuse and neglect. This has led to increased levels of funding for programs and services targeting parents. The focus on fathers as a target group, however, has not been a high priority for funding bodies. Most programs and services for fathers are small and lack an assured funding base or policy framework.

  The Men's Role in Parenting Project, funded by the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services, provided a significant and timely opportunity to review, investigate and provide up-to-date information and analyses on men's role as parents. This project constructs a view of contemporary fatherhood from multiple perspectives through:

  • A telephone survey of a random sample of
  • 1000 fathers
  • Detailed overview of key programs and services
  • for fathers
  • Review of fatherhood by professionals and
  • service providers
  • Overview of current research knowledge and
  • thinking about men as parents
  • Analysis of how contemporary fatherhood is
  • constructed and perceived by children

  The report provides a basis for recommendations for specific strategies to address the needs of fathers and facilitate the development of more effective parenting.

  For a copy of the complete Executive Summary in PDF format, visit the Department of Families and Community Services web site. To obtain copies of the full report write to: Family Relationships Branch, Department of Families and Community Services, GPO Box 7788, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610 Australia, or call (02) 6289 7530.

• Fathers' Work and Family Lives in India: Daily Ecology of Time and Emotion, Reed Larson, Suman Verma, and Jodi Dworkin, Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work, University of Chicago, 1999.

  Abstract:

  This research examines the daily organization of time and emotion among middle-class fathers in India. To understand men's behavior as fathers and husbands, it is important to understand the daily and weekly rhythm of their experiences. Fathers' activities in the family occur within and are influenced by the larger organization of time and emotion in their lives. Among American middle-class fathers, employment plays a major role in structuring this rhythm. Their activities as fathers and husbands are structured by their working hours, affected by emotional carryover from their jobs, and shaped by men's desire to use their home time for relaxation and recovery from the stress of their jobs, alternating with recuperative leisure and relaxation at home.

  As in the U.S., the Indian urban middle-class views fathers as the "primary provider" for the family, and women as bearing primary responsibility for home and children. But the organization of Indian men's daily lives is distinct in many ways, including in the values and attitudes shaping men's jobs, expectations for the father and husband role, and greater involvement of extended kin. This paper evaluates the daily patterns of time and emotion among a sample of Indian middle-class fathers of 8th graders and examines how it is related to their participation in the family. The objective is to elucidate the daily ecology of fatherhood in India, both as an important end in itself and as a means to gain cross-cultural perspective on the organization of men's lives.

  For more information contact the Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work, University of Chicago

• Diminishing Returns: Crime and Incarceration in the 1990s, Jenni Gainsborough and Marc Mauer, The Sentencing Project, September 2000.

  Overview Exerpt:

  Since the 1970s, political leaders have addressed public concern about crime by devoting unprecedented rhetorical and financial resources to the construction of prisons. As a result, the scale of incarceration has expanded from about 330,000 Americans in prison and jail in 1972 to nearly two million today. The cost of prison construction and housing now totals nearly $40 billion annually.

  Beginning in the early 1990s, crime rates began to decline significantly around the nation. In the seven-year period 1991-98 the overall rate of crime declined by 22%, violent crime by 25%, and property crime by 21%. These were welcome developments, since the rate of crime in 1991 had been at the highest level ever measured by the FBI in its Uniform Crime Reporting program. During this period the number of state and federal prisoners rose substantially, from 789,610 to 1,252,830 ­ a 59% increase in just seven years. The rate of incarceration (number of prisoners per 100,000 population) rose from 313 to 461, an increase of 47%. (The percentage increase in the number of prisoners is greater than the increase in the rate of incarceration because the underlying national population on which the rate is calculated increased during that time.)

  To some observers, these two trends point to a simple conclusion. The massive increase in imprisonment from 1991 to 1998 resulted in a dramatic decrease in crime. This study, which is the first to analyze the relationship between incarceration and crime at the state level in the 1990s, finds little support for the contention that massive prison construction is the most effective way to reduce crime. The report also assesses the role that other factors have played in contributing to the decline in crime. These include changing economic conditions, availability of guns, changes in the drug trade, law enforcement practices, and demographics. Finally, the report questions the value of the nation's commitment to mass incarceration in light of its adverse impacts on communities and the long-term prospects for reducing crime.

  The key findings of this report are:

  • During the national decline in crime from 1991 to 1998, states with the largest increases in incarceration experienced, on average, smaller declines in crime than other states. The ”above average" states increased their rate of incarceration by an average of 72% and experienced a 13% decline in crime, while the rate of incarceration in ”below average" states rose by 30% and crime rates declined by 17%.
  • Texas led the nation with a 144% increase in the use of incarceration from 1991 to 1998 and experienced one of the most substantial declines in crime, 35%. But three other large states ­ California, Massachusetts, and New York ­ experienced similar or larger reductions in crime with far less increase in imprisonment ­ 52%, 21%, and 24% respectively.
  • During the 14-year period 1984-1998, incarceration rose continuously, yet crime increased for the first half of the period and declined for the second half.
  • States that increased the use of incarceration the most in the period 1984-1991 experienced slightly less of a rise in crime than other states, 15% compared to 17%. The estimated cost for additional prison construction and housing for this 2% gain was $9.5 billion.
  • Increases in the use of imprisonment in recent years have been much more the result of policy decisions ­ drug arrests, harsher sentencing policy, and increased revocation of parole violators ­ than changes in crime rates.
  • Much of the explanation for the reduction in crime in the 1990s is due to economic expansion, changes in the drug trade, and new approaches to policing.

  For the complete report in PDF format, visit The Sentencing Project web site.

• Prisoner Reentry: Who's Coming Home? a Transcript of the "First Tuesday" Forum, Urban Institute, Tuesday, December 5, 2000.

  What can communities expect once the nation's prisoners are released? Our December First Tuesdays offered a preliminary look at new national data on the number and characteristics of soon-to-be-released prisoners. Jeremy Travis of the Urban Institute, William Sabol of Case Western Reserve University, James Lynch of American University, and Jasper Ormond of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia discussed the policy implications of the new portrait and the potential impact on large metropolitan communities, such as Washington, D.C.

  For the complete transcript, visit the Urban Institute web site.

  Children and Families

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  The following working papers were written by members of Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work at the University of Chicago. For more information on obtaining these papers, contact the center.

  

• Parenting from the Office: How Dual-Career Families Stay in Touch with Teens, Linda Waite, Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work, University of Chicago, 1999.

  Parents in dual-worker families face a series of challenges during the teenage years. Teens are generally able to stay at home by themselves, but parents often want to keep in touch, know what their child is doing, and want to be available for questions or crises. Parents may call their teen from work, communicate via e-mail or fax, carry a beeper (or ask their teen to carry one), bring their teen to work, or work at home. This paper uses data from both intensive personal interviews and surveys done with parents in the University of Chicago study of dual-career families with teens to explore (1) the strategies that parents use to stay in touch with their teenage children, (2) how parents combine various strategies, (3) the extent to which mothers and fathers use different strategies, (4) whether they use different strategies for sons and daughters, and (5) how characteristics of jobs constrain or facilitate parenting from work. Results show that close to half of the mothers in our study report communicating with their children daily while at work. Fewer than 20% of the fathers report daily contact with children while at work. Parents most often communicate with other family members by "regular" phone while at work, though a considerable number also stay in touch by cellular phone, pagers, email, and personal visits.

• Subjective Class Identification of Married Working Women and Men in America, Kazuo Yamaguchi and Yantao Wang, Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work, University of Chicago, 2000.

  Using bilinear regression models which parameterize relative weights between own and the spouse's status attributes and relative weights among education, occupation, and income, in determining class identification, and making those weights depend on covariates, this paper shows that married working women's and men's class identifications are, on average, consensual in two respects: (1) the relative weights they place among income, education, and occupational prestige, in this order of importance, are the same, and (2) both women and men derive their subjective class from the sum of the husband's and the wife's income and from the husband's, but not the wife's occupation. Men and women are not consensual, however, regarding the derivation of class from education because they both weigh their own education more than the spouse's education, thereby revealing a more individualized basis of class identification. The characteristics of population heterogeneity in weights also differ between women and men. Self-employed women have a higher weight of own status attributes relative to their spouses'. Black women weigh their spouse's occupation more and their spouse's education less compared with nonblack women. Men increase the weight of income and decrease the weight of education as they age.

• Time on Paid Work and Time with Children: Experience of Happiness among Dual-Earner Couples, Qin Chen, Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work, University of Chicago, 2000.

