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In contemporary discourse, children are imagined with "surplus risk," and parents often feel pressure to protect their children from danger. Drawing on interviews with 40 Latina, White, and Black mothers of teenagers, the authors examine the factors that shape these mothers' concerns for their teens' safety, how they articulate these concerns, and the strategies they employ to try to keep teens safe: individual responsibility, monitoring, and organized activities. Drawing on insights from Black feminism and critical race theory, the authors demonstrate how the intersections of race, class, and gender shape mothers' perceptions of the dangers their children face and their efforts to help their children navigate these "hostile environments." Findings reveal intersecting axes of inequality in mothers' protective carework as well as how inequalities are resisted, but may also be reproduced, through mothers' understandings and strategies. The benefits and challenges of an intersectional analysis are discussed in the conclusion. (Contains 3 notes.)

This study examined how maternal chronic illnesses may affect children's academic achievement through parental involvement. A total of 189 mothers diagnosed with chronic illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, chronic pain, asthma, myelodysplasic syndrome, and fibromyalgia, and with a child in middle school or high school (age 10-18 years) completed questionnaires assessing the demands of illness on family functioning, parental involvement, and the child's academic functioning. The results suggested that the majority of children of mothers with chronic illness were able to function adequately in terms of academic achievement. However, children's academic functioning might be at risk when family functioning was more disrupted as the result of maternal illness. Children's grades were negatively related to levels of demands of illness on family functioning. Levels of illness demands were negatively related to parental self-efficacy. Moreover, parental self-efficacy attenuated the effects of disruption in normal family functioning on children's academic achievement.

In a globalizing urban India, middle-class parents are extremely anxious about their child's success and future in a competitive world. In this context, the present article attempts to capture middle-class educated Indian fathers' thoughts, feelings, and contributions in ensuring children's success, through primary research conducted in the city of Baroda in western India using qualitative and quantitative methods. Descriptive data and fathers' voices highlight their notions of achievement, the nature and extent of their involvement in different areas of their children's lives, namely, providing, guiding and mentoring, practical and emotional support, communication, education, and extracurricular activities. Fathers' vision of a successful child, nature of involvement and their reasoning are in consonance with their desire for involvement in promoting the child's cognitive and social competence, and passing on "sanskar," a unique aspect of Hindu culture. (Contains 2 tables.)

Previous studies mainly examined individual and family factors affecting Japanese fathers' involvement in child care. Along with these factors, we examine how work-related factors such as father-friendly environment at work, workplace's accommodation of parental needs, job stress, and autonomy are associated with Japanese men's participation in child care. Using 2010 data collected from Japanese fathers with preschool children ("N" = 1,317), a theoretical model is tested on men who work for large or small/medium companies. We find that company's accommodation of parental needs and job autonomy increase child care involvement of fathers in medium/small companies, and job stress reduces such involvement among men in large companies. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of recent public attention on child caring fathers in Japan. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

There are good reasons to suspect that the transition parents go through when having their second child may be different from when having their first, yet these differences remain understudied. This study focuses on one specific area of possible divergence by looking at how first-time versus second-time mothers decide on maternity leave length. To address this question, a series of in-depth semistructured longitudinal interviews were conducted at three different times over the course of 1 year with 16 pregnant public school teachers; 8 of whom were having their first child and 8 their second child. Findings indicate that some areas in which differences emerged include the level of influence of the Family and Medical Leave Act guidelines, comfort level with using paid child care, and the gendered nature of their parenting ideologies. (Contains 2 notes.)

The objective of this article is to explore how parental status, gender, and their interaction influence a variety of aspects of searching for online health information. Drawing on nationally representative survey data, the results show that in a number of ways parenting and gender have separate but significant influences on the following: online searching behavior, whether the information is used, and feelings about the information obtained. The authors found that although female parents are more likely than male parents to put the health information they have found online into use, parenting and sex have more independent than combined effects. This is particularly the case regarding whether respondents search for information for themselves or others, their feelings about the information found, and the process of finding online health information. (Contains 1 note, 4 tables, and 1 figure.)

The discursive practices of adoptive parents in two online transnational adoption forums (2006-2008) and observations of five international adoption workshops suggest that what Heather Jacobson described as "culture keeping", the cultural socialization of children that retains a sense of native group identity, is more aptly characterized as "cultural tourism", the selective appropriation and consumption of renovated cultural symbols, artifacts, and events that serve as the source of identity construction for adopted children. A feature of consumer capitalism, cultural tourism in transnational adoption helps shape the contours of cultural and racial identity. It also provides a partial understanding of how adopted children often fail to develop hybrid identities and how adult adoptees exist on the margins of two cultures. (Contains 3 tables and 6 notes.)

