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This paper reviews key sources in the field of family studies in order to identify, in research and program development, intersections of theoretical, methodological, or programmatic interests. The purpose of the paper is to begin a dialogue between researchers and practitioners in the fields of family studies and intergenerational studies to foster collaborative projects in research and programming. The authors have chosen to limit the literature reviewed to sources that contain landmark reviews of research on intergenerational relationships from the perspective of the family studies field: Decade reviews that appeared in the primary journal of the National Council on Family Relations, the Journal of Marriage and the Family (Broderick, 1971a; Berardo, 1980; Booth, 1990; Milardo, 2000); the Handbook of Marriage and the Family (Sussman & Steinmetz, 1987; Sussman, Steinmetz, & Peterson, 1999); Families: Intergenerational and Generational Connections (Pfeifer & Sussman, 1991). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Multigenerational households are increasingly affecting both the individual and family as well as community organizations and social policies. Social work and other family studies students can profit from educational modalities that use adult learning applications through a systems life-course perspective, the whole family aging over time. Family simulation software—addressing multigenerational families, such as two or more adult generations living together—builds on a previous paper (Marriage & Family Review,Feb. 2015). Social class, among other demographic and environmental variables, is emphasized. Agent-based family social network simulation of multigenerational families can facilitate experiential learning. An automatically generated life events report, based on both factual data and specific family characteristics, can be used as a classroom case study for role playing and assessing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research, constituting secondary data analysis of a current Economic and Social Research Council funded programme of research with parents with disabled children in two areas in Northern England, responds to policy and practice prescriptions for family support services to be responsive and inclusive to a diversity of parenting situations (Department for Education and Skills, 2003; Social Services Inspectorate, 2004). An innovative research methodology, involving the collaborative analysis of a social work researcher and disability studies researcher, was used to gain a more holistic understanding of the issues in working with social work populations by investigating the concerns of a normative population. Findings identified a number of barriers to inclusion even for mainstream disabled families, particularly in the area of parent-social worker communication. The paper provides an initial contribution to current social work concerns of the need to improve the theoretical underpinning of 'specialist social work communication skills' for different practice settings (Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2004) by identifying communication issues and skills for work with parents of disabled children. Moreover, as secondary analysis of qualitative data is rarely reported, the paper provides a useful commentary on this type of research process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the different aspects of change in familial culture. It looks at how family relationships remain of great consequence in contemporary Britain, notwithstanding the changes there have been. It also discusses the conceptual differences between household and family, specifically distinguishing the dynamics of household demography from the family as a solidaristic network of members, some of whom at times live in the same household. Moreover, it discusses some influential theories of family change which suggest that the growth of individualism undermines family solidarity.

This paper suggests that most, if not all, prior research findings concerning a nonlinear relationship between marital satisfaction and stages of the family life cycle may be based on statistical artifacts arising from inadequate protection against type I errors. It then provides guidelines for avoiding such errors and demonstrates how these affect interpretations of data in a recent study. Because of the very weak relationships that are typically found in such studies, it is suggested that the family lifecycle model is not a viable conceptual tool for the explanation of a large number of quality of life indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides the first report of an intensive empirical study of social relations of unemployment on a Glasgow housing estate. Its sample is divided into two equal, age-based categories corresponding to families where the male 'head of household' is over 25 and has a previous record of regular work, and those under 25 where such experience is absent. The paper identifies and examines a domestic and work-linked cycle which has been disrupted by unemployment. On this basis we then consider the differential adaptation to unemployment of the two groups; differences in their gender relations and differences in the forms and degrees of their reliance on kin and other support. We finally and tentatively propose some connections between unemployment and domestic conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Community, Work & Family is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