  This study examines how multiple role demands are associated with mothers' and fathers' experience of happiness, using data from the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households. The results show that mothers take pleasure in sharing time with their children on leisure activities, reading and doing homework, talking and eating. Although fathers are often portrayed as providers who are distant from the day-to-day lives of their children, fathers in this study also enjoy spending time with their children on all categories of activities as much as and sometimes more than mothers do. While shared time with children brings satisfaction and fulfillment, an obvious conflict of family and employment is seen in the reduced amount of time with children especially for mothers. It is upon mothers, but not fathers, that longer working hours exert a substantial negative impact on experience of happiness. Given that mothers take greater responsibility for household tasks in addition to their paid work outside the home, maternal subjective well-being may be maximized when paid employment permits adequate time for mothers to shoulder their responsibility in the domestic sphere.

• Housework as Caring: Exploring Women's Attitudes about Housework, Yun-Suk Lee, Linda Waite, and Ross Stolzenberg, Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work, University of Chicago, 2000.

  Using the NSFH 87-88, this paper examines married and cohabiting males' and females' feelings of being appreciated for housework. The authors conceptualize housework as both "burden" and "caring"÷ and estimate ordered logistic regressions separately for (1) men, (2) employed women and (3) non-employed women. Preliminary findings show first that feelings of being appreciated are affected by time spent with spouse/partner for both males and females. Second, the number of hours spent on housework decreases feelings of being appreciated for men only, and this effect is moderated by time spent with spouse or partner. The number of housework hours does not affect appreciation for females. Third, whether spouses or partners perceive that they have alternatives to the current union decreases feelings of appreciation for both males and females, and this effect is moderated by time spent with spouse or partner for males. Fourth, more liberal gender role attitudes increase men's feelings of being appreciated and decrease them for employed women, for whom the effect is moderated by time spent with spouse or partner. The paper concludes that the quality of the relationship between spouses is important in shaping attitudes about housework and is an important element to consider for research on time spent on housework and sense of fairness. This research has, in addition, significant implications for rapidly increasing numbers of dual-earner families.

• A Comparison of Adult Work Habits of Children from Working and Nonworking Families, Casey B. Mulligan, Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work, University of Chicago, 1999.

  "Work ethic"--as measured by a person's willingness to be unemployed, collect welfare, or work long hours--is transmitted from parents to children. Using data from a survey of families over a twenty year period, this paper shows that a child of parents who do not work and/or do collect government benefits for not working displays a tendency to behave similarly as an adult. Evidence is presented that suggests that the intergenerational correlation is not caused by unmeasured components of family income or by "unobserved heterogeneity." The results suggest that it matters for a child whether or not he or she grew up in a working family. Today's tax and expenditure policies not only affect today's employment of adult family members but also the future employment of their children. The paper also provides some quantitative estimates of the long-term impact of these policies.

• The Rise of the Dual-Career Family: 1963-1997, Linda Waite and Mark Nielsen, Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work, University of Chicago, 1999.

  The rise of the dual-career family is a prime candidate to be the most dramatic, far-reaching change affecting women, men, and families over the last 35 years. In the early 1960s, two-thirds of married couples with children had only one earner; in 1997 two-thirds had two earners. In the early 1960s, less than a quarter of married women with children were working full-time. By 1997, that number had risen to 42.

  As a result of the shift of married women out of the home and into paid employment their families saw a substantial rise in their level of financial well-being; the household incomes of married women rose faster over the last thirty-five years than incomes of single women with or without children, even after taking into account the size and composition of the family. Women in dual-earner families gained ground, therefore, compared to both unmarried women or women in single-earner families.

  Women today are more likely than their mothers to have careers rather than jobs. This shift toward the career model has meant that fewer women leave the work force for an extended period when they have young children. Today, most employed women who give birth take a relatively short maternity leave and return to work. Since work interruptions when children are young have a sizable negative effect on women's earnings, increased employment by mothers of young children has payoffs in higher family income over the long run.

  Wives in dual-earner couples have more education, more training, and more experience than such wives did thirty-five years ago, and they enter different occupations and make more money as a result. This shift of wives into the labor force has boosted the income of dual-worker families. These are different women, with a different outlook and different goals for themselves and their families.

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• Youth Crime Drop, Jeffrey A. Butts, Urban Institute, December 2000.

  Report Introduction:

  After a decade of growth, the incidence of violent crime in America suddenly began to drop in the mid-1990s.1 Criminologists propose various reasons for the sudden turnaround in violent crime. Explanations include a strong economy, changing demographics, changes in the market for illegal drugs and the use of firearms, expanded imprisonment, policing innovations, and a growing cultural intolerance for violent behavior (see Blumstein and Wallman, 2000).

  Regardless of which explanation one favors, it is clear that previous increases as well as recent decreases in violent crime were disproportionately generated by the nation's youth. Criminal behavior has always been more prevalent among young people. Thus, studies of changing crime patterns need to distinguish juvenile crime and youth crime from crime by adults.2 This report examines the most recent FBI data about police arrests and answers two important questions: 1) Did the crime drop that began in the mid-1990s continue through 1999? and, 2) How much of the drop in violent crime can be attributed to juveniles and youth under age 25?

  For the complete report, visit the Urban Institute web site.

  Census Data

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• Census Bureau Says 7 Million Grade-School Children Home Alone, U.S. Census Bureau, October 31, 2000.

  Press Release:

  About 7 million children 5 to 14 years old were regularly left unsupervised in 1995 while their parents were at work or away for other reasons, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau.

  "Children caring for themselves spent an average of six hours per week doing so," said Census Bureau analyst Kristin Smith, author of Who's Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Fall 1995. "Fifty percent of them spent less than five hours per week without adult supervision, and 13 percent spent more than 10 hours a week unsupervised."

  Self-care was much more prevalent among middle school-age children than among those in elementary schools. Nine percent of children (2.4 million) ages 5 to 11 and 41 percent of children (4.4 million) ages 12 to 14 regularly cared for themselves. The proportion of children in self-care ranged from 2 percent among 5-year-olds to 48 percent among 14-year-olds.

  Other highlights of the report:

  All children

  - Employed women with children under 15 years of age who made cash payments for child care found that these payments have edged upward. In 1995, their families paid an average $85 per week for child care. That was up from $59 (constant 1995 dollars) in 1985.

  - Poor families who paid for child care in 1995 spent 35 percent of their budget on it, five times the proportion spent by nonpoor families (those with income above the poverty line).

  Preschoolers

  - Parental care of preschoolers became less common between 1991 and 1995. The proportion cared for primarily by their fathers while their mothers worked declined from a high of 20 percent in 1991 to 17 percent in 1995; similarly, the percentage cared for primarily by mothers while they, the mothers, worked fell from 9 percent to 5 percent over the same period.

  - When all child-care arrangements are included -- primary and supplemental -- 50 percent of preschoolers were regularly cared for by a relative, with grandparents, at 30 percent, the single most frequently mentioned care provider among relatives. Meanwhile, 49 percent were cared for by a nonrelative on a regular basis, with the highest in this category, 30 percent, in an organized facility. The difference between the percent cared for by a relative and a nonrelative was not statistically significant.

  - Multiple child-care arrangements are common. In 1995, 44 percent of preschoolers regularly spent time in more than one type of arrangement per week.

  Grade-schoolers

  - Grade school-age children were more likely to care for themselves if they lived with a single father (31 percent) than a single mother (17 percent). Additionally, the chances of self-care increased with family income -- from 11 percent of children in poverty to 22 percent of those with family incomes at least double the poverty line.

  - About 4 in 10 of all grade school-age children participated in enrichment activities, including sports, lessons, clubs and before- or after-school programs.

  - On average, children ages 5 to 14 with parents who were employed or in school were cared for in a mix of 3.4 arrangements per week. Children whose parents were neither employed nor in school were cared for in an average of 1.6 arrangements.

  The report shows the number and characteristics of children in different child-care arrangements, including those in more than one type of arrangement. It also shows the characteristics of their families, contrasting the arrangements for preschool- and grade school-age children. For the first time in a Census Bureau child-care report, data are presented on arrangements used while parents are not at work or in school.

  The data are from the fall 1995 Survey of Income and Program Participation. As in all surveys, the data are subject to sampling variability and other sources of error.

  For a copy of the full report in PDF format, visit the Census Bureau web site.

  Welfare Reform

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• Unemployment Insurance and Welfare Recipients: What Happens When the Recession Comes? Harry J. Holzer, Number A-46 in Series, "New Federalism: Issues and Options for States", Urban Institute, December 2000.

  Excerpt:

  In many ways, our national experiment with welfare reform has been more successful to date than many analysts had anticipated. Not only have welfare rolls declined by roughly half since the early 1990s, but also employment rates have risen for most former (and many current) welfare recipients (Council of Economic Advisers 1999). Nevertheless, several important questions about the success of welfare reform remain-and one of the most pressing is what will happen when the current national economic boom ends and the next recession begins.