Using a sample of 335 young adults and their parents, this study investigated the intergenerational transmission of marital attitudes from parents to their children and how parental marital quality moderates that relationship. Results suggested that the marital attitudes of both mothers and fathers are related to the marital attitudes of their children. Parents' marital quality had little direct impact on the marital attitudes of their young adult children but did moderate the relationship between fathers' marital attitudes and their young adults' marital attitudes. The association between fathers' marital attitudes and their children's marital attitudes increased at higher levels of marital quality. (Contains 5 tables.)

The literature on intergenerational transfers and divorce has paid little attention to the experiences of older adults whose son or daughter has divorced or separated. The authors conducted 31 qualitative interviews to explore support provision from the perspective of older adults with divorced or separated adult children. All respondents were also grandparents. Older adults whose sons and daughters have experienced divorce or separation seek to accomplish two main aims, namely (a) compensating for the perceived losses that their adult children (and grandchildren) have experienced and (b) drawing boundaries around the support that they channel to compensate for the losses. The findings support the relevance of both the solidarity and ambivalence paradigms in seeking to understand postseparation intergenerational relationships and transfers, and hence the argument that these frameworks are compatible and complementary. (Contains 2 tables.)

The authors explored individual and family adjustment processes among parents (n = 30) and children (n = 55) who were displaced to Colorado after Hurricane Katrina. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 23 families, this article offers an inductive model of displaced family adjustment. Four stages of family adjustment are presented in the model: (a) family unity stage, (b) prioritizing safety stage (parents) and missing home stage (children), (c) confronting reality stage (parents) and feeling settled stage (children), and (d) reaching resolution. This research illustrates that parental and child adjustment trajectories are dynamic and may vary over time, thus underscoring the importance of considering the perspectives of both adults and children in research and disaster policy interventions. (Contains 1 figure.)

This study examines parents' and children's reaction to the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation to limit children's television (TV) viewing to 2 hours a day or less. To better understand the challenges faced by parents who would seek to adhere to the guidelines, we conducted qualitative small group interviews with 60 parent/child dyads from each of the following three age groups: 6 to 7, 9 to 10, and 12 to 13 years (N = 180 children and 180 parents). Parents and children were interviewed separately and transcripts were thematically analyzed using Atlas.ti. Results indicate three salient challenges: (a) limiting children's TV time will cause conflict in the home because of children's anger at parents' rules and increased bickering between siblings; (b) replacing TV as an entertainer takes time away from parents and requires monetary and community resources that are not available; and (c) TV is seen as a beneficial presence in the home, offering entertainment, free babysitting, and educational opportunities.

With whom do parents discuss medical and behavioral child-rearing questions? In a telephone survey of 167 parents (49 fathers and 118 mothers) in the southern United States, the authors found that mothers express a clear preference for their own mother's advice as opposed to that of their mother-in-law. Fathers are less likely to consult any relative and show little preference for their own mothers in seeking parenting advice. Directions for further research are discussed. (Contains 6 tables.)

Using parent interview data from a subsample of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), the authors compared the financial contributions of married, divorced, and remarried parents toward their children's college education and found that although divorced parents contributed significantly less than married parents, remarried parents contributed amounts similar to those of divorced parents, despite having incomes similar to those of married parents. The authors also investigated the financial contributions of divorced and remarried parents who lived in states that permit courts to extend child support beyond the age of 18 for college expenses (postmajority states) and found that living in a postmajority state is not associated with increased parent contributions. (Contains 2 figures, 5 tables, and 6 notes.)

The United States is one of the major baby-receiving countries in the world. Relatively little research has focused on why there is such a high demand for intercountry adoption. Using in-depth qualitative interviews with adoptive parents, the authors explored the reasons why Americans prefer to adopt foreign-born children instead of adopting minority children domestically. Other than infertility reasons, concerns about domestic adoption, and the uneven domestic supply and demand of "desirable" children, the authors' findings suggested that there was a perception that American children available for adoption presented difficult problems whereas foreign children presented interesting challenges. The "problems" inherent in children from American foster care were confounded with race differences. Studying adoption motivations will not only help us better understand the domestic adoption situation, especially why so many Black children are left behind in foster care, it may also reveal important insights into current race relations and distances between groups in the United States. (Contains 1 table.)

Previous models of parental educational investments focus on the composition of the sibship (number, gender, ordering, and spacing) and on the social and institutional context in which investment decisions are made. Social-institutional models predict that parents in Japan are likely to underinvest in girls because of their transient status in the family of origin and their limited earnings potential. This article contributes an understanding of the family contexts under which this model of investment does and does not apply. Through an analysis of 45 in-depth interviews conducted by the author, a family culture of investment model is developed that identifies parental gender beliefs and valuation of education as key factors shaping parental investments in prewar cohort groups. The findings from this research have implications for our understanding of international variation in the gender equity of educational attainment. (Contains 3 tables and 4 notes.)