ABSTRACT The family unit is the primary source of transmission of basic social, cultural, genetic, and biological factors that may underlie individual differences in smoking. Existing information on the role of familial factors in tobacco use is characterized by two separate, but somewhat overlapping, lines of research: genetic epidemiological studies and risk-factor research. The present paper summarizes and evaluates studies assessing the association between adolescent smoking and parent and sibling smoking behaviors. A review of 87 studies reveals that methods are limited by a lack of standardized instruments, failure to measure important confounding and mediating factors, reliance on cross-sectional designs and the use of inconsistent definitions of tobacco-related behavior and assessment procedures. Moreover, there are no systematic family studies of the acquisition and continuation of smoking that have employed contemporary methodological standards for examining familial aggregation of tobacco behaviors among adolescents. Findings across studies show weak and inconsistent associations between parent and adolescent smoking; inconsistent findings may be attributed to methodological issues or associated factors that may complicate the relation between parent and adolescent smoking. Sibling and peer smoking show greater associations with adolescent smoking. Suggestions for future research include contemporary family studies that delineate meaningful phenotypes of tobacco use and prospective work on the later stages of tobacco use and the timing of the influence and valence of parent and family factors. Integration of the risk factor approach within the family study design may enrich both approaches to elucidate familial influences on smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a qualitative and quantitative study of the circumstances of 20 Pakistani and Bangladeshi families with one or more severely disabled children living in Birmingham, England. Parents and other adult carers were interviewed using a combination of structured questionnaires and a semi-structured interview schedule focusing on the families' material circumstances, their use of formal services, informal care arrangements, and aspects of the parents' social and psychological well-being. The study suggests that previous national surveys of disabled families may have under-estimated the extent of material disadvantage, while it confirms that health and social care professionals should not assume that Pakistani and Bangladeshi parents have recourse to high levels of extended family support. The combination of disadvantaged circumstances and difficulties in securing access to appropriate services, which are found for the majority of families with a disabled child, was particularly acute for these ethnic minority families, suggesting the additional dimension of institutional racism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the Australian Institute on Family Studies' Housing Across the Life Course project. This paper set out to illustrate how the key concepts of a risk society might become manifest in contemporary Australian housing careers. This led to a consideration of whether entry to home purchase shows signs of increased differentiation and disconnectedness. Analysis reveals no evidence of increased differentiation; on the contrary, the age-related norm of entry to home ownership appears to be strengthening. That is, entry to home ownership by later cohorts is increasingly likely to have been attained within a narrower span of years than earlier cohorts. The data suggest that if individuals have not entered home ownership by their early thirties, they are increasingly unlikely to do so. With regard to disconnectedness, analysis found that entry to home ownership is becoming increasingly disconnected from other life course events. The paper has provided brief illustrations of the manifestation of risk society concepts and what they might mean for our understanding of family life.

Copyright of Journal for Sociology of Education & Socialization / Zeitschrift für Soziologie der Erziehung & Sozialisation is the property of Julius Beltz GmbH & Co. KG Beltz Juventa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As one of the most fundamental parts of social structure, marriage significantly influences society. In Indonesia, the complexity of issues in a marriage is increased considerably by the practice of polygamy. Historically, polygamy has been a part of Indonesian society. Nonetheless, as Indonesia progresses to become more democratic society, women's rights in polygamous households has become a topic of tension among Indonesians. The effort to address women's rights in polygamy is confronted with a sensitive hurdle due to the close association of polygamy with religious beliefs, particularly within Islam. As defined by the faith, polygamy was designed to be the social welfare protection system for a widow and her children. However, the modern practice has deviated from its original intention and is at risk of harming women's rights. As such, establishing a broader perspective of polygamy with an approach that leans more towards accepting Indonesian plurality and tolerance is critical for protecting women's rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a critical assessment of the distinction between the public and the private spheres as often used in family studies. In place of the focus on a single public/private dichotomy which is common in sociological usage, it points to the multiple, cross-cutting, context-specific zones of privacy found in social life. It provides an empirical illustration of the nature and effects of such zones of privacy by examining some instances of social policy development in Ireland in the present century where questions of family privacy were very much at issue. It concludes by suggesting that the public/private dichotomy should be understood not as an objective division of the world into two spheres, but as a flexible cultural image which is put to use in wide variety of situations so as to serve a great diversity of interests and purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the use of path analysis in family studies. Advantages of path analysis over conventional multiple regression techniques; History of path analysis and its use in family studies; Theoretical requirements for multiple regression and path analysis; Details of the designing of the study; Evaluation of models; Ways of reporting of data and results; Suggestions for graduate and postgraduate training; Successful use of path analysis in family studies when combined with good, usable data and valid theory.

