One out of three people (25% of men, 38% of women) in Curacao have experienced some form of domestic violence at some point in their adult lives. The most significant risk factors for domestic violence in Curacao are the female gender, a young age, low education, and experiencing domestic violence victimization in childhood. Divorce, single…

Trends in divorce and nonmarital childbearing suggest that the marriage market is increasingly filled with people who have been married and/or have children. This study examines the effect of personal attitudes on entrance into a union with a partner who has been previously married or has children. Using data from two waves of the National Survey…

Working from a life course perspective, this study examined the links between mothers' fertility and relationship statuses and children's early school achievement and how these links varied by race/ethnicity and immigration status. Analyses of nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort revealed…

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…

The social and political implications of marriage, divorce, and the one-parent family are discussed. (LD)

Demonstrates that levels of illegitimacy are related to costs of illegitimacy. Illegitimacy is strongly associated with the opportunity structure for women. When marriage is a relatively temporary guarantee of support, incentives to marital childbearing are less. This is supported by consistently positive association between marital and nonmarital…

Examines from a feminist perspective the costs and the benefits accruing to divorce mothers. The development of services and lobbying groups for divorced women within existing womens' centers are advocated, as well as the establishment of specialized divorce centers. (Author/AM)

This report presents detailed information on the marital status and living arrangements of the noninstitutional population of the United States by age, sex, race, and Spanish origin. The text of this report compares the mid-decade census estimates based on the March, 1985 "Current Population Survey" with the survey data from 1980, 1970, and 1960.…

This study examines the effects of changes in family structure on children's economic well-being. An initial shift-share analysis indicates that, had the proportion of children living in female-headed families remained constant since 1970, the 1998 child poverty rate would have been 4.4 percentage points lower than its actual 1998 level of 18.3…

Prior research on violent crime by female offenders is reviewed. A Texas female prisoner sample is used to explore specific questions raised by the literature review. Violent and nonviolent offenders were compared, looking specifically at race, socioeconomic status, having been raised in single-parent homes, criminal history, gang membership,…

Counselors intervening with divorced and widowed women should recognize the trauma associated with losing the wife role and the failure of traditional female socialization to prepare most women for more assertive, autonomous functioning. Counseling approaches and programs should prepare "single-again" women to replace stereotypic female behavior…

A study was conducted in Kentucky to increase the database available to the state's decision makers concerning women in relation to family status, occupational participation, income and earnings, and issues and concerns that may need greater emphases. Data were gathered through Kentucky government agencies and the U.S. Bureau of the Census as well…

Considers how different types of economic support, received soon after the birth of a first child, contribute to the later self-sufficiency of young, unmarried mothers. Findings suggest that certain economic supports assist these mothers and that life choices they make after their child's birth are important to self-sufficiency. (RJM)

The longstanding assumption that migration of southern blacks to northern cities negatively affected black family structure in the North was examined by comparing the living arrangements of women and children for migrants and nonmigrants in northern cities, 1940-90. Results show that northern urbanites with "southern origins" actually…

Examines the perceptions of 192 college students who evaluated the personality traits and professional performance characteristics of mothers who were described as either employed or nonemployed, divorced or married, and with a 1-year-old or 11-year-old child. (Author/BJV)