  The importance of the strong national economy to the success of welfare reform to date has been considerable. For one thing, we have recently enjoyed the lowest unemployment rates nationally in 30 years. Virtually every recent analysis suggests that the strong economy of the 1990s has contributed significantly to both the declining caseload and the rise in employment rates and earnings among single mothers (e.g., Council of Economic Advisers 1999; Meyer and Rosenbaum 2000). The continuation of extremely tight labor markets since federal reforms were implemented has created an environment in which transitions from welfare to work could proceed more easily than they otherwise would. A serious recession would eliminate these conditions and likely cause some reversal of these trends. Furthermore, we have moved from a social welfare system that was centered around cash assistance to the nonemployed to one that is based on assistance to the "working poor" (e.g., Ellwood 1999). In an era when jobs may not be so plentiful as they currently are, the "safety net" available to those who cannot find jobs may have some significant gaps in it.

  Traditionally, the major "safety net" program available to unemployed workers during a recession has been the Unemployment Insurance (UI) system. However, several authors (Kaye 1997; Gustafson and Levine 1998; Vroman 1998) have noted that, in the next recession, eligibility for UI among former welfare recipients will be limited for a variety of reasons, particularly insufficient prior work experience. At the same time, many of these individuals (and their families) will be ineligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits if they have exhausted their lifetime limits. Neither program may be available to the (often noncustodial) fathers in these families as well, whose contributions to their family's financial well-being are increasingly crucial (Sorensen 1999).

  On the other hand, little is known currently about how significant these problems are likely to be. Estimates in the sources cited above are based almost exclusively on data from the 1980s and early 1990s, during which time employment among welfare recipients was much lower than it is today. More recent data on the employment experiences of current and former welfare recipients are now available and might lead to new estimates of future UI eligibility.

  This brief reviews evidence on these issues and considers their implications for policy.

  For the complete report, visit the Urban Institute New Federalism web site.

  New Abstracts from NCOFF

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• Dollahite, D. C., Hawkins, A. J., & Brotherson, S. E. (1997). Fatherwork: A conceptual ethic of fathering as generative work. In A. J. Hawkins & D. C. Dollahite (Eds.), Generative fathering: Beyond deficit perspectives (pp.17-35). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

  This book chapter discusses a framework of viewing fathering as generative work and how this conceptual ethic helps encourage positive approaches to fathering. Ethically rooted and intervention-oriented, the framework considers good fathering as work that extends both academic and clinical understandings, as well as beliefs about fathering for the next generation. The assumptions fundamental to generative fathering include (1) fathers are obligated by the next generation to care and labor for their efficacy, (2) fathers are expected to care for the next generation of humanity, (3) fathers have the ability to make choices about their fathering, and (4) fathers are responsible for and capable of good fathering. The authors present the term fatherwork to describe fathering as generative work, and they state advantages to using a metaphor of work rather than of social role. Work reconnects the concepts of labor and family, places fathering in a well-known context for men, and causes positive, transformative images of fathering. Four basic conditions and constraints exist for fathers who engage in generative fathering. These include the dependency of children, scarcity of resources, continual and complex change, and interdependence of family members. Four critical areas of generative work arise from the conditions and constraints. These include ethical work to ensure the child's security, stewardship work to creatively provide resources and opportunities, development work to maintain supportive conditions and adapt to situations, and relationship work to foster understanding and attachments in the child's life. To meet the needs of the next generation, the four areas of fatherwork are associated with eight responsibilities and capabilities. Fathers have the potential to commit to, choose on behalf of, create for, consecrate oneself to, care for, change for, connect with, and communicate with the next generation. The authors conclude that the desired consequence of their framework is to help bring about moral, productive, mature, and loving fathers and children. The authors recommend evaluation of their framework and continued work to design an ethic of generative fathering.

• Loewen, J. W. (1988).Visitation fatherhood. In P. Bronstein & C. P. Cowan (Eds.), Fatherhood today: Men's changing role in the family (pp. 195-213). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

  This chapter examines different issues in the research on visitation and the implications that these issues have for fathers, mothers, and children. The author explains that children suffer when visitation drops off. Recent literature suggests that children from father-absent homes were found to be more likely to have problems in the areas of social relationships, sex role development, and achievement, and that boys from these homes were more likely than boys from father-present homes to become delinquent. The author explains that findings from the father absence literature suggest that visitation should be extensive because children consistently tell researchers that they want contact with their fathers. In addition, fathers are financial resources for their children and visitation by the father can mitigate any negative patterns of childrearing on the part of the custodial parent by providing advice and alternative models of behavior. Mandatory visitation also helps children cope with remarriage of their custodial parent. The author finds that the key to understanding why fathers give up visitation lies in the structure of visitation itself. Obstacles to maintaining visitation include 1) expectations built into our culture; 2) conflict with or resistance from the custodial parent; 3) the fact that visitation is emotionally difficult; 4) the artificiality of the parent-child relationship imposed by the constraints of visitation; and 5) pressures from the fathers' new commitments and relationships. The author concludes that extensive visitation increases fathers' sense of purpose. The author also believes that fathers who take care of their children also take care of themselves. The author believes that our society needs policies that facilitate contact between nonresident parents and their children. The author suggests 3 types of actions that could help divorced fathers become more meaningful parents: 1) laws favoring joint custody; 2) agreements with extensive schedules and specific penalties for noncompliance; and 3) counseling by professionals aware of the problems of visitation.

• Jackson, A. P., Huang, C. C. (2000). Parenting stress and behavior among single mothers of preschoolers: The mediating role of self-efficacy. Journal of Social Service Research, 26(4), 29-42.

  This study explored the role of single, Black mothers' self-efficacy perceptions in mediating the relationship between parenting behavior, stress, depression, child behavior problems, and maternal employment. The study included ninety-three employed and 95 unemployed Black, single mothers between the ages of 20 and 45. The mothers had an average of two children ranging from three to five years old (mean = 4.7 years; 55% male, 45% female). About 70% of the mothers had some education beyond high school. Mothers participated in structured interviews. The researchers also conducted objective assessments of each focal child. The results showed that greater self-efficacy was negatively related to depressive symptoms and perceptions of child behavior problems; lower self-efficacy perceptions were associated with less competent parenting. Employed mothers reported higher self-efficacy and lower parenting stress, while unemployed mothers reported higher parenting stress levels. Mothers who expressed greater perceived child behavior problems also reported more maternal depressive symptoms; more depressive symptoms were related to more parenting stress. The researchers suggest that children's development might be improved by welfare policies that include programs to increase the income of low-income families.

• Kaila-Behm, A., & Vehvilainen-Julkunen, K. (2000). Ways of being a father: How first-time fathers and public health nurses perceive men as fathers. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 37(3), 199-205.

  The participants were 24 fathers and 29 public health nurses. All were Finnish, and all the nurses were female. Fathers ranged from 21 to 50 years of age; the nurses' ranged in age from 32 to 58. Each father was interviewed in the home two or three times during the course of pregnancy and once within two to eight weeks postpartum. Nurses wrote essays describing their experiences with first-time fathers, focusing on men's transition to fatherhood and interventions employed when dealing with these men. The findings identified four ways of being a father, and that nurses' descriptions of the fathers could vary widely from fathers' self-descriptions. The four father types identified were bystander, supporter, partner, and head of the family. Bystander fathers were unprepared for fatherhood, and showed a low level of involvement in childcare, housework, and decision-making. Supporters were prepared for fatherhood, and helped with childcare and housework if asked. These fathers were dependent on the decisions made by their wives. Partners were also prepared for fatherhood, and were actively involved in all aspects of childcare and housework; the couple made decisions, and the input of nurses was actively sought. Finally, heads of the family fathers were more focused on their jobs than on housework and childcare; but were also active in family decision-making. Sometimes, spouses and nurses saw a father as a bystander when in reality the father was seeking involvement. This could create uncomfortable situations for the fathers. Nurses expected fathers' active involvement with childcare, and preferred fathers who asked questions. Nurses encouraged passive or uninvolved fathers to use child welfare services and to participate in childcare. Nurses viewed bystander and head of the family-type fathers as difficult. The authors recommend the design of separate interventions that target active and passive fathers.

• Loscocco, K. (2000). Age integration as a solution to work-family conflict. The Gerontologist, 40(3), 292-300.

  This article describes how an age-integrated society, which would spread education, employment, and leisure over the entire life course, would resolve several work-family conflicts prevalent in the present day. The primary source of work-family conflict is the gradual disappearance of gendered division of labor and the age-segregated life course. In 1992, only 18% of families could be described as traditional, in which the husband is the primary earner and the wife takes care of housework and childcare. Women's presence in the workforce continues to increase, as does the incidence of out-of-wedlock childbirth and divorce. In contrast, social institutions have not kept up with social changes, and while work-family conflicts have increased, the government and corporations have done little to address the problem. An age-integrated society would significantly reduce role strain and role overload by allowing people to leave full-time employment at various stages in their career to pursue education and family. Studies indicate that fewer people are working, but those who work are working longer hours. The effect of an age-integrated society would be to more equally distribute hours of employment over a greater group of people; however, the concept of 9-to-5 work must be put aside. In its place, people should be encouraged to work from home and companies should adopt flextime policies. In addition, people should be paid a "social wage" for time spent in volunteer activities; such a wage could take the form of a tax credit. Also, as people live longer and healthier, an age-integrated society could provide employment opportunities to the elderly. Three barriers to an age-integrated society include resistance to lowering the standard of living, the dominance of work over all other social institutions, and gender norms that dictate that childcare and housework are solely women's work.