Background: Higher diet quality has been associated with greater amounts of food waste among adults in the United States. This study aims to build on previous work by examining the association between diet quality and food waste, as assessed using detailed waste audits, among a sample of Canadian families.Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from 85 Canadian families with young children. Parent and children diet quality was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015), calculated from 3-day food records. Household food waste was measured using detailed waste audits conducted over multiple weeks and these data were used to calculate daily per capita food waste. Linear regression was used to explore the association between parent and child HEI-2015 scores and daily per capita total avoidable and unavoidable food waste, as well as daily per capita avoidable and unavoidable food waste in the following categories: 1) fruits and vegetables, 2) milk, cheese and eggs, 3) meat and fish, 4) breads and cereals, 5) fats and sugars.Results: Parent HEI-2015 scores ranged from 37 to 92 (out of 100) and 81% of parents' diets scored in the "Needs Improvement (51-80)" category. Parent and child diet quality scores were significantly correlated (r = 0.61; P < 0.0001) and 82% of children's diets scored in the "Needs Improvement" category. On average, households produced 107 g of avoidable food waste and 52 g of unavoidable food waste per person per day. Fruits and vegetables were the highest contributor for both avoidable and unavoidable food waste. Both parent and child HEI-2015 scores were not significantly associated with total daily per capita avoidable or unavoidable food waste. However, parent HEI-2015 scores were positively associated with daily per capita avoidable fruit and vegetable waste (Unstandardized β = 1.05; 95%CI: 0.11, 1.99; P = 0.03) and daily per capita unavoidable fruit and vegetable waste (Unstandardized β = 0.60; 95%CI: 0.03, 1.17; P = 0.04), after adjusting for household income.Conclusion: This is the first study to explore the association between diet quality and food waste using detailed waste audits. Future research should explore effective strategies towards improving diet quality while simultaneously reducing food waste, especially of fruits and vegetables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on trends in family studies in Australia. It monitors trends in the literature, both published works and unpublished papers such as conference and research papers and other non-commercial literature from universities and non-government agencies. The database also makes possible the identification of organisations and individuals working in particular subject areas. The database is divided into 70 broad subject categories. This structure makes it possible to analyse the amount and type of literature indexed in each category and to make observations about the attention or concern different social issues receive in a given time period. The majority of categories are surprisingly stable, mostly recording a slight increase each year, or occasionally a small decrease, in numbers of documents indexed. This year, 25 categories recorded more than 50 new documents; 13 with between 50 and 99 documents; nine with between 100 and 199 documents; and three categories with more than 200 documents.

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information about several publications related to family research. Working Paper No.16 "Spousal Support in Australia: A Study of Incidence and Attitudes," Juliet Behrens, Lecturer in Law at the Australian National University, and Bruce Smyth ,a Research Officer at the lnstitute, draws on data from the Australian Divorce Transition Project, a random national sample of 650 divorced Australians, conducted by the institute in late 1997. The paper suggests that periodic spousal support, not to be confused with child support, continues to be rare, minimal and brief, and it identifies some of the personal circumstances associated with this economic transfer. Working Paper No.17, "Reconceptualising Australian Housing Careers," by Ian Winter and Wendy Stone, researchers at the Australian Institute of Family Studies, reports on how the links between housing outcomes and particular stages of the family life course are being redrawn in the wake of widespread demographic, social and economic restructuring.

