Recent Research Reports and News: November 2002

Fathers—Research

---

The Effect of Polygamous Marital Structure on Behavioral, Emotional, and Academic Adjustment in Children: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature, Salman Elbedour
Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, and Hasan Abu-Saad, Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, Vo. 5, Iss. 4, December 2002.

Author Abstract:
Polygamy represents expanded family structures that are based on marriages involving a husband with 2 or more wives. Interestingly, polygamy is legally and widely practiced in 850 societies across the globe. In the last 2 decades, polygamy has been the focus of a significant growth in public, political, and academic awareness. Indeed, several quantitative and qualitative research articles and theoretical papers have emerged during this period, particularly concerning the effects of this form of marital structure on behavioral, emotional, and academic adjustment of children. However, to date, no researcher has provided a summary of the extant literature. Thus, the purpose of this comprehensive literature review is to summarize findings and to discuss implications of empirical studies that have examined whether polygamous marital structures are beneficial or harmful to children in comparison with children raised in monogamous marital structures. This review includes a summary of the findings from all quantitative and qualitative studies in the extant literature that have examined the effect of polygamy on children's outcomes.

Contact the publisher, Kluwer Publishers for further information on this article .

Fathers and Mothers in Prison

---

Children and Families

---

• Building Strong Families: A Preliminary Study from YMCA of the USA and Search Institute on What Parents Need to Succeed, Eugene C. Roehlkepartain, Peter C. Scales, Jolene L. Roehlkepartain, and Stacey P. Rude, YMCA of the USA and Search Institute, November 22, 2002.

  Press Release: Parents of children and teenagers are "going it alone," without the support, encouragement, and networks that would make it easier to overcome the daily challenges of parenting, according to a new poll of 1,005 parents by YMCA of the USA and Search Institute. Most parents interviewed generally feel successful as parents most of the time, and they do many things to help their children grow up strong and healthy. However, they say that more support and affirmation from others would really help them as parents.

  Key Findings: Five key findings surfaced from the poll, which is the first step in a long-term partnership focused on identifying and bolstering the strengths of parents and families. They are:

  1. A majority of the parents surveyed are going it alone in the vital and challenging task of raising children and teenagers. Most say they don't often turn to their extended family, friends, and community resources for support in parenting.
  2. A key-but often lacking-resource for parents is a strong relationship with their spouse or partner. The parents we interviewed who experience an excellent partner relationship-regardless of whether they are married-are more likely to feel successful and up to the challenges of parenting.
  3. Most parents who were interviewed generally feel successful as parents most of the time. They do many things to help their children grow up strong and healthy.
  4. Most parents interviewed face ongoing challenges. Job demands, sibling rivalry, overscheduling, and the family's financial situation are the factors these parents most often say make parenting harder.
  5. Many of the things that these parents say would really help them as parents are things that many people can easily do. These include talking with other parents, being affirmed for their parenting, seeking advice from professionals they trust, and having other adults they trust spend time with their children.

  For further information and to download the complete report, visit the Abundant Assets Alliance web site.

• Family Strengths: Often Overlooked, But Real, Kristin Anderson Moore, Rosemary Chalk, Juliet Scarpa, and Sharon Vandivere, Child Trends Research Brief, Child Trends, August 2002.

  Overview: When it comes to the American family, public attention tends to focus far more on whatis wrong than on whatis right. The multiple problems that affect some American families have been well chronicled: divorce, poverty, troubled youth, substance abuse, violence, and so forth. Obscured behind this seemingly endless litany of troubles is the compelling evidence that many families -- including those living in difficult circumstances -- have inner strengths that enable them to do a good job of raising their children and supporting one another. Because family strengths donit lend themselves to a statistic that can be captured easily or dramatically in daily headlines, they tend to be overlooked or dismissed. The result is a significant gap in our knowledge base. This Research Brief seeks to address this gap by, first, defining the concept of family strengths; second, considering what we know from research about what makes for strong families; and third, examining several measures of family strengths in two recent national surveys. Our review of these survey data suggests that levels of important family strengths are quite high in contemporary families. We find levels of closeness, concern, caring, and interaction that might surprise some commentators. For example, on a national youth survey, four out of five young adolescent respondents report that they enjoy spending time with their parents. More than half report that they turn first to a parent for help in solving problems. And almost three-quarters report that they eat dinner with their families five or more days each week. Moreover, despite the stresses and uncertainties of daily life, most children have parents who report that they feel happy all or most of the time.