• Wu, Z. H., & Rudkin, L. (2000). Social contact, socioeconomic status, and the health status of older Malaysians. Gerontologist, 40(2), 228-234.

  This study tested the validity of the stress-buffering hypothesis in Malaysian society. According to the hypothesis, social support serves as a buffer from the negative health effects of experiencing life stressors such as low socioeconomic status (SES). The study included 1346 participants aged 50 or over, of which 601 were Malays, 430 were Chinese, and 315 were Indian. The data used were from the 1988-89 Senior Sample of the Malaysian Family Life Survey-2, including information on demographic characteristics, health status, daily contact with children, SES, and physical limitations. The research showed that the Malay and Chinese participants were more likely to report good health and less likely to report physical limitations than the Indian participants. For the Chinese participants only, those of lower SES reported greater contact with children than did those of higher SES. The stress-buffering hypothesis was supported for the Malay and Chinese participants. The availability of adult children buffered older individuals of lower SES from poor health. Because the study focused specifically on social contact, the researchers were unable to determine the mechanism underlying the relationship between social contact and better health. In addition, the cross-sectional nature of the data limited exploration of causal relationships between social support, health, and SES. The authors suggest that policymakers consider programs that expand social interaction opportunities for the elderly.

• Amato, P. R. (1999). Children of divorced parents as young adults. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp.147-161). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

  This chapter examines the long-term effects of divorce on children as they become adults using the life course perspective which argues that circumstances and events in the family of origin affect children throughout their lives. No sample or methodology is included, though the author includes data from several previous studies. The chapter focuses on 4 outcomes: socioeconomic attainment, marital relationships, relations with parents, and subjective well-being. Using data from a study which analyzed outcomes for 4,722 white and 1,419 black adults, the author points to evidence that adult children from divorced homes tend to have lower educational attainment, lower income, and personal equity than those from intact homes; comparisons with similar studies led to similar results. The author conducted a study which examined marital quality for a sample of 2,000 adults interviewed in 4 waves. Results found that those from divorced families reported lower levels of marital happiness. Another study found that married women from divorced families reported more relationship problems, less trust, and less effective marital problem solving ability. Studies of intergenerational transmission of divorce found that divorce rates increased for families in which one partner came from a divorced family, and increased more when both partners were from divorced families. The author argues that people from divorced families have an increased likelihood of problem behavior which undermines marital stability (e.g., jealousy, inability to control anger, and communication problems). A study of 471 young adults and their parents found that divorce tended to weaken children's affection for parents. Using the same sample, the author found that adult children from divorced families reported the lowest levels of subjective well-being. A causal model is provided, which links parental divorce as a cause of lower educational attainment, increased marital failure, and weakened ties with parents. The author supports policy measures to strengthen families, thus reducing the need for divorce.

• Anderson, E. R., Greene, S. M., Hetherington, E. M., & Clingempeel, W. G. (1999). The dynamics of parental remarriage: Adolescent, parent, and sibling influences. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp. 295-318). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

  This book chapter discusses the results of a study which examined the interaction between parental remarriage and child/adolescent adjustment. The study used data the 1992 Longitudinal Study of Remarriage, which included a sample of 202 families, one third of which were remarriages. Families were assessed at 4, 17, and 26 months after remarriage. The researchers found higher levels of externalizing behavior in adolescents from remarried families. Analysis, however, found that the majority of adolescents reported their custodial parents' remarriage and attendant stressful events such as relocation and changing schools to be positive events. Furthermore, adolescent reports of negative stresses did not differ significantly for remarried families and intact families; the authors contend that the cumulative effect of life transitions is the source of externalizing behavior. An examination of parenting styles found the lower levels of externalizing behavior for boys with supportive, positive stepfather-child relationships; on the other hand, data showed that stepfather-stepchild relations tend to deteriorate over time. When stepfathers' monitoring skills were strong, adolescent externalizing decreased; externalizing increased in the presence of excessive maternal negativity. When remarriage takes place during early adolescence, there is an increased risk of externalizing behavior due to adolescent developmental issues. Finally, positive relations with former spouses mitigates the effect of remarriage on increased adolescent externalizing behavior.

• Avenevoli, S., Sessa, F. M., & Steinberg, L. (1999). In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp. 65-88). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

  This chapter examines the relationship between parenting styles (i.e., authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful) and adolescent adjustment. The study used a sample of 11,669 students from Wisconsin and Northern California. Seventy-seven percent were from intact, two-parent families, with the remainder from single-parent homes. Sixty-one percent were of Anglo descent, while 10 percent were black, 14 percent were of Asian descent, and 14 percent were Latino; 56 percent were working class, and 44 percent were middle class. Students completed questionnaires, providing information on parents' educational attainment, current family structure, and ethnicity. Other measures included acceptance/involvement, the extent to which students perceived parents' love, responsiveness, and involvement; firm control, an assessment of parental monitoring and limit setting; and psychological autonomy, the degree to which parents used noncoercive discipline and encouraged individuality. Adolescent adjustment was measured through psychological distress, self-esteem, school performance, delinquent behavior, and substance use. Results found that intact families tended to be more authoritative and less neglectful than single-parent families. Parents from intact backgrounds tended to be more authoritative and authoritarian and less neglectful and permissive than parents from single-parent backgrounds. Authoritative parenting was associated with adolescents' lower psychological distress, higher self-esteem and school performance, and lower levels of delinquency and substance use. Authoritarianism was associated with greater psychological distress, lower self-esteem and school performance, and lower substance use, with especially negative effects on adolescent self-esteems and psychological distress. Permissiveness was related to lower psychological distress and substance use; associations between permissiveness and school performance, substance use and delinquency differed by family context. Neglectful parenting was related to increased psychological distress, delinquency, and substance use, and to lower self-esteem and school performance. Authoritativeness had stronger associations with psychological well-being for adolescents from single-parent Asian families than in intact Asian families. For black, middle-class, single-parent families, authoritativeness is more strongly associated with lower delinquency and substance use. Authoritarian parenting had stronger effects on psychological well-being, school performance, and self-esteem dependent on family context. The study was limited by the grouping of never-married, widowed, and divorced families into the single-parent category. Further limitations were the result of the self-reported nature of the data.

• Bray, J. H. (1999). From marriage to remarriage and beyond. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp.253-269). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

  This chapter discusses the results of the Developmental Issues in StepFamilies (DIS) Research Project, a longitudinal study of the impact of divorce and remarriage on children's development. The study used a sample of 200 children and their families, of which 100 were nuclear families and 100 were stepfamilies; 180 of the families were reinterviewed between 3 and 4 years after the initial interview. Families were compared to nuclear families at 6 months, 2.5 years, and 5-7 years after remarriage. Adults and children in stepfamilies are at a greater risk for family and parenting conflict, stress, problemed stepparent-child relations, nonresidential parent discontent, and role ambiguity. Children in stepfamilies have increased behavior problems, higher stress, and lower social competence than children from nuclear families. Children in 6-month stepfamilies had more externalizing behaviors than children from the other 2 stepfamily groups, and all stepfamily children were more stressed and less socially competent than children from nuclear families. After 5 years of remarriage, stepfathers reported greater marital satisfaction than first marriage husbands; however, remarried couples tended to be more negative toward each other and to have fewer positive interactions. Parent-child and stepparent-child relationships tend to be more distant than those in nuclear families, especially with adolescents. Stepfathers' relations with stepchildren are more distant than those of biological fathers. Authoritative parenting styles are associated with increased stepparent efficacy. Conflict in stepfamilies may revolve around marital and interparental conflict, parent-child and stepparent-child conflict, parent-stepparent conflict, and conflicts between former spouses; family conflict and interparental conflicts have the greatest effects on children's development and adjustment to remarriage. Finally, dysfunctional stepfamilies are classified as those with lower stepparent-child involvement, less emotional expression, less effective problem solving strategies, less spousal individuation, and increased parent-child coalitions. The authors recommend using the DIS findings to design interventions to help children and adults successfully navigate marital transitions.

• Chase-Lansdale, P. L., Gordon, R. A., Coley, R. L., Wakschlag, L. S., Brooks-Gunn, J. (1999). Young African American multigenerational families in poverty: The contexts, exchanges, and processes of their lives. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Coping with divorce, single parenting and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp.165-191). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers.