Dr. Irving I. Gottesman was very creative in applying twin research designs to test hypotheses and predictions about human behavior. Two designs stand out among others: twins reared apart from birth and the twin-family study. I (NS) was inspired to incorporate both of these approaches into my own research programs at California State University, Fullerton. Gottesman's involvement and contributions to reared-apart twin research are described, followed by selected findings from the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart (MISTRA), the Fullerton Study of Chinese Twins Reared Apart (CTA), a case report on separated monozygotic (MZ) female twins from South Korea, and doubly exchanged MZ male twin pairs from Colombia, South America. Recent findings from an ongoing twin-family study of social closeness, and future directions, are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of several specialized journals that examine the experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) individuals, families, and communities, particularly the Journal of GLBT Family Studies, has profoundly shaped GLBT research. Engaging in taking stock activities helps to identify trends on which future research should focus to further develop the field. For example, scholars suggest critical analysis of journal publications is necessary for field development, which was done here. Specifically, this content analysis examines the first decade of publications appearing in the Journal of GLBT Family Studies from 2005 to 2015 (N = 233) to identify trends in theoretical foundations, methodological plurality, and inclusivity. Results revealed foci on experiences of GLBT adults. Studies focused less on issues unique to GLBT populations (i.e., stigma). Qualitative designs and primarily White, middle-class samples were most frequently used. Strengths and future opportunities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundImpairments in key neuropsychological domains (e.g. working memory, attention) and social cognitive deficits have been implicated as intermediate (endo) phenotypes for bipolar disorder (BD), and should therefore be evident in unaffected relatives.MethodNeurocognitive and social cognitive ability was examined in 99 young people (age range 16–30 years) with a biological parent or sibling diagnosed with the disorder [thus deemed to be at risk (AR) of developing BD], compared with 78 healthy control (HC) subjects, and 52 people with a confirmed diagnosis of BD.ResultsOnly verbal intelligence and affective response inhibition were significantly impaired in AR relative to HC participants; the BD participants showed significant deficits in attention tasks compared with HCs. Neither AR nor BD patients showed impairments in general intellectual ability, working memory, visuospatial or language ability, relative to HC participants. Analysis of BD-I and BD-II cases separately revealed deficits in attention and immediate memory in BD-I patients (only), relative to HCs. Only the BD (but not AR) participants showed impaired emotion recognition, relative to HCs.ConclusionsSelective cognitive deficits in the capacity to inhibit negative affective information, and general verbal ability may be intermediate markers of risk for BD; however, the extent and severity of impairment in this sample was less pronounced than has been reported in previous studies of older family members and BD cases. These findings highlight distinctions in the cognitive profiles of AR and BD participants, and provide limited support for progressive cognitive decline in association with illness development in BD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this article is to examine developments in the area of family literacy over the last decade. Acknowledging the bifurcation that has occurred in the field of family literacy, as well as changing conceptions of literacy and of families, we review naturalistic studies of literacy embedded and enacted in communities and families across different sociocultural context and also what we see as the evolving nature of family literacy programs. We conclude with an acknowledgement of some of the ongoing concerns, issues, and tensions in the field and a call for sensitivity on the part of all of us involved in family literacy research and programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substance use is common among young people and can escalate into significant problems for affected individuals and their families. Family responses can influence the course of youth substance use and its consequences for family members, including parents and siblings. Family-level interventions developed to date have neglected the important role that siblings can play. This article describes a pilot test of an intervention designed to assist parents and siblings affected by youth substance use and related problems. The BEST Plus intervention consisting of professionally-led, multifamily groups sequenced over eight sessions is described with reference to the intended therapeutic processes. Professionally observed and self-reported changes for family participants including siblings suggested that the program had a beneficial therapeutic impact. This evaluation of early impacts suggests the BEST Plus program offers a promising means of assisting families to respond to substance use problems in young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examines the inherent challenges of the wide-scale implementation and replication of program models. Using the Healthy Family America (HFA) program model, the study reviews the adaptation/adoption debate and highlights the ways in which program adoption and program adaptation could coexist to facilitate successful program implementations. Specifically, 103 HFA program sites were evaluated based on their adherence to HFA's flexible program model. Although the results are mixed, the study presents a new way of addressing existing program implementation and replication issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review article examines the progress and impact of the Journal of Family and Economic Issues (JFEI) between 1988–2007. Over the past 20 years, JFEI has become a major journal publishing articles on the relationship between families and economic systems. JFEI contributed to both the economic and family studies disciplines by publishing articles that explore the interface of these two disciplines. Between 1988 and 2007, JFEI published articles on a variety of themes not often found in other economic or family studies journals such as family resource management, consumer attitudes and behaviors, and economic issues and family relationships. Other unique characteristics of JFEI include many collaborative multidisciplinary studies and many studies analyzing international or cross-cultural samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study extends Goffman's idea that frames are laminated in various ways in interaction by demonstrating how work and play frames are interrelated in two distinct ways in naturally occurring family conversations. An analysis of excerpts from everyday interactions between parents and young children in three families illustrates how frames of play and parenting are laminated (i) by using language to sequentially transform inter- action from a literal frame to a play frame (reframing), and (ii) by creating two definitions of the social situation simultaneously through language and sometimes through physical actions as well (blending frames). It identifies linguistic and paralinguistic features by which these laminations are accomplished and shows how the parents in each family use the two different types. Finally, the analysis demonstrates in what ways play constitutes "work" for parents, contributing to our understanding of play as both ambiguous and "paradoxical." