This report discusses the increasing incidence of divorce and unwed parenthood in the United States, arguing that the "divorce revolution" of the last several decades has created terrible hardships for children, generated poverty within families, and burdened the nation with unsupportable social costs. It calls for a fundamental shift in cultural…

As more women choose to reenter college or seek employment, marital and family systems undergo change. From an initial sample of 251 women who participated in a reassessment series conducted between 1973 and 1977, 24 women who had chosen to reenter college or initiate careers were selected for follow-up interviews. Women (N=12) who had divorced…

Examines hypothesis that effect children have on parents' marriage is due to stress in parental role. Collected data from 287 intact couples with children living at home. Findings indicate parenting was affected by number of children and economic distress, but not by other roles. For both spouses, psychological well-being and perceived marital…

Examines whether the rising percentage of unmarried adults would affect the level of social support between adult children and their parents. The only major effect found was for coresidence. Neither divorced children in general nor divorced daughters or divorced single parents in particular posed a special burden to parents. (RJM)

In 1968 the Counseling Center at Colorado State University created a ten-week pilot seminar for normal married students. Couples explored their marriage relationship aiming to discover better ways of growing together. Later in 1968, some philosophical guidelines were proposed for working with married students on campus. With these two projects…

It is extremely important that attorneys who handle divorce cases; (a) realize that there are psychological as well as legal factors to the termination of marital contracts; and (b) attend to these factors as they process these cases. (Author)

Critics who advocate encouraging pregnant teenagers to marry are mistaken. Teen marriages are distinctly less stable than marriages that occur after age twenty. Later marriers are less likely to be on welfare and are likely to have more education and fewer children. A hasty marriage makes a bad situation worse. (BJV)

Uses social bonding theory to address the connection between violent family heritage and violence or nonviolence in adult intimate relationships. Findings show that, despite violent family histories, men who develop strong attachments and who perceive negative sanction threats from significant others, are more prone to nonviolence with female…

This study examined the relation between early family relationship patterns and adolescents' regulation of negative affect; attunement to their partners' affect; and capacity to balance their needs with those of their partner during conflict. A total of 27 college women completed measures pertaining to their relationship with their parents and…

The relationship between the degree of marital adjustment and the emotional adjustment of the children within the family is widely accepted as is the corollary belief that the marital relationship determines the child's adjustment. A sample of 69 married couples with children was used to examine the interrelationships among several measures of…

Studied separation, divorce, and the postponement of marriage which have nearly doubled the number of adults who keep up a home without a spouse since 1970. Assesses teenage marriages as particularly unstable. Discusses other variables including children's sex, mother's education level, custody, and remarriage. (Author/JAC)

Analyzes the effect of parental divorce at adolescence to determine if young women, who initially coped well, experienced a significant reversal in adjustment in early adulthood. Results from a 10-year study found no significant differences in mean adjustment scores between girls from intact and divorced families at any time. (RJM)

We examine the assortative mating patterns of new parents who are married, cohabiting, romantically involved and no longer romantically involved. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study, we find that relationship status at the time of a birth depends mainly on father's race rather than on whether mother and father's…

West Indian family organization has been observed to exhibit relatively greater instances of brittle common law unions, out-of-wedlock births, and female headed households than is the case with other New World populations. Three primary explanations have been given to explain the presence of these patterns: the retention or reinterpretation of…

The report presents survey results about the marital histories of husbands and wives or changes in marital status of mothers and characteristics of their children. Data were collected in June 1975, by the U. S. Bureau of the Census. An introduction summarizes trends which the data suggest. Seven sections discuss number of times husband and wife…