  This chapter analyzes three features of low-income multigenerational African American families: context, exchange, and process. The study relied on data from the Baltimore Multigenerational Family Study (BMFS) and included a sample of 136 single-mother African American families and grandmothers; about two-thirds of mothers were teenage mothers (13-18) at first birth, while the remaining third were young adult mothers aged 19-25. Grandmothers also tended to be younger as well. No further demographic information was provided. Mothers and grandmothers participated in a home visit of about 2.5 hours, responding to a structured interview and psychometric tests; family members were also videotaped interacting. An examination of the contexts of these families found that 90 percent of mothers and 20 percent of grandmothers had received welfare at some point in their lives; neighborhoods tended to average about 40 percent lower income than average, one grade level lower average education, and tended to be blue collar. About half the sampled families coresided with the grandmother or grandmother figure, though young adult mothers' were less likely to live with grandmothers living in highly impoverished neighborhood and when grandmothers were unsupportive early in the child's life; mother-grandmother coresidence was most prevalent during infancy. About 5 percent of fathers cohabited with mothers. All nonresidential grandmothers reported at least weekly contact with mothers. While the majority of mothers were identified as primary caregivers, 60 percent of grandmothers reported providing backup childcare on weekends and during the work week. Of the 75 percent of fathers who visited their infants in the hospital, about 60 percent were involved with their children through preschool, and 53 percent contributed financially, provided regular childcare, and were emotionally available for their children. Father involvement hinged on employment, a close relationship with the mother, close mother-grandmother relations, and active paternal grandmother-child relations. Mothering and grandmothering was also measured using the Puzzle task, which assesses parents' ability to teach children and foster autonomy when a child is attempting a difficult task. Quality of mothering was found to be unrelated to mothers' age and no differences were found between mothers' and grandmothers' parenting styles. However, grandmothers' parenting was of higher quality when mothers and grandmothers lived separately. Mothers who were more individuated from grandmothers tended to be more competent, flexible, and authoritative parents. Four parenting strategies were identified: in 8 percent of families, neither mother nor grandmother is in charge; 32 percent shared parenting; in 38 percent of families, grandmothers were in charge; and in 23 mothers were in charge. BMFS results also found that scores for these children on tests of behavior problems, verbal ability, and vocabulary were comparable to national averages. Authors recommend further research into children's ability to understand the complexity of their multigenerational family backgrounds.

• Deater-Deckard, K., & Dunn, J. (1999). Multiple risks and adjustment in young children growing up in different family Settings. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp. 47-64). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

  This study examined the existence of multiple risks for children living in diverse family contexts. The study used a sample of 6,000 families from Avon County, England. Exact demographic information is not provided. Mothers and their partners responded to questionnaires about themselves, their target children, and children's older siblings. Children and siblings were placed into four different family categories: nonstep families, stepfather families, stepmother families, and single-mother families. Children's social-emotional adjustment was measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a 25-item assessment of children's positive and negative adjustment, emotional and relationship problems, and hyperactivity. Risk for adjustment problems were estimated using indicators of sociodemographic risks such as socioeconomic status, neighborhood risks, exposure to family violence, and ethnicity; parenting risks which included mothers' negativity toward the target child, mothers' depressive symptoms, use of corporal punishment, and parenting stress; and child risks which included child's gender, frequency of temper tantrums, difficult temperament, and illness. Results found higher SDQ scores for children who met the following criteria: from lower SES families, living in less safe neighborhoods, exposed to higher levels of family violence, with more negative mother-child relationships, with mothers with more depressive symptoms and higher parenting stress, and who had been physically punished. SDQ scores were also related to child characteristics; higher SDQ scores were found for boys, those with frequent tantrums and difficult temperament, and those with a history of physical illness. Patterns were similar across family contexts. Nonstep families had the lowest rate of sociodemographic and parenting risks; single-mother families had the highest rates. The hypothesis of equifinality, in which multiple pathways lead to similar outcomes, was modestly supported among moderate- and high-risk children. The study was limited by the correlational nature of the data, which limited drawing conclusions about causality.

• DeGarmo, D. S., & Forgatch, M. S. (1999). Contexts as predictors of changing maternal parenting practices in diverse family structures. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp. 227-249). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

  This article explores the extent to which mothers' social context affects discipline styles and interpersonal problems solving strategies. The chapter includes 2 separate studies. The first study is the Linking Interests of Families and Teachers (LIFT) study, which used a sample of 671 first and fifth graders. Fifty-one percent of the students were girls, and 89 percent were white; participants tended to be of low SES. Families were categorized as nuclear, single-mother, first stepfamily, and multiple transition. Parenting practices were measured through parent-child conflict bouts and problem-solving outcomes. Contextual variables included mothers' age, maternal depression, number of parental arrests, and SES. The LIFT study found that nuclear families had the fewest mother-initiated conflict bouts and improved problem-solving outcomes. Associations were found between higher SES and maternal age and decreasing frequency of conflicts. Increased family transitions had a negative effect on discipline and problem solving strategies. The second study was the Oregon Divorce Study (ODS), a 2-phase study which tested children's adjustment following marital separation. ODS-1 included a sample of 196 separated single mothers and their sons; ODS-2 included a sample of 238 separated mothers and their sons. The majority of the sample was white and of low SES. The study included 3 measures of maternal distress, 3 measures of confidant negativity, 3 measures of confidant support, 3 measures of mothers' perceptions of support from confidants, adult problem solving outcomes, ratings of parenting practices, and boys' antisocial behavior. The study found that regular maternal distress was related to increased levels of confidant negativity and decreased chances of having a partner by the study's third interview. Increased confidant negativity was related to less support given to mothers. Support given by confidants was directly related to improved parenting practice, which in turn reduced boys' antisocial behavior. Authors recommend further study into alternative family forms and postdivorce parenting in an effort to parenting during family transitions.

• Fine, M. A., Coleman, M., & Ganong, L. H. (1999). A social constructionist multi-method approach to understanding the stepparent role. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp. 273-293). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

  This chapter examines stepfamily members' perceptions of the stepparent role, as well as relations between stepparents and stepchildren. The study included a sample of 40 stepfamilies; 90 percent of the sample was white. In general, the stepfamilies were middle class, and 78 percent of the stepparents had been previously married. Surveys were administered to the stepfamilies, measuring role perceptions, mental health, stepparents' role satisfaction, stepparent-stepchild closeness, marital satisfaction, and stepparents' perceived parenting success. Stepparents also participated in indepth interviews. Finally, a problem-solving task involving the stepparent was videotaped. The authors found that about half the parents and stepparents identified the ideal stepparent role to be "parent;" in comparison, 40 percent of children identified the ideal stepparent role as "friend." Stepparents were more likely than stepchildren to believe that stepparents engage in warm parenting behaviors and that stepparents engage in more controlling parenting behaviors. Stepparents usually do not assume a leadership position in the stepfamily, though findings indicated that stepparents were marginally more influential in making family decisions than parents. Stepparents were less likely than parents or children to have a clear perception of their family role. Three types of stepparent role behavior are identified: nonseeking (NS) stepparents do not intentionally elicit liking from their stepchildren; early affinity-seeking (EAS) stepparents sought liking from stepchildren early in the relationship but also stopped such efforts early as well; continuous affinity-seeking stepparents sought liking early from their stepchildren and continue to develop the relationship through the life of the family. However, regardless of role behavior, the authors consistently found more positive interactions between biological parents and children. When there were wide discrepancies between stepparents' ideal and actual roles and relationships, the result was lower levels of role satisfaction, less close stepparent-stepchild relations, and reports of fewer family strengths. The authors recommend future longitudinally designed studies, and inclusion of nonresidential parent data.

• Hetherington, E. M. (Ed.). (1999). Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

  This collection of essays discusses the effects of divorce, single parenting, and remarriage on adults, stepparents, and children. Several chapters include studies such as the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood, which studied the effect of family contexts such as stepfamilies, use of corporal punishment, and SES on children's adjustment to divorce and remarriage; and the Longitudinal Study of Remarriage, which assessed adolescent development in remarried families. Special consideration is given to those factors which protect children from the negative effects of divorce, such as high intelligence, close emotional bonds with parents, and positive demeanor. These factors are identified as resiliency factors. On the other hand such factors as low SES, remarriage, and absent fatherhood are identified as risk factors. Several suggestions are made for school-based interventions, parenting interventions, and psychological interventions.

