A study was conducted on the factors which influence young women to marry or have their first child at a given age. The data used were taken from the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women conducted by the Center for Human Resource Research at Ohio State University, during which a sample of 5,159 young women aged 14 to 24 in 1968 were…

Examines simultaneously the influence of mate availability and other factors on the transition to first marriage and the transition to a first premarital birth. Found that the supply of available mates in the local marriage market has somewhat paradoxical effects on the probability of becoming an unmarried mother. (63 references) (RJM)

Examined most common transitions during young adulthood--marriage and career--among 422 university graduates and undergraduates with respect to descriptors of social networks. Marital status, career stage, and gender interacted in various ways as influences on network characteristics. Role changes from career entry and marriage seemed related to…

Examines a clinical sample of 215 cases of allegations of sexual abuse in families involved in divorce. Cases are categorized according to the circumstances surrounding abuse allegations, clinical substantiation, and legal outcomes. Court substantiation rate is about half the clinic substantiation rate. Nearly one-fifth of parents raising concerns…

A study was conducted of the effectiveness of marriage counseling with respect to marital status and the long-term stability of relationships. Data were gathered from clients of approved Australian marriage counseling agencies (n=540) who took a pre-counseling survey during a 4-week period in October-November 1987 and a post-counseling survey 8…

During the past century the U.S. family system has seen vast changes--in marriage and divorce rates, cohabitation, childbearing, sexual behavior, and women's work outside the home. Andrew Cherlin reviews these historic changes, noting that marriage remains the most common living arrangement for raising children, but that children, especially poor…

An examination was made of the antecedents to singlehood for black women, based upon questionnaire and interview data from a larger study of 56 black women who graduated from predominantly white colleges in a northeastern city between 1968 and 1970. During the past few decades, researchers have found that a high percentage of educated black women…

This paper is part of a larger study that focuses on how today's community college students are paying for their education. Analysis of the data collected for this study shows that students who cohabit display distinctly different characteristics than single, divorced and married students. These include such things as being more likely to have no…

This report reviews the legal status of female homemakers in the Virgin Islands and makes suggestions for action and legislation which will be more equitable in protecting homemakers' rights. The laws described in the report apply to wives who work at home as well as outside the home, but the report mainly concerns homemakers without outside…

The paper examines trends of postponement of marriage among women in their early twenties. Data for the study were taken from a national longitudinal study of 5,159 women (ages 14 to 24) who were interviewed from 1968 to 1975. The author specifically examined the young women for three characteristics: current employment status, level of education,…

Study objectives were to: derive a set of variables originating from background status attainments and proceeding through marital behavior via a literature search; develop models of marital happiness and family satisfaction by residence; delimit specific variables contributing to marital happiness and family satisfaction by residence within the…

This project is part of an ongoing study of the influence of schooling on observed household behavior. The study has previously determined that more educated individuals behave as if they are more proficient consumers, and that, in particular, more educated couples systematically select more efficient contraceptive techniques. The recent research…

It has long been accepted that the social and economic well-being of adults is determined principally by their passage through childhood and that well-adjusted children emerge most often from healthy families. Creating the stability, emotional warmth and security of a healthy family environment is a challenge to parents at the best of times, but…

This bulletin explores the social, economic, and demographic trends that have contributed to the changing structure of the American family. Sections of the document discuss: (1) definitions of household and family; (2) types of families, including married couples with and without children and single-parent families; (3) living arrangements of…

A child who is not granted a familial environment that is fundamentally consistent and harmonious will be more than likely to develop inconsistently, primarily psychologically and, perhaps even physically, in comparison to the accepted standards. This would idealistically make for a scenario within which the child grows into an adult who is under…