Alternative Family Structures Research Articles

Family structure and breakfast consumption of 11-15 year old boys and girls in Scotland, 1994-2010: a repeated cross-sectional study

BackgroundThe benefits of breakfast during childhood and adolescence have been reported previously though few studies have considered family structure inequalities in breakfast consumption. The proportion of young people living in non-traditional family types has increased in recent years, strengthening the need to describe and monitor the impact of the changing family unit on adolescent breakfast consumption. This study aimed to describe changes in daily breakfast consumption among adolescents in Scotland between 1994 and 2010, while also considering family structure inequalities, and the degree to which these have changed over time.MethodsData from the 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010 Scottish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) surveys were analysed using logistic multilevel regression models for binary outcome variable daily breakfast consumption.ResultsDaily breakfast consumption among adolescents increased between 1994 and 2010, although there were differences by age and sex. In fact those aged over 14.5 years saw decreases in breakfast consumption, and girls saw significantly larger increases than boys. Daily breakfast consumption was more prevalent among adolescents from 'both parent' families, with lowest prevalence among those from single parent families. Trends in daily breakfast consumption between 1994 and 2010 also varied by family structure. While prevalence of daily breakfast consumption increased among those living with 'both parents', the largest proportion of the population, prevalence decreased over time among adolescents of single parent families, and particularly among those living with their father.ConclusionsFamily structure inequalities in daily breakfast consumption increased between 1994 and 2010, while breakfast consumption across the population as a whole increased. As the proportion of young people living in an alternative family structure continues to grow it is important to understand why these inequalities have increased and how these may be overcome. Possible reasons for family structure inequalities and their increase in recent years are discussed.

Adolescent risk behaviours and mealtime routines: does family meal frequency alter the association between family structure and risk behaviour?

Family structure is associated with a range of adolescent risk behaviours, with those living in both parent families generally faring best. This study describes the association between family structure and adolescent risk behaviours and assesses the role of the family meal. Data from the 2006 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey were modelled using Multilevel Binomial modelling for six risk behaviour outcomes. Significantly more children from 'both parent' families ate a family meal every day and fewer 'hardly ever or never' did. Family structure was associated with boys' and girls' smoking, drinking, cannabis use and having sex and with girls' fighting. Frequency of eating a family meal was associated with a reduced likelihood of all risk behaviours among girls and all but fighting and having sex among boys. Eating a family meal regularly nullified the association between family structure and drinking alcohol for boys and girls and cannabis use for boys and reduced the effect size of alternative family structures on boys having sex and smoking. The family meal, associated with a reduced likelihood of many adolescent risk behaviours, reduces or eliminates the association with family structure and may therefore help to overcome inequalities in adolescent risk behaviours.

Cohabiting, Family and Community Stressors, Selection, and Juvenile Delinquency

Prior research has established that children from traditional, two-parent nuclear families experience a lower risk of delinquency than children raised in alternative family structures. However, many studies have ignored the effect of parental cohabiting on delinquent development. A growing body of research suggests that cohabiting (even among biological parents) may be harmful to children. This study tests the hypothesis that cohabiting is associated with four different types of delinquent behavior. It examines two theoretical models, a family stress model and a community stress/selection model, as possible explanations of ‘‘the cohabiting effect.’’ The analysis reveals that cohabiting is generally associated with increased risk of misbehavior (although the effects do vary somewhat by type of delinquency). Although the theoretical models could not completely explain ‘‘the cohabiting effect,’’ substantial evidence of both mediation and moderation is found. The implications of the findings are discussed.

WHAT DETERMINES FAMILY STRUCTURE?

We use data from the 1979 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to estimate the effects of policy and labor market variables on the demographic behaviors that determine children's family structure experiences: union formation and dissolution, and fertility. Male and female wages have substantial effects on family structure for children of black and Hispanic mothers. The tax treatment of children also affects family structure. Welfare reform, welfare benefits, and unilateral divorce had much smaller effects on family structure for the children of this cohort of women. Trends in wages and tax rates explain only a small share of the observed changes in family structure in recent decades. (JEL J12)

‘I myself had a sweetie …’: re‐thinking female same‐sex intimacy beyond the institution of marriage and identity politics