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Family literacy programmes have become increasingly popular with policy-makers as a means of addressing low levels of adult literacy. It is believed that such initiatives will help to address social exclusion and aid greater economic participation by those in deprived communities or from disadvantaged sectors of society. The growing interest in such initiatives comes at a time of international concern over general levels of literacy, as highlighted by the United Nations literacy decade 2003-2012 and in Europe by the Lisbon Agenda. In this article, which draws on the findings from a cross-European study of family literacy programmes in England, Ireland and Malta, we argue that disparate agendas characterizse policy and practice. We conclude by considering the implications for the future of family literacy programmes in promoting social inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data collected from 10,511 kindergarten children and their parents from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten Cohort, this study examines child well-being across cohabiting 2-biological-parent families; cohabiting stepfamilies; married stepfamilies; and married 2-biological-parent families. Findings indicate no differences in child well-being for children living in cohabiting stepfamilies and cohabiting 2-biological-parent families. Multivariate models controlling for child characteristics, economic resources, maternal depressive symptoms, stability, and parenting practices show no significant differences across family types in child well-being indicators, with the exception of reading skills. Important factors in explaining the link between cohabitation and child well-being include economic resources, maternal depressive symptoms, and parenting practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the introductory part of the symposium titled "Critical Perspectives on Career and Family-Friendly Policies." The objective of the symposium was to join the disciplinary backgrounds for both studies on career and family life. It states that, there must be a separation between family life and the study of career including family-friendly policy initiatives and the study of work organizations. In family life, social policy must be taken into consideration while occupational psychology, sociology of work and industrial relations would refer to the studies of career.

Contrary to theory and evidence from many other regions, previous studies in sub-Saharan Africa have found surprisingly weak associations between family size and schooling. It is unclear; however, whether these weak results reflect (spurious) limitations in methodology or (real) differences in context. This study uses schooling histories from Cameroon to test four contending methodological and contextual explanations for these weak results: measurement bias, statistical estimation bias, family buffering, and socioeconomic context. We find the strongest support for the last explanation: the relationship between family size and schooling varies with spatial and historical context. This relationship has strengthened within the country over time, and this raises concern about the implications of current demographic transitions on inequality among children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the meaning of quality of life (QOL) in China from the perspective of social representations. The data were collected by open-ended individual interviews with 16 ordinary Chinese people. The study shows that social thinking about QOL in Chinese society is activated in five critical domains of life: health, family, work, social relations and the natural environment. Meanwhile, “having” and “being”, the two antinomic, yet dialogical interdependent, interpretive repertoires, have an overarching generative and normative power over the discourse about QOL. They permeate and underpin the different domains of life. Dominated by an “economic logic”, the “having” repertoire constructs these life domains through a set of economic consequences and posits them as resources leading to material possessions. While dominated by an “existential logic”, the “being” repertoire confesses existential meanings to the same life domains, and emphasises the joy derived from them. Thereby, it infers that QOL as a social representation is generated from, and organised around, a central thema of “having” and “being”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article first provides an overview of the part that secondary data analysis plays in the field of family studies in the early 21st century. It addresses changes over time in the use of existing omnibus data sets and discusses their advantages and disadvantages. The second part of the article focuses on the elements that make a study a “family” study. It describes sources of existing data and the process of selecting a data set. The third part presents special issues and concerns in using existing data, and the fourth part addresses the future of secondary data analysis in the field of family research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American population is constantly evolving, as are its needs for family life education. We discuss how family life educators can address issues of diversity in developing and conducting programs for families. Domains for change are suggested in which educators can incorporate cultural competence in their daily work. Four general strategies are presented for extending programming to more audiences. Interwoven throughout are specific examples and recommendations for use by family life educators. We end with a diversity agenda for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses changes made to the second edition of the Framework for Life Span Family Life Education, developed by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR). The family life education movement encompasses a broad range of disciplines, such as, health science, sociology, psychology, counseling, biology, economics, mass communication and others. Family life education is defined by NCFR as "preventative and educational activities including program development, implementation, evaluation, teaching, training, and research related to individual and family well-being." The second edition of the framework is helpful to those who engage in family life education on a full-time basis, as well as those who do it on a part-time basis. The framework can be an important tool in program development and assessment by aiding program developers in determining appropriate curriculum content for age-specific programs. The framework also provides assistance in assessing both breadth and depth in family life education curricula.