  The data that we present suggest a link between family strengths and child well-being, although further research is needed to determine precisely how they are linked. For this reason, this brief also suggests some next steps that could be taken to expand our understanding of family strengths and what they mean for the well-being and development of family members.

  We caution that our emphasis here on family strengths should not be construed as an attempt to dismiss or minimize the problems confronting some American families and children today. Rather, our goal is to balance the common emphasis on problems with a perspective that recognizes the high levels of positive attributes in many families.

  For a copy of the complete report in PDF format, visit the Child Trends web site.

Census Data

---

Systemic Barriers

---

Welfare Reform

---

New Citations from NCOFF's FatherLit Database

---

• Anderssen, N., Amlie, C., & Ytteroy, E. A. (2002). Outcomes for children with lesbian or gay parents. A review of studies from 1978 to 2000. Scandinavian Journal of Pyschology, 43(4), 335-351.

• Armistead, L., Forehand, R., Brody, G., & Maguen, S. (2002). Parenting and child pyschosocial adjustment in single-parent African American families: Is community context important? Behavior Therapy, 33(3), 361-375.

• Barooah, V. K. (2002). Does unemployment make men less 'marriageable'? Applied Economics, 34(12), 1571-1582.

• Batalova, J. A., & Cohen, P. N. (2002). Premarital cohabitation and housework: Couples in cross-national perspective. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64(3), 743-755.

• Bengston, V., Giarrusso, R., Mabry, J. B., & Silverstein, M. (2002). Solidarity, conflict, and ambivalence: Complementary or competing perspectives on intergenerational relationships? Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64(3), 568-576.

• Bernhardt, E., & Goldscheider, F. (2002). Children and union formation in Sweden. European Sociological Review, 18(3), 289-299.

• Blinn-Pike, L., Berger, T., Dixon, D., Kuschel, D., & Kaplan, M. (2002). Is there a causal link between maltreatment and adolescent pregnancy? A literature review. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 34(2), 68-75.

• Brannen, J., & Nilsen, A. (2002). Young people's time perspectives: From youth to adulthood. Sociology - The Journal of the British Sociological Association, 36(3), 513-537.

• Carr, D. (2002). The psychological consequences of work-family trade-offs for three cohorts of men and women. Social Psychology Quarterly, 65(2), 103-124.

• Castro, D. C., Lubker, B. B., Bryant, D. M., & Skinner, M. (2002). Oral Language and reading abilities of first-grade Peruvian children: Associations with child and family factors. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26(4), 334-344.

• Catanzarite, L., & Ortiz, V. (2002). Too few good men? Available partners and single motherhood among Latinas, African Americans, and Whites. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 24(3), 278-295.

• Chatters, L. M., Taylor, R. J., Lincoln, K. D., & Schroepfer, T. (2002). Patterns of informal support from family and church members among African Americans. Journal of Black Studies, 13(1), 66-85.

• Cohen, P. N. (2002). Extended households at work: Living arrangements and inequality in single mothers' employment. Sociological Forum, 17(3), 445-463.

• Coles, R. L. (2002). Black single fathers - Choosing to parent full-time. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 31(4), 411-439.

• Cullen, K. W., Lara, K. M., & de Moor, C. (2002). Familial concordance of dietary fat practices and intake. Family and Community Health, 25(2), 65-75.

• Daly, K. (2002). Time, gender, and the negotiation of family schedules. Symboic Interaction, 25(3), 323-342.

• Davis, A. A. (2002). Younger and older African American adolescent mothers' relationships with their mothers and female peers. Journal of Adolescent Research, 17(5), 491-508.

• Dunifon, R., & Kowaleski-Jones, L. (2002). Who's in the house? Race differences in cohabitation, single parenthood, and child development. Child Development, 73(4), 1249-1264.

• Ember, C. R., & Ember, M. (2001). Father absence and male aggression: A re-examination of the comparative evidence. American Anthropological Association, 29(3), 296-314.

