Can the use of a method such as role play help reduce sexual risk behaviour among KwaZulu-Natal learners? A study was undertaken of the use of role plays by Grade 8 learners, at eight urban and rural KwaZulu-Natal high schools, as part of a programme to reduce the prevalence of teenage pregnancy. Within the framework of Bandura's Social Cognitive…

Using data on low-income mothers in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio, we test three propositions regarding mothers' attitudes toward childbearing, marriage, and divorce. These are drawn from K. Edin and M. J. Kefalas (2005) but have also arisen in other recent studies. We find strong support for the proposition that childbearing outside of…

The promotion of marriage and two-parent families became an explicit public policy goal with the passage of the 1996 welfare reform bill. Marriage has the putative effect of reducing welfare dependency among single mothers, but only if they marry men with earnings sufficient to lift them and their children out of poverty. Newly released data from…

Many studies document a clear relationship between the supply of marriageable men and marriage rates, but not many studies find that the supply of marriageable men affects the number of women who choose to be single mothers. A model is presented to address the issue.

We apply marital search theory to examine whether out-of-wedlock childbearing affects mate selection patterns among American women. Using 1980-1995 CPS data, we apply probit models with selection to account for potential selection bias due to differences in "marriageability" between women in and not in unions. Compared to those without unmarried…

Measured self-esteem of 93 unmarried adolescent females upon entry into several state-sponsored training programs. Discovered significant differences concerning the impact of early motherhood on subjects. Symbolic importance of motherhood, as a passage into adult status, and intervening effects of normative group anchorage may mediate between…

Two of the most significant changes affecting U.S. society during the 20th century were transformations in family structure and the transition from a nonmetropolitan/farm society to a largely metropolitan society. In this study, classic sociological theory, developed to understand differences between metro and nonmetro society, was employed.…

Measured psychological sequelae to induced abortion among women pregnant out of wedlock, using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and questions specific to willingness to repeat abortion under similar circumstances. Analyses indicated no relation between objective and subjective indicators. Affectivity after induced abortion had…

Evaluated effects of a year-long, school-based program for 126 white adolescent girls. Program was designed to improve self-concept, expectations for future, educational plans, perceptions of maternal acceptance, and other perceptions. Intervention participants revealed less traditional sex role orientations, improved self-concept, and lessened…

The promotion of marriage and two-parent families as a strategy to reduce welfare dependency continues to be a major public policy goal of the 1996 welfare reform. Based on the assumption that women will marry employed men and that their earnings will lift poor mothers and their children from public dependency, this objective raises important…

Utilizing a biographical approach and network analysis, this article examines one South Australian woman's life of public and Methodist social welfare service in the post-suffrage era. It is argued that although Kate Cocks (1875-1954) viewed her welfare work as "a God-given mission", as "practical Christian service", personal…

Changes in parenting behavior have led to the troubling situation called the "feminization of poverty." Families headed by divorced women are doing better than is commonly supposed. Families headed by never-married women are doing worse. Public policy should reflect the differing needs of these two groups. (VM)

Like the "scientific" approaches of craniometry and eugenics, Herrnstein and Murray's methods and arguments reveal an ideological position not only on African Americans but also on the role of women. Points out their focus on women in discussions of "illegitimacy," birth control, and parenting, and their targeting of poor…

Examined teen mothers' (N=94) romanticism and self-esteem so as to investigate these variables' relationships among ten independent variables, (e.g., age and sexual activity). Results indicate that five variables were significantly related to romanticism (previous abortion, etc.), whereas two variables were connected to self-esteem (age and birth…

This investigation examines whether access to social capital reduces the chance that teens will cohabit or have a nonmaritally conceived birth. Using data from a nationally representative panel study of eighth-grade girls and their parents, we hypothesize that girls who have (and whose families have) dense community ties as well as greater access…