This article is understood as an intervention into current debates around the question of rights in relation to sexuality and in particular to issues of same‐sex marriages and alternative family structures. As the interpretation of rights in relation to sexuality generally focuses on gay identities, this article reflects on the effects of these discourses on non‐normative modes of sexuality and intimacy. More specifically the article focuses on interviews conducted in Johannesburg on ‘mummy–baby’ relationships. By contextualising these relationships in the historical and cultural framework of sexual cultures and cultures of intimacy, this article argues that the South African history and cultures provided and provide a space which accommodates forms of female same‐sex intimacy that are not necessarily linked to metropolitan sexual cultures. The article discusses the tensions between non‐lesbian same‐sex intimacy and metropolitan lesbianism by focusing on homosociality as a gender theory. The article questions the regulatory functions of identity and problematises the practice of ‘coming out’ as always being a liberating moment.

Does Family Structure Matter? A Domain-Specific Examination of Identity Exploration and Commitment

This exploratory study examines identity exploration and commitment in different domains and how family structure (original/alternative), gender, and age affect these processes in a convenience sample of 388 college students. Results reveal that participants from alternative family structures explore more in the political and gender role domains than do participants from original families. Furthermore, women explore more in the occupational and friendship domains and are more committed in the values and family domains. Younger participants explore less in the gender role domain compared to older ones. Significant interactions reveal that (a) younger women explored the least, and (b) men from alternative families are the least committed in the values domain, compared to all other groups. Findings support the value of exploring the relative impact of family-focused experience on the processes of identity formation and, for the current convenience sample, suggest that growing up in an alternative family structure does not necessarily have a negative impact on identity.

REPETITION FACILITY

Before taking on a role as one of the personages of French existentialism (Camus 1991), Sisyphus had been mentioned by James Phillips Kay (1832, 8), and in turn by Engels (1987), 193n) and then Mar...

Application of Feminist Therapy

SUMMARY Lesbian and gay (LG) parents face common and unique challenges compared to heterosexual parents. In addition to the typical challenges that all parents encounter while rearing children, LG parents often face myriad obstacles to having and rearing children in a society that struggles to accept alternative family structures. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of the empirical literature related to LG parenting and children of same-sex couples. Then, some fundamental principles of feminist theory as they relate to the provision of therapy are discussed. Last, we present a case study that exemplifies judicious application of feminist therapy as a means to validate, strengthen, and promote resiliency among the family members of a lesbian couple who had sought treatment. Future directions of research with LG families are discussed.

Single Motherhood Via Donor-Insemination (DI): Separation, Absence, and Family Creation

The formation of single motherhood by choice via donor-insemination became one of the alternative family structures in recent years. This paper presents the construction of pre-maternal processes, decision-making and the actual preparation for motherhood via a clinical case study. The therapeutic process is developed through mutual co-construction of patient-therapist relationships that implement analytic relational concepts. The absence of the paternal figure generates a unique creation of familial emotional space. The lack of a conceptual, as well as, a clinical body of knowledge leads both therapist and patient to find new boundaries and meaningful bonds for this family structure.

Socially isolated? How parents and neighbourhood adults influence youth behaviour in disadvantaged communities

William Julius Wilson’s model of adult joblessness, community disorganization and their effects on youth problem behaviour de-emphasizes the range in children’s outcomes across socially disorganized communities, and says little about the factors that influence this variation. It also does not address the processes by which family structure and relationships affect the well-being of African-American and poor youth. My work is part of a larger research agenda that has begun to address these issues by focusing on the differential rates of sexual activity among youth living in disadvantaged environments, and developing models to explain this variation. This work suggests that units of socially cohesive, stable adults exist among the social networks of successful children and families in poor neighbourhoods. It also points to the existence and functioning of alternative two-parent family structures and offers hypotheses for how family environment interacts with neighbourhood context to influence youth behaviour.

The Complexity and Endogeneity of Family Structure in Explaining Children's Misbehavior

This study examines the effects of family structure on child misbehavior, paying close attention to the complexity and endogeneity of family structure. We use longitudinal measures of childhood family structure to capture its complexity and fixed-effects models to control for the unobserved, time-invariant family and child characteristics, which contribute to the endogeneity of family structure. Our results suggest that, other things being equal, stability of intact, step-, and single-mother families is beneficial in lowering the risk of misbehavior, with a weaker effect for single-mother families. This finding challenges the consensus about a detrimental effect of alternative family structures and the incomplete institution thesis regarding step-families. Our analysis also provides two methodological findings: (1) duration of different types of current family structure is superior to other longitudinal measures, which, in turn, are superior to snapshot measures of family structure, and (2) conventional OLS models tend to produce downward bias for the effects of family structure on child misbehavior.