Using a longitudinal sample of 522 biological, never-married, nonresident fathers from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this article examines the factors associated with fathers' coparenting 36 months after a birth. Ordinary least squares regression models indicate never-married, nonresident fathers are less likely to perceive high coparental supportiveness if they have ever been incarcerated, if they have completed high school, if they have a greater number of children with the child's mother, if the mother has lower levels of education, if they are not in a relationship with the focal child's mother, if they have a new partner, and if they see their child more frequently. In contrast, more supportive coparental relationships are perceived among fathers with higher incomes, with higher education, who are employed, with a male child, and who provide informal support. This study provides continuing evidence that several aspects of nonresident men's lives have important influences on their coparenting. (Contains 2 tables.)

Most employed parents, many in dual-earner couples, are at work when their children get out of school, generating parental concerns about children's welfare after school. Parental concerns are hypothesized to be related to respondent and partner work hours, respondent schedule control, and child's unsupervised time and to give rise to job disruptions. The authors examine these links and the moderating effect of parent gender in a sample of 936 parents (310 men, 626 women) in full-time employed dual-earner couples with a school-aged (K-12) child. Parents' long work hours, lack of schedule control, and children's time unsupervised after school predicted high parental concerns, and parental concerns, in turn, predicted job disruptions. With one exception, results did not differ by gender. (Contains 3 tables.)

This study examines associations between parental religiosity and parenting in a sample of 482 mother-child and 453 father-child dyads. Parents complete a religiosity measure that allows disentangling the effects of being religious from the effects of the way in which people process religious contents (i.e., literal vs. symbolic). In addition, parent and adolescent reports of two parenting style (i.e., need support and regulation) and parental goal promotion dimensions (i.e., intrinsic vs. extrinsic and conservation vs. openness to change goal promotion) are gathered. Whereas parental religiosity is positively related to a tendency to promote conservation rather than openness to change goals, a symbolic religious cognitive style relates positively to need support and the promotion of intrinsic rather than extrinsic goals. Hence, whereas relations between parental religiosity as such and parenting are limited and not unequivocally positive, a symbolic religious cognitive style systematically relates to adaptive parenting styles and goals. Implications are discussed. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

This qualitative study investigates how parents of adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) manage courtesy stigma in their lives. Focus groups are conducted with mothers and fathers of adolescents with ADHD who are part of a cohort study on ADHD detection and service use. Using grounded theory analysis, researchers find that parents react to external expectations put forward by various community networks, but they respond to an internalized sense of responsibility in the context of immediate family. In addition, parents' stigma management extends beyond coping with their child's disability, adding an extra layer of stressful demands that could be lessened through societal stigma reduction. To conclude, advice offered to families needs to be individualized, carefully matched with their current support networks and priorities, and needs to consider that certain stigma management approaches can perpetuate existing negative identity markers. (Contains 2 figures.)

High rates of nonmarital fertility and divorce mean that many fathers do not live with some or all of their children. Using the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, this research compares socioeconomic and family characteristics among men with only coresidential children (n = 762), with both coresidential and nonresidential children (n = 107), and with only nonresidential children (n = 367) and examines the factors that influence men's visitation with nonresidential children. Men with only nonresidential children are more disadvantaged than men with both coresidential and nonresidential children, who in turn are more disadvantaged than men with only coresidential children. Although competing obligations to coresidential children affect visitation with nonresidential children, other factors are also important. In particular, the number of both coresidential sons and daughters negatively affects visitation. Men visit nonresidential children more frequently when they were married or cohabiting at birth, and visitation is negatively related to the age of nonresidential children. (Contains 3 tables.)

As more unmarried couples become parents, it is important to understand the dynamics that help these couples to maintain strong relationships. This article explores the association of the two partners' beliefs about father involvement with their likelihood of union dissolution and transition to marriage, using the first two waves of the Fragile Families survey (n = 2,303). It finds that couples are more likely to end their union when partners do not believe that fathers' caregiving is very important and when the father participates less. Partners are less likely to marry if the mother does not believe that fathers' caregiving is very important. These effects are distinct from the quality of the couple's relationship and suggest that unmarried parents who value the father's role as a hands-on parent may be more motivated to build a stronger relationship. (Contains 3 tables.)

Two years after the legalization of same-sex marriages in the Netherlands, 65% of the Dutch population largely or completely disagrees with the statement "gay marriage should be abolished." This article shows, by way of multinomial logistic regression analysis of survey data, which socializing agents influence one's attitude toward same-sex marriage after its legalization (FNB2003; N = 2,124). Parents' attitudes toward homosexuality during one's youth strongly affect one's attitude toward same-sex marriage. The strongest determinant is socialization within religious institutions. Religious practice provides an explanation of the differences between members of denominations opposing same-sex marriage. A lower educational level enhances one's probability of being neutral on abolishing gay marriage. Finally, men and people from non-Western origin are especially likely to oppose same-sex marriage. (Contains 6 tables, 2 figures and 3 notes.)

Popular culture today characterizes middle-class parents as being consumed with anxiety about their children. Drawing on more than