• Feinberg, M. E. (2002). Coparenting and the transition to parenthood: A framework for prevention. Clinical Child and Family Pyschology Review, 5(3), 173-195.

• Flouri, E., Buchanan, A., & Bream, V. (2002). Adolescents' perceptions of their fathers' involvement: Significance to school attitudes. Pyschology in the Schools, 39(5), 575-582.

• Forste, R. (2002). Where are all the men? A conceptual analysis of the role of men in family formation. Journal of Family Issues, 23(5), 579-600.

• Garfinkel, I., Glei, D., & McLanahan, S. S. (2002). Assortive mating among unmarried parents: Implications for ability to pay child support. Journal of Population Economics, 15(3), 417-432.

• Goodman, C., & Silverstein, M. (2002). Grandmothers raising grandchildren: Family structure and well-being in culturally diverse families. Gerontologist, 42(5), 676-689.

• Grossmann, K., Grossmann, K. E., Fremmer-Bombik, E., Kindler, H., Scheuerer-Englisch, H., & Zimmermann, P. (2002). The uniqueness of the child-father attachment relationship: Fathers' sensitive and challenging play as a pivotal variable in a 16-year longitudinal study. Social Development, 11(3), 307-331.

• Henretta, J. C., Grundy, E., & Harris, S. (2002). The influence of socio-economic and health differences on parents' provision of help to adult children: A British-United States comparison. Ageing and Society, 22(4), 441-458.

• Hess, C. R., Papas, M. A., & Black, M. M. (2002). Resilience among African American adolescent mothers: Predictors of positive parenting in early infancy. Journal of Pediatric Pyschology, 27(7), 619-629.

• Huang, C. C., Kunz, J., & Garfinkel, I. (2002). The effect of child support on welfare exits and re-rentries. Journal of Policy Analyis and Management, 21(4), 57-576.

• Johnson, M. K.(2002). Change in job values during the transition to adulthood. Work and Occupations, 28(3), 315-345.

• Jones, D. J., Forehand, R., Brody, G. H., & Armistead, L. (2002). Positive parenting and child psychosocial adjustment in inner-city single-parent African American families - The role of maternal optimism. Behavior Modification, 26(4), 464-481.

• Keller, T. E., Catalano, R. F., Haggerty, K. P., & Fleming, C. B. (2002). Parent figure transitions and delinqency and drug use among early adolescent children of substance abusers. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 28(5), 399-427.

• Kenny, M. E., & Gallagher, L. A. (2002). Instrumental and social/relational correlates of perceived maternal and paternal attachment in adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 25(2), 203-219.

• Lee, M. Y. (2002). A model of children's postdivorce behavioral adjustment in maternal and dual-residence arrangements. Journal of Family Issues, 23(5), 672-697.

• Leite, R. W., & McKenry, P. C. (2002). Aspects of father status and postdivorce father involvement with children. Journal of Family Issues, 23(5), 601-623.

• Lichter, D. T., & Jayakody, R. (2002). Welfare reform: How do we measure success? Annual Review of Sociology, 28, 117-141.

• Lin, M. C., Harwood, J., & Bonnesen, J. L. (2002). Conversation topics and communication satisfation in grandparent-grandchild relationships. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 21(3), 302-323.

• Lussier, G., Deater-Deckard, K., Dunn, J., & Davies, L. (2002). Support across two generations: Children's closeness to grandparents following parental divorce and remarriage. Journal of Family Psychology, 16(3), 363-376.

• Maatta, S., Numi, J. E., & Majava, E. M. (2002). Young adults' achievement and attributional strategies in the transition from school to work: Antecedents and consequences. European Journal of Personality, 16(4), 295-311.

• Macleod, C., & Durrheim, K. (2002). Racializing teenage pregnancy: "Culture" and "tradition" in the South African scientific literature. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 24(5), 778-801.

  Not availbale at this time.

• McBurney, D. H., Simon, J., Gaulin, S. J. C., Geliebter, A. (2002). Matrilateral biases in the investment of aunts and uncles - Replication in a population presumed to have high paternity certainty. Human Nature - An interdisciplinary Biosocial Perspective, 13(3), 391-402.