Review: parent-child relationships and child development in donor insemination families

The present article reviews the empirical research regarding the parent-child relationships and the development of children in donor insemination (DI) families. Over the years, follow-up studies have appeared sporadically and, despite the varying quality of the research methods, preliminary findings have emerged. Heterosexual DI parents were psychologically well adjusted and had stable marital relationships. DI parents showed a similar or higher quality of parent-child interaction and a greater emotional involvement with their children compared with naturally conceived families. The majority of studies which investigated several aspects of child development found that, overall, DI children were doing well. Findings with regard to emotional/behavioural development, however, were divergent in that some studies identified an increase of such problems while others did not. A steadily growing group within the DI population is lesbian mother families. More recently, follow-up studies have been carried out among DI children who were raised from birth by two mothers. Despite many concerns about the well-being of these children, no adverse effects of this alternative family structure on child development could be identified. As the DI children in all investigations were still young, our knowledge about the long-term effects of DI remains incomplete.

Family Structure, Educational Attainment, and Socioeconomic Success: Rethinking the "Pathology of Matriarchy"

The effect of alternative family structures on children's educational and occupational success has been constant over the past 30 years. Higher rates of unemployment and lower‐status occupational positions could account for the negative effect of single‐mother families on children's attainment throughout the period. Children from single‐father families and stepfamilies have consistently had lower attainments than children from both two‐biological‐parent and single‐mother families. The influence of many other dimensions of children's family background declined from the 1960s to the 1980s but has declined no further since. Among six candidate theoretical frameworks, the findings are most consistent with an evolutionary view of parental investment.

Undermining Ancient Patriarchy: The Apostle Paul's Vision of a Society of Siblings

The closest family tie in the ancient Mediterranean society was experienced among siblings. Paul of Tarsus followed the historical Jesus in his attempts 1) to undermine the authority and social cohesiveness of the blood kin group and patriarchal family, 2) to offer an alternative family structure made up of surrogate “brothers and sisters, ” and 3) to make viable a first-century Mediterranean person's choosing to live in such an alternative, trust-based form of social relations by means of a profound redefining of the competitive honor code into which all males had been socialized. Paul's goal was not the creation of an egalitarian community in the political sense, but a well-functioning family in the kinship sense, a family without fathers in which the “strong” would use their strength not for themselves but to empower the “weak.”

Combined crossbred and purebred selection for reproduction traits in a broiler dam line

Combined crossbred and purebred selection for reproduction traits in a broiler dam line

Scientology -- Is this a Religion?

Although some social scientists insist that Scientology is a religion, the more appropriate position to take is that the organization is a multi-faceted transnational corporation that has religion as only one of its many components. Other components include political aspirations, business ventures, cultural productions, pseudo-medical practices, pseudo-psychiatric claims, and (among its most devoted members who have joined the Sea Organization), an alternative family structure. Sea Organization's job demands appear to allow little time for quality child rearing. Most disturbing, however, about Sea Organization life is that members can be subject to extremely severe and intrusive punishments through security checks, internal hearings called Committees of Evidence, and a forced labour and re-indoctrination program known as the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF) and its harshest companion, the RPF's RPF. Taken together, these harsh and intrusive punishments likely violate a number of human rights clauses as outlined by two United Nations statements. This is a revised and corrected version of a shorter presentation given at the 27th Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag, June 20, 1997, Leipzig, Germany)

Alternative Family Structures: A Career Advantage?

This research examined the presence of homemakers among spouses of men and women at four hierarchical levels within a single large professional services firm. Men at the most senior level were significantly more likely to have spouses as homemakers than were men at lower levels and women at any hierarchical level. Men were generally more likely than women to have spouses as homemakers, thus family structures may create potential career disadvantages for women.