The article examines the dynamics of care-giving within farming families in Northern Ireland. It discusses the resistance of farming families to be involved in formal social services, the difficulties associated with caring and the importance of ideologies and cultural assumptions within the family.

I reinforce a vision for family science in which we routinely step back from our research to consider the fit of the empirical worm with the reality of everyday life. This vision suggests that we pursue the methodological advances of the past decade. but remain mindful of the limitations of the scientific approach. Such mindfulness will help us attend to both similarity and variability in families and in family-life experience. A responsible social science also requires that we attend to rhetoric or how we communicate. I reflect on the practice of humility as a way to achieve these goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Delusional (D-MDD) and nondelusional depression (ND-MDD) differ in clinical presentation, biological abnormalities, course of illness, and treatment response. Family data, however, have been less consistent regarding differential risk both for any major depression (MDD) and specifically D-MDD in relatives of D-MDD probands. In an earlier family study, we observed a 1.5-fold increase in rates of any MDD, specificity of transmission of D-MDD, and increased rates of bipolar disorders in relatives of D-MDD compared to relatives of ND-MDD probands. In a new family study, we attempted to replicate these findings.Method: A family study of 361 directly interviewed adult first-degree relatives (FDRs) of 163 probands (118 with MDD and 45 screened normal controls) was used to examine familial aggregation of any MDD, D-MDD, and bipolarity by proband delusional status.Results: Compared to FDRs of ND-MDD probands, FDRs of D-MDD probands were at modestly increased risk for any MDD. These results were unaffected by adjustment for proband ascertainment source, comorbidity, or whether probands had chronologically primary MDD. There was a trend toward increased rates of broadly defined bipolarity (bipolar I, bipolar II, or cyclothymia) in FDRs of D-MDD compared to FDRs of ND-MDD probands.Conclusion: Results from the present study were broadly consistent with those from our previous work. While other lines of evidence for D-MDD as a distinct subtype are more compelling than family data, it would be of methodologic interest to identify sources of inconsistency across studies in findings concerning the familial aggregation of delusional depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses several developments concerning the Australian Institute of Family Studies. The institute invites registrations from people wishing to attend the sixth Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, to be held at the Carlton Crest Hotel in Melbourne from November 25-27,1998. The conference will provide a valuable forum for those interested or involved in family research, the development of family policy, or providing services to families in Australia. The conference will focus on family issues in Australia and feature the presentation and discussion of findings of the Institute's own studies, along with work from other researchers, government bodies, service providers and community organizations. It reports that over 150 presentations will be made during the course of the conference. The conference will include keynote addresses, papers, symposia, display and discussion poster presentations, and workshops. All have been grouped into the following broad themes. The article also presents information on family values and family relations, effects of divorce on family members, demographic change, life courses and family futures, and others.

This article examines the use of the Family Environmental Scale (FES) to study the differences between subjects' ratings of their present and past or intergenerational families. It investigates whether the order of administration has a significant effect on the ratings that are being made; and the exact nature of differences between subjects' ratings of their current and past families. These issues are examined with data from a study of intergenerational FES ratings on a sample of intact, non-clinic married couples. Findings suggest that the order of administration does have an effect on the second family ratings that are being made and that attention be focused on the interpretation of differences in intergenerational family ratings.

The determinants of child care arrangements and relations between child care and fertility are examined using data on two-earner households from the 1976 National Survey of Family Growth. We find that the probability of relying on market arrangements is higher among families in which the husband's income, the wife's wage, and the level of the wife's labor supply are high; these households are likely to benefit the most from subsidies to the market forms of care that are small relative to the total cost of care (e.g. the present system of tax credits). In addition, parental education, family size, child's age, race, religion, and place of residence have important influences on the choice of child care mode. When other factors are held constant, reliance on a relative for child care is positively associated with intentions to have further children among couples with infants and preschoolers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family life education arose around the turn of the 20th century in response to the perceived negative impact of changing social conditions on families. Since then, family life education as a field of study and practice has experienced considerable growth. This article reviews recent advances in family life education scholarships, practice, and educator preparation and identifies challenges for the future. Historical and futuristic perspectives acknowledge the evolutionary nature of the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a survey of educators of comparative family studies and identifies the types of information that are needed for multicultural family courses. Issues related to social inequality were considered particularly important. Family educators are expected to be interested in current global changes and their impacts on contemporary families. Family scholars have made significant contributions to the study of cultural diversity internationally and nationally, through comparative studies of families in other cultures and studies of minority groups in the U.S. Traditionally, comparative family research involves the systematic observations of two or more family systems across time or place. The goal is to identify and to explain the uniformities and differences in family structure and the effects of these characteristics on individual and family development and interactions. Virtually every topic studied by family scholars can be and is pursued comparatively, such as premarital sexuality, conjugal power, marital dissolution, differential socialization of children, and gender roles in households and the wage labor market.