• Menanteau-Horta, D., & Yigzaw, M. (2002). Indicators of social well-being and elements of child welfare in Minnesota rural counties. Child Welfare, 81(5), 709-735.

• Menning, C. L. (2002). Absent parents are more than money - The joint effect of activities and financial support on youths' educational attainment. Journal of Family Issues, 23(5), 624-647.

• Munroe, R. L. (2001). Father absence, social structure, and attention allocation in children: A four-culture comparison. American Anthropological Association, 39(3), 315-328.

• Ragin, D. F., Pilotti, M., Madry, L., Sage, R. E., Bingham, L. E., & Primm, B. J. (2002). Intergenerational substance abuse and domestic violence as familial risk factors for lifetime attempted suicide among battered women. Journal of Interpresonal Violence, 17(10), 1027-1045.

• Rahilly, S., & Johnston, E. (2002). Opportunity for childcare: The impact of government initiatives in England upon childcare provision. Social Policy & Administration, 36(5), 482-495.

• Schwartz, A. E. (2002). Societal value and the funding of kinship care. Social Service Review, 76(3), 430-459.

• Seginer, R., Vermulst, A., & Gerris, A. (2002). Bringing up adolescent children: A longitudinal study of parents' child-rearing stress. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26(5), 410-422.

• Seiffge-Krenke, I. (2002). "Come on, say something, dad!": Communication and coping in fathers of diabetic adolescents. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 27(5), 439-450.

• Sigle-Rushton, W., & McLanahan, S. (2002). The living arrangements of new unmarried mothers. Demography, 39(3), 415-433.

• Trotman, F. K. (2002). African-American mothering: Implications for feminist psychotherapy from a grandmother's perspective. Women and Therapy, 25(1), 19-36.

• Trusty, J. (2002). African Americans' educational expectations: Longitudinal causal models for women and men. Journal of Counseling and Development, 80(3), 332-345.

• Vasquez, K., Durik, A. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2002). Family and work: Implications of adult attachment style. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(7), 874-886.

• Walters, G. D. (2002). The heritability of alcohol abuse and dependence: A meta-analysis of behavior genetic research. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 28(3), 557-584.

• Walters, G. D. (2002). The heritability of alcohol abuse and dependence: A meta-analysis of behavior genertic research. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 28(3), 557-584.

• Ward, R. A. (2002). Linkages between family and societal-level intergenerational attitudes. Research on Aging, 23(2), 179-208.

• Wheelock, J., & Jones, K. (2002). 'Grandparents are the next best thing': Informal childcare for working parents in urban Britain. Journal of Social Policy, 31(3), 441-463.

• Wilcox, W. B. (2002). Religion, convention, and paternal involvement. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64(4), 780-792.

• Bartfield, J., & Meyer, D. R. (2001). The changing role of child support among never-married mothers. In L. Wu & B. Wolfe (Eds.), Out of wedlock: Causes and consequences of nonmarital fertility (pp. 229-255). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

• Haveman, R., & Wolfe, B. (2001). Intergenerational effects of nonmarital and early childbearing. In L. Wu & B. Wolfe (Eds.), Out of wedlock: Causes and consequences of nonmarital fertility (pp. 287-316). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

• Lichter, D. T., & Graefe, D. R. (2001). Finding a mate? The marital and cohabitation histories of unwed mothers. In L. Wu & B. Wolfe (Eds.), Out of wedlock: Causes and consequences of nonmarital fertility (pp. 317-343). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

• McLanahan, S., Garfinkel, I., Reichman, N .E., & Teitler, J. O. (2001). Unwed parents or fragile families? Implications for welfare and child support policy. In L. Wu & B. Wolfe (Eds.), Out of wedlock: Causes and consequences of nonmarital fertility (pp. 202-228). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

• Snyder, Z. K., Carlo, T. A., & Mullins, M. M. C. (2001). Parenting from prison: An examination of a children's visitation program at a women's correctional facility. Marriage and Family Review, 32(3-4), 33-61.

• Upchurch, D. M., Lillard, L. A., & Panis, W. A. (2001). The impact of nonmarital childbearing on subsequent marital formation and dissolution. In L. Wu & B. Wolfe (Eds.), Out of wedlock: Causes and conseqences of nonmarital fertility (pp. 344-380). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.