• Hetherington, E. M. (1999). Should we stay together for the sake of the children? In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp. 93-115). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

  This chapter examines the effects of conflict and parentification, parent-child role reversal, on children in divorced and nondivorced families. All data is taken from previous studies; thus, no sample or methodology is included. The author points to evidence that children from high-conflict, nondivorced families and from divorced families have similar adjustment problems, including but not limited to externalizing disorders, lack of self-regulation, low self-esteem, and difficult relations with parents, peers, and siblings. Three factors which affect adjustment are conflict, authoritative parenting, and parentification. The author argues that extensive exposure to unresolved marital conflict is associated with heightened emotional arousal, sensitization to conflict, inability to regulate behavior, and a lack of children's emotional security. Conflict about the child, conflict in which the child feels physically threatened has the most negative effects on adjustment. Results tend to be externalizing behavior, depression, and anxiety, with stronger effects for older children. Children from high-conflict, nondivorced families have higher incidences of externalizing and internalizing behaviors, and lower cognition, responsibility, social competence, and self-esteem. Boys tend to have more externalizing/internalizing behavior and less social responsibility and cognitive agency than girls. Parents from high-conflict nondivorce families tend to parent more ineptly; mothers tend to parent less authoritatively and use negative coercive parenting, while fathers are less positive and controlling and more negative. In general, continuous conflict has better outcomes for children in two-parent households, while a possible conflict reduction implicates divorce. Authoritative parenting may reduce the effects of parental conflict. Fathers' antisocial behavior in nondivorced families is associated with boys' externalizing behavior, while mothers' antisocial behavior is linked with girls' externalizing in both divorced and nondivorced families. Strong correlations have been found between adolescents' association with antisocial peers and externalizing behavior, for divorced families. High parentification in fathers toward sons was associated with sons' depression; high maternal parentification led to greater social responsibility for both sons and daughters. Children were more willing to accept maternal parentification, due to adolescent sex typing; however parentification had consequences for both sons and daughters. Mothers' disclosure of intimate and sexual relationships to daughters was associated with girls' early initiation of sex and externalizing behavior; fathers' parentification for boys was related to nonaggressive externalizing, such as breaking curfews, truancy, and reduced school performance.

• McLanahan, S. S. (1999). Father absence and the welfare of children. In E. M. Hetherington, Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp.117-145). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

  This chapter examines several surveys of family structure in order to determine the effects of father absence on children's educational attainment and social development. No sample or methodology is included. The authors focus on 3 factors which determine children's future success: school achievement, early childbirth, and success in gaining employment. Evidence from studies suggests that more children from father-absent households drop out of school, with stronger effects for white youth. Furthermore, students from single-parent households have lower grade point averages, and lower college graduation rates than children from intact households. Both young men and women from single-parent households are more likely to be unemployed than those from two-parent households, with stronger effects for blacks and women. Finally, young women from single-parent households were 5 times as likely to become a mother during adolescence as those from two-parent homes, with stronger effects for whites. Children from divorced or never-married homes fare worse than children who lose a parent due to death. Father absence reduces opportunities for children for several reasons. Single-parent households are less economically well-off than two-parent households single-parents tend to have fewer parenting resources than two-parent homes, leading to increased stress and depression for mothers, which in turn has been associated with a loss in parenting quality. One survey found that single mothers exercise less monitoring, less limit setting, and less authority over their children's behavior. Since many single-parent families are poor, access to community resources and social capital is also limited. Practice and policy recommendations include stronger enforcement of child support obligations in order to prevent single-parent poverty.

• Padilla, Y., & Reichman, N. E. (1999, June). Factors explaining the low incidence of low birthweight among Mexican Americans: New evidence from the Fragile Families Study (Working paper 99-06). Princeton, NJ: Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, Princeton University.

  This study examined the reasons for the low occurrence of low birthweight among Mexican American women compared to non-Hispanic Black women. The sample included 462 Mexican American (51%) and non-Hispanic Black (49%) women. The participants were grouped into three age ranges: under 21, between 21 and 29, and over 29 years. The data for the study were drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing survey and included new and unmarried mothers. The variables in this study included demographic characteristics, measures of socioeconomic status, life stressors and social support, cultural attachment and attitudes, and lifestyle and health behaviors. Black women had higher rates of low birthweight than did Mexican American women, but the difference was no longer significant when life stress, social support, cultural attachment and attitudes, and health behaviors were controlled. For both groups, age, marital status, and education level predicted low birthweight. The lowest incidence of low birthweight was found for married mothers. Although unmarried mothers were more likely to give birth to low weight babies than married mothers, this finding varied according to the type of relationship the mother had with the baby's father. The highest incidence of low birthweight was found among mothers who either did not live with or no longer communicated with the baby's father. However, monetary assistance from the father during pregnancy improved birth outcomes, no matter the relationship between parents. Mothers who received education beyond high school were less likely to have low birthweight infants than mothers who did not receive education beyond high school. Although positive cultural attachment decreased the likelihood of giving birth to a low weight infant, mothers with more traditional cultural values about gender roles were twice as likely to have low birthweight babies than mothers with less traditional values when socioeconomic status and life stressors were controlled. The study highlighted the importance of assessing a broad range of social variables and including them in policies geared toward decreasing the incidence of low birthweight.

• Zaslow, M. J., Dion, M. R., Morrison, D. R., Weinfeld, N., Ogawa, J., & Tabors, P. (1999). Protective factors in the development of preschool-age children of young mothers receiving welfare. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.) Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp. 193-219). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

  This chapter examines children from disadvantaged families, primarily headed by teenage mothers, in order to identify which child, family, and maternal characteristics function as protective factors in buffering the effects of poverty and teenage motherhood on children's development and school readiness. The study used a sample of 290 families; of which 84 percent were black, and the rest white. Mothers averaged about 19 years of age; educational attainment averaged 10th grade. Children ranged in age from 27 to 63 months; 148 were boys and 142 were girls. Mothers completed a baseline interview which collected background information; they also completed a literacy test. At-home interviews were administered at 18 and 42 months after enrollment and covered program participation, education, employment, welfare receipt, mothers' psychological well-being, family living circumstances, mothers' reports of parenting style and home environment, social support, and participation in childcare. At the 18 month visit, mothers and children were videotaped in a structured task which required mothers to instruct their child. Measures included background characteristics such as child's age and gender, number of children, and mother's literacy, and ethnicity; child's positive sociability and attentiveness; mother's parenting effectiveness and depression; quality of the mother-child relationship; mothers' reports of father involvement; social support available to the mother; and difficult life circumstances faced by mothers. Three measures of parenting were also included: maternal warmth, harsh discipline, and cognitive stimulation. Finally, child outcomes were measured by performance on the Bracken Basic Concept Scale School Readiness, which measured cognitive development and a score of behavior problems reported by parents or teachers. Results found that families averaged about 3.2 protective factors, with greater numbers of protective factors associated with lower problem behavior scores and higher Bracken cognitive scores. All of the protective factors except father involvement predicted behavior problem scores; children's sociability and attentiveness and the quality of the mother-child relationship predicted school readiness. Less harsh discipline was related to fewer behavior problems, while increased cognitive stimulation and maternal warmth were associated with increased school readiness.

• Bagley, C. A., & Carroll, J. (1998). Healing forces in African-American families. In H. I. McCubbin, E. A. Thompson, A. I. Thompson, & J. A. Futrell (Eds.), Resiliency in African-American families (pp. 117-142). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

  This chapter discusses the mental health of African Americans, focusing on several factors related to mental health and the "healing forces" which help African American families cope with stressors. The authors discuss resources, such as the Black church, that are used to allay these stressors, the role of the church and the Black community, the importance of these resources when counseling at-risk families, and offers family counseling guidelines. The impact of slavery and Southern reconstruction on African American families is also discussed, as is post-oppressive reaction syndrome (PORS). PORS manifests itself through rage, self-destructive behavior, depression, weakened social interactions, and Black-on-Black crime. As a strong voice for civil rights as well as a center for social activity, the black church serves as an outlet for education, the arts, industry, and leadership as well as a provider of housing, financial, and employment resources and social services such as counseling. The authors characterize stress in African American families as a result of external (e.g., job market) and internal factors (e.g., the individual's locus of control, self-concept, or learned helplessness). The role of counseling in helping stressed families is discussed, as are client attitudes that impede successful therapy. The authors argue that many African American families do not seek help from the mental health system because of the lack of racially matched therapists. They contend that there is a need for Afrocentric therapists and that mental health outreach efforts should be coordinated with the Black church and other institutions within the Black community. Several case studies are included.

• Bloom, D. E., Conrad, C., & Miller, C. (1998). Child support and fathers' remarriage and fertility. In I. Garfinkel, S., McLanahan, D., Meyer, and J. Seltzer (Eds.), Fathers under fire: The revolution in child support enforcement (pp. 128-156). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

  This chapter examines the effect of increased child support enforcement on fathers' remarriage and fertility in new marriages, as well as the effect of increased enforcement on the marriage patterns of nonmarital fathers. The study uses data from Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) panels occurring between 1981 and 1989 and data from the 1979 to 1992 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Both surveys provide data on individuals' marital and fertility histories. However, neither an exact number nor demographic characteristics of this sample are provided. Child support enforcement is measured by annual reports from the Office of Child Support Enforcement. The study found that increased enforcement and increased collections did not affect fathers' time before remarriage, except in the case of low-income fathers, whose remarriage rates were reduced. Payment of child support was unrelated to the fathers' time to remarriage. Child support enforcement had no significant effect on "marital matches," or the characteristics of the new spouse. Increased child support had no effect on the time to first marriage among nonmarital fathers. The study found no evidence that noncustodial fathers were less likely to marry a new spouse with children from a previous relationship, and found no evidence that increased child support enforcement had reduced the probability that these fathers would produce new children in another relationship. However, increased enforcement modestly reduced new nonmarital births.