The present study examines the relationship between relative income (i.e., actual income in relation to the expected income of one's socioeconomic group) and fertility, using data collected by the 1967-1968 Canadian Family Growth Study (Balakrishnan et al., 1975). We broaden the tests of relative income beyond cumulative fertility to spacing behavior and then examine some of assumptions included in the relative income model of fertility. Results of the tests, in brief, are as follows: (a) Relative income is found to be more closely related to spacing than to cumulative fertility; and (b) the relationship between relative income and fertility is strongest among those couples who plan their life ahead and have a high level of education and occupation, and when temporal alignment is brought between the measures of relative income and fertility. For the relative income model to receive confirmation, it was specified that the following hypotheses must be confirmed: (a) that fertility behavior would vary positively with relative income but the fertility norm would show no relationship with relative income: and (b) that consumption norms and behavior would show no relationship with relative income. The outcome of these tests are in the expected direction, giving support to the relative income model. In addition, there is some evidence of predictive capability of the relative income model for correlative behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In examining 'family policy', previous work on 'family ideology' is developed to demonstrate that 'traditional family sociology' has been 'doing things with words'. In this area sociology, far from being innocuous, has had real impact upon society and may well have been oppressive and deeply reactionary.
Sociological interest in 'family life'[1] and 'family policy' seems to be a growth area in the UK.[2] Many, however, seem to regard 'family policy' debates as somehow neutral, even a technical issue (e.g., Family Impact Statements as discussed by Ory and Leik, 1983 or the Study Commission on the Family, 1983, 46--9). The central argument here is that 'family policy' debates, especially those in which sociology has taken part, are very much 'political', have substantive results and are in fact both dangerous and repressive.[3]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research note reports some findings of a small exploratory study of a sample of 18 women and 14 men living in the North-West in families in which the wife was the major (though not necessarily the only) breadwinner. Amongst the aspects explored in interviews were their domestic financial arrangements, which were found to be significantly different from those in studies where the husband was the main breadwinner. It was found that there was a tendency for the wives to cede some of their financial power to their husbands. At the same time they took on a sense of the burden of responsibility and worry associated with the breadwinning role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irving I. Gottesman played an important role for psychiatric genetic research in Denmark through more than 40 years of collaboration with Danish scientists, resulting in important twin and family studies based upon the unique national registers available in Denmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Life history theory and resource dilution models of the family suggest that siblings may present a threat to healthy development because they compete for resources that parents have available to invest in individual offspring. Using data from a large cohort study of contemporary British families (ALSPAC), we test this hypothesis using childhood growth trajectories as a biomarker for health status. Methods Incorporating time-varying measures of changing family structure and socio-economic environment, this study represents the first true longitudinal analysis of family configuration effects on human growth. Using separate multi-variate multi-level models we estimate the effect of sibling number and sibling age and sex on height from birth to 10 years. Results Adjusting for family level socio-economic factors, the presence of siblings is associated with deficits in height across the study period. At the largest comparison, we estimate that compared with only children, children with four siblings have a reduced birth length by −8.7 mm (95% confidence interval (CI): −14.8 to −2.6) and a reduced rate of growth by −2.3 mm per year (95% CI: −3.8 to −0.8), leading to a deficit of 31.5 mm by age 10. Older siblings are associated with larger lasting negative consequences on height than younger siblings. We find no difference in the height of children in relation to the sex of siblings. Conclusions Even in the relatively wealthy, well-nourished conditions of modern Western society, children are not buffered from the health costs of reduced parental investment. Later-born children appear worst affected by within family resource division. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]