Family Structure and Social Mobility

Different types of family structures experienced during childhood have varying effects on mens socioeconomic attainment and social mobility. Holding origin occupational characteristics constant men (both white and African American) from a mother-headed family structure do as well as men from two-biological-parent families. In contrast there is a negative effect of other types of family structures (father-headed stepfamily) on socioeconomic attainment. Also intergenerational occupational inheritance--from male family head to son or from female family head to son--is strongest when the mother is present weakest when the mother is absent. The farther alternative family structures take sons away from their mothers the more the intergenerational transmission process breaks down. (EXCERPT)

Family Structure, Materialism, and Compulsive Consumption

Despite the rapid and dramatic changes in the structure of the American family over the past 30 years (e.g., divorce, single parenting), consumer researchers have largely neglected the issue of how alternative family forms influence consumer behavior. Our initial inquiry into this area finds that young adults reared in disrupted families are more materialistic and exhibit higher levels of compulsive consumption than young adults reared in intact families. Furthermore, we show that the relationship between family structure and compulsive consumption is partially mediated by both the amount of resources available within the family and the degree of family stress. We also find that the impact of family disruption on family stress is moderated by socioeconomic status. We conclude by proposing an agenda for future research that considers the antecedents, processes, and consequences of alternative family structures as they relate to consumer behavior.

Social Mobility Across Three Generations

The transmission of values, status, and behaviors from one to the next has been a central concern to family sociologists over the past half century, in part because it sheds light on the family's role in reproducing or modifying the social structure through the socialization of children. One dimension of the debate over American family decline (Popenoe, 1993) is how social changes in the 20th century have affected family transmission of socioeconomic and cultural resources. By tracking members of subsequent generations down family lineages, Bengtson (1975) compared the level of transmission of values (or the generation gap) between two intergenerational dyads: parents (generation 1 or G1s) and their children (G2s) who came of age in the 1940s and 1950s and parents (G2s) and their children (G3s) who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s. The G3s were the grandchildren of the G1s. Thus the analysis involved three related generations rather than separate and unrelated birth cohorts. Bengtson found considerable value similarity between parents and children in both intergenerational dyads. Generation membership did not seem to condition the impact that parents' values had on children's values. This article uses a conceptual framework similar to Bengtson's (1975) to study the intergenerational transmission of occupational stratum across three generations of family members, spanning almost the entire 20th century. Our central research question is: Does condition the effect of the parents' occupational position on their children's occupational position? Drawing on the implications of four 20th-century social changes--expanding universalism, a shift in childrearing values from obedience to autonomy, the growth of alternative family structures, and changing gender roles--we predict that the effect of the status of parents on their children's occupational outcomes declines with each successive generation. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Generations, we compare the level of inheritance of socioeconomic strata experienced by three successive generations of offspring: grandparents (Generation 1--G1s, most born between 1896 and 1911), who inherit great grandparents' (Generation 0--G0s) socioeconomic positions; parents (Generation 2--G2s, most born between 1916 and 1931), who inherit G1s' socioeconomic positions; and adult children (Generation 3--G3s, most born between 1945 and 1955), who inherit G2s' socioeconomic positions. We assess how the experience of socioeconomic inheritance and social mobility for each of offspring differs from its parent generation's experience of socioeconomic inheritance and social mobility. For the analysis, we fit log-linear models of association to contingency tables, stratified by each generation's occupation at a particular stage in the life course and by gender. SOCIAL MOBILITY ACROSS INTERGENERATIONAL DYADS Mechanisms that give rise to the intergenerational inheritance of socioeconomic position include parental transmission of economic resources, parental transmission of cultural resources, role modeling, and discrimination (Biblarz & Raftery, 1993; Kalmijn, 1994). Parents' occupational positions covary with the amount of economic resources they have to invest in their children, and children's occupational destinations, in turn, covary with the amount of investment parents have made in their children's human capital (Becker, 1964; Becker & Tomes, 1986). The direct intergenerational transmission of property (such as farms and small businesses) can also lead to occupational inheritance (Elder, Rudkin, & Conger, 1995). When raising their children, parents transmit values about what makes up 'earning a living' (Hout, 1984, p. 1,384; also Biblarz, 1992; Kohn, 1977). Through role modeling, children may adopt these orientations for themselves. Kohn's work (Kohn, 1969, 1977; Kohn & Slomczynski, 1990) demonstrates links between parents' occupational conditions (substantive complexity, autonomy, routinization) and the importance parents place on conformity to external authority and, in turn, children's value orientations and children's occupational positions. …