• Case, A. (1998). The effects of stronger child support enforcement on nonmarital fertility. In I. Garfinkel, S., McLanahan, D., Meyer, and J. Seltzer (Eds.), Fathers under fire: The revolution in child support enforcement (pp. 191-215). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

  This chapter examines the effect of increased child support enforcement on nonmarital parenting by reviewing previous research, legislative statistics, and state policies. The study provides a model, but no sample is provided. The model is based on the assumptions that (1) women and men do a cost-benefit analysis of out-of-wedlock childbirth and (2) women and men have access to contraception and choose to become parents via cost-benefit analysis. Nonmarital birthrates from 1978 to 1991 are examined, due to the changes in state policies and programs during this period. Nonmarital birthrates rose significantly during this period. States with the lowest nonmarital birth rates in 1978 had tended toward greater increases. The study examined the effect of 5 Child Support Enforcement programs: genetic testing to establish paternity; "long-arm" statutes that pursue men in other states; establishment of paternity up to 18 years of age; mandatory child support withholding; and presumptive child support guidelines. The study considers political variables such as the timing of law changes, the number of female legislators, and the total number of legislators. The results showed that the number of women in both the lower and upper legislative houses has a significant positive effect on state paternity establishment to age 18. The number of women in the lower house increases the probability that the state will allow genetic paternity testing and increased AFDC benefits. Larger elderly populations have a negative effect on increased AFDC payments due to intergenerational competition for public funds. States with larger black populations are quicker to adopt genetic paternity testing, paternity establishment to age 18, long-arm statutes, and mandatory withholding of child support payments. Genetic paternity testing, paternity establishment to age 18, and presumptive child support guidelines reduce nonmarital births. Implications include the development of better instruments to measure the impact of state policies on nonmarital births.

• Freeman, D. R., & Waldfogel, J. (1998). Does child support enforcement policy affect male labor supply? In I. Garfinkel, S., McLanahan, D., Meyer, and J. Seltzer (Eds.), Fathers under fire: The revolution in child support enforcement (pp. 94-127). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

  This chapter asks what influence government efforts to enforce child support payment have on the male labor force and whether these effects are different for low-income noncustodial fathers and higher-income noncustodial fathers. The study cites data from the 1986 and 1991 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), but never provides an exact number or demographic picture. The study also uses reports from the Office of Child Support Enforcement for child support collection information. In examining the labor force of men between the ages of 18 and 55, the study categorized four types of men: custodial fathers, noncustodial fathers who pay child support, noncustodial fathers who do not pay child support, and nonfathers. The study found that custodial fathers and noncustodial, child support-paying fathers work more than nonfathers and noncustodial non-paying fathers. The study identified 4 government policies designed to increase child support payment. The 1988 Family Support Act requires paternity establishment. States are required to set child support guidelines and enforce them. In 1993, states set aside 15 percent of their budgets to locate absent fathers. The 1984 Child Support Enforcement amendments mandated collection services for non-AFDC families. The authors consider state collection rate, paternity establishment, and state policies of immediate support withholding. The results show that all 3 policies increase the probability that noncustodial fathers will pay formal (government monitored) child support. These results show no negative effects of these policies on the male labor supply and in fact modestly increase the probability of work for noncustodial fathers.

• Garfinkel, I., McLanahan, S. S., & Hanson, T. L. (1998). A patchwork portrait of nonresident fathers. In I. Garfinkel, S. McLanahan, D. Meyer, & J. Seltzer (Eds.), Fathers under fire: The revolution in child support enforcement (pp. 31-60). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

  This chapter describes nonresident fathers by reviewing their income, living arrangements, and personal traits. The chapter uses data from the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), which interviewed 13,000 men and women in 1987, but provides no specific methodology or sample. The chapter begins with previous research into nonresident fathers. The NSFH is marked by the discrepancy that 9.4 million women report having a child eligible for support, but only 5.8 million men report being a nonresident father. The authors adjust for both underrepresentation and underreporting, estimating that census undercount, imprisoned men, military service account for 1.2 million of the 3.2 million nonresident fathers missing from the NSFH, with an additional 64 percent of nonresident fathers missing due to misreported status. Nonresident fathers tend to be younger than resident or divorced fathers and are less educated and less healthy. Nonresident fathers earn less and work fewer hours; 20 percent earn less than $6,000 per year. Nonresident fathers also have fewer assets. Due to the fact that they don't pay child support, their standard of living is comparable to that of resident fathers' and higher than that of their own children and their children's mothers. Twice as many nonresident fathers have drug and alcohol problems as resident fathers. Twenty-five percent of nonresident fathers live with an opposite sex partner, 19 percent live with their parents, 15 percent live alone, and 4 percent are in jail or homeless. Nonresident fathers who pay child support earn twice as much as nonpayers and almost as much as resident fathers; furthermore, their living standard is close to that of resident fathers. Fathers who pay child support are also more likely to be living with children and less likely to have substance abuse problems. Implications include research into the danger posed by nonresident fathers with substance or spousal abuse histories and the need for research that uses more recent data.

• Leaper, C., Anderson, K. J., & Sanders, P. (1998). Moderators of gender effects on parents' talk to their children: A meta-analysis. Developmental Psychology, 34(1), 3-27.

  This meta-analysis explored the differences in mothers' and fathers' language with their children and between mothers' and fathers' language with daughters and sons. The studies in the analysis included language variables such as amount of talking, supportive or negative speech, directive speech, providing and requesting information, publication year and journal, and author's gender. The researchers categorized the studies by design, participants, observational setting, and the use of toys. The results indicated that although mothers tended to be more talkative than fathers with their children, this difference declined as children aged. Mothers were more talkative than were fathers when measures focused exclusively on the quantity rather than the length or complexity of speech. Mothers tended to use more supportive language than fathers but were also likely to use more negative language as well; this difference was more likely in the parents of younger children. The average difference in speaking style was greater in unstructured interactions than in problem-solving interactions. Fathers tended to use more directive language, more questions, and more informative language than did mothers. Fathers' questions tended to be of the "who-what-where-when" variety, less general, and less likely to be "yes-no." When parents were observed together, mothers asked more questions, but during individual observations, fathers asked more questions. Mothers were more talkative and supportive with their daughters. Mothers participating in studies that included toys were more likely to use directive language with sons. These gender differences have decreased over time. Gender differences were greater when the study's first author was male.

• Meyer, D. R. (1998). The effect of child support on the economic status of nonresident fathers. In I. Garfinkel, S. McLanahan, D. Meyer, & J. Seltzer (Eds.), Fathers under fire: The revolution in child support enforcement (pp. 67-93 ). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

  This chapter discusses how different enforcement strategies of child support payment may affect the economic health of nonresident fathers. The study includes a sample of 425 men drawn from the 1987 and 1988 National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), a nationally representative survey of U.S. population. Of this sample, 71 percent were black, 22 percent were younger than 30, and 35 percent had a nonmarital birth. The study adjusted for the NSFH undercount of nonresident fathers, and measured child support orders and payments, income and poverty, and 6 different scenarios of child support guidelines. Guideline 1 is the Wisconsin guideline, in which support is ordered based solely on the number of children and the nonresident father's income. Guideline 2 bases child support on "imputed income," or what a father would earn working full-time at minimum wage. Guideline 3 is identical to guideline 1, except that no support is due until the father earns more than the poverty line for a family of one. Guidelines 4 through 6 make adjustments for the father's new family: 4 and 5 include a family reserve and 6 prioritizes the children from a fathers' newest family over his other children. The results found that guideline 1 would require more child support from fathers in middle- and upper-income brackets than is currently ordered. Guideline 2 would increase poverty among poor fathers. Guidelines that include a personal reserve leave low-income fathers' the same as if they paid no child support. Guidelines 4 and 5 increase poor fathers' incomes over guideline 1. Guideline 6 lowers payments for fathers with new children. In comparison, current child support payments increase poverty rates for nonresident fathers by 1 to 1.3 percent. If child support payments were set to guideline 1, nonresident fathers' poverty would increase by 2 to 2.3 percent. While current child support payment is not impoverishing many nonresident fathers, the poverty gap would increase under any of the guidelines. Implications include research into the effects of child support on temporarily poor and persistently poor nonresident fathers.

• Seltzer, J. A., McLanahan, S. S., & Hanson, T. L. (1998). Will child support enforcement increase father-child contact and parental conflict after separation? In I. Garfinkel, S. McLanahan, D. Meyer, & J. Seltzer (Eds.), Fathers under fire: The revolution in child support enforcement (pp. 157-190). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

  This chapter explores whether increased child support enforcement increases father-child contact and parental conflict. The study includes 2 samples from the National Survey of Family and Households, which collected data on US adults between 1987 and 1988. The cross-sectional sample includes about 1,300 families with a child eligible for child support. The longitudinal sample, about 190 families, is limited to parents separated or divorced between 1992 and 1994 in which the children live with the mother. The study measures child support as whether the mother received any support and the annual amount paid. Father involvement measures how often the fathers interacted with their children in the past year, and fathers' influence in education, religion, and health care decisions. Parental conflict measures potential disagreement in childrearing. The study measures state effectiveness and effort in enforcing child support, legislative guidelines for setting support levels and paternity establishment, and identifies the agencies responsible for collecting and distributing payments. The study also measures parents' relationship quality and fathers' attitudes toward paternal responsibility. The results showed that, for both the cross-sectional and longitudinal samples, father involvement was linked to child support payment, independent of amount paid; higher paying fathers were more likely to have more influence. For both samples, nonpayers are less likely to experience conflict due to the fact that they have fewer interactions with their ex-wives; however, nonpayers' conflicts tend to be more severe. Child support-paying fathers are more likely to experience conflict and the higher the payment, the more conflict. Effective state policies, child support guidelines, and paternity establishment increase visitation and fathers' influence in their children's lives. The results found that increased child support enforcement is likely to increase father involvement with their children as fathers monitor how support is spent. Implications include weighing the tangible benefits of increased child support to children's psychic costs of increased interparental conflict.

• Hetherington, E. M., & Stanley-Hagan, M. M. (1997). The effects of divorce on fathers and their children. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (3rd ed., pp. 191-211). New York: Wiley.

  This book chapter presents the demographics of divorce, examines the different ways in which men and women experience marriage and divorce, and discusses the factors that influence children's and parents' postdivorce adjustment. Studies show that about 50% of all first marriages end in divorce. Black families have higher divorce rates than White families and are more likely to separate and not go through a legal divorce. In terms of custody, across racial and ethnic groups, children are more likely to live with their mothers, though single-father families have grown by 300% since 1970. Most children never see their noncustodial fathers or see them only rarely; little contact with fathers is associated with a lower rate of child support compliance. Often, anger, depression, and antisocial behavior mark parents' postdivorce adjustment, with stronger effects for noncustodial fathers. Children of divorced parents exhibit poorer social, academic, and psychological adjustment. For both parents and children, these behaviors decrease over time. Women are more likely than men to report longstanding marital dissatisfaction and that the time preceding separation is the most difficult, while men report that the postdivorce period is the most difficult. In the absence of postdivorce parental conflict, when nonresident fathers are authoritative and have warm relations with their children, children have better outcomes; studies have indicated that relationship quality is more important than frequency of contact. Fathers are less likely to have contact with younger children than with school-aged children and when fathers remarry, contact decreases. The authors suggest that interventions be devised to reduce legal involvement and conflict. Automatic withholding may increase child support compliance.

• Pinson-Millburn, N. M., Fabian, E. S., Schlossberg, N. K., & Pyle, M. (1996). Grandparents raising grandchildren. Journal of Counseling and Development, 74, 548-554.

  This article examines the experiences of grandparents as they increasingly take on the parental role for their grandchildren. While grandparenting has historically been a supplemental role in childrearing, more and more elderly individuals have taken over the primary parental role for parents who have problems with abuse and addiction. Several factors cause parents to hand over the parenting responsibilities to their own parents: a rise in drug use, especially crack cocaine, mothers who are unmarried and too young to effectively parent, and poverty. The resulting caregiving arrangements are diverse. Grandparents can be any age from 40 to 80, and live in a variety of arrangements that are differently suited to the needs of children. Some grandparents are poor and some are not, some of the custody arrangements are permanent and some not, and different grandparents have different cultural expectations about caregiving. A common theme is that many grandparents have trouble negotiating their situation with the state and have trouble gaining legal rights and services available to other parents. Many grandparents also have health problems, which can be overlooked under the demands of parenting. Many grandparents report feelings of stress and isolation, as well as grief over the inability of their children to be parents. In addition, many grandparents feel that they are not appreciated for the considerable and exhausting work they do as primary caregivers for young children. Some studies show that children who are raised by grandparents have fared even better than those raised by single parents, and often experience more security and love than they would receive by their parent. However, these children are at risk for disabilities and behavioral problems, which are related to their parents' drug abuse, incarceration, or child abuse and neglect. Some children also have parents who have died from AIDS, accidents, or other illnesses. Coping strategies for counselors must be comprehensive and consider a multicultural perspective. Direct interventions should employ direct assessment and outreach to give support to grandparents raising children. Counselors must assess the legal status of the grandparent as a custodian and be prepared to operate confidentially. Programs that teach stress management skills can help grandparents, and family support groups can ease some of the burden.

• Amato, P., R. & Booth, A. (1995). A prospective study of divorce and parent-child relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 356-365

  This study examined associations between pre- and postdivorce parent-child relationships. Two main hypotheses were tested: 1) Problems in parent-child relationships are more likely to be present in families that divorced between 1980 and 1992 than in families that remained intact; 2) Poorer parent-child relationships in families that later divorce are symptomatic of poor marital quality in general. The study, conducted over a 12-year period, included a nationally representative sample of 2,033 married people aged 55 or younger in 1980. Participants responded to a 528-question interview. Parents responded to questions that regarding parent-child relationship quality, parent-child affection, and marital quality. Between 1980 and 1983, 60 parents divorced; 44 parents divorced between 1983 and 1988, and 33 parents divorced between 1988 and 1992. The results supported the hypotheses: parents who divorced were more likely to report problematic relations with their children and lower satisfaction with their spouses' parent-child relationships. Divorced parents were also more likely to report incidents of abuse and that the marriage had a negative effect on the children. Poor marital quality also had consequences for postdivorce parent-child relationships, especially for noncustodial fathers.

• Amato, P. R., Rezac, S. J., & Booth, A. (1995). Helping between parents and young adult offspring: The role of parental marital quality, divorce, and remarriage. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 363-374.

  This study examined how marital quality, divorce, and remarriage influenced the intergenerational exchange of assistance between adult children and their parents. The study examined whether adult children received less help from their divorced parents or whether the assistance was simply spread out between two households. The sample of 410 parents and their adult children (average age 23 in 1992) was nationally representative with regard to race and age. Parent interviews were initially conducted in 1980; the adult children were interviewed in 1992. Parents were interviewed regarding the likelihood that children would request help from them. The researchers also measured help received from parents, parents' marital quality, children's marital, parental, employment and educational status, parent-child relationship quality, and geographical proximity. The results showed that although lower marital quality had no effect on intergenerational assistance, parents' proneness to divorce reduced children's likelihood of reporting that parents were a source for help. Divorce reduced the likelihood of assistance exchange in comparison to intact families. While assistance between divorced fathers and children decreased, no effect was found for divorced mothers. Single mothers received more help from, but provided less help to, their children; remarried mothers provided as much help to their children as first-married mothers, but received less help. Finally, although children of divorced parents received less help from each parent, the two households combined provided as much help as intact families except in the area of college assistance.

• Sands, R. G. (1995). The parenting experience of low-income single women with serious mental disorders. The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 76 (2), 86-95.

  This qualitative and exploratory study investigates how severe mental illness affects the stresses of motherhood for low-income, single mothers living in specialized residential programs with their children. Ten single, low income mothers with severe mental illness, and with at least one pre-school age child, participated in the study. Mothers were living at a community rehabilitation residence and only 5 had their children living with them. Seven of the 10 mothers were African American and 3 were White. The control group was drawn from a community day-care center. Data were collected by interviews with mothers, and by researchers observing the interaction between children, teachers, and mothers. Parenthood was reported as central to the lives of both the treatment and control groups. Mothers with mental illness were participating in the community rehabilitation program in order to establish control over their lives and to assume responsibility for their children. Mothers with severe illness reported having difficult lives. Their psychological disorders were closely associated with childhood problems, such as growing up in dysfunctional families, losing a parent, or being a foster child. Although their mental illness often resulted in hospitalization or loss of custody, they blamed these problems on influences such as drug addiction or concern for their children. The mentally ill mothers longed for a normal life, and their aspirations matched those of the day-care mothers. However, although they wanted to live independently with their children in the community, they identified with and described themselves as children. Their acceptance and rejection of guidance and support interfered with the effects of the program. Social workers should investigate the problematic aspects of residential rehabilitation programs more fully, and help provide support for mentally ill mothers' covert, personal conflicts.

  ed that future research focus on the processes that occur in intact dysfunctional families.

  The above abstracts are from the National Center on Fathers and Families, FatherLit Database. For further information, visit the National Center on Fathers and Families web site. Abstracts prior to 1995 are included in the database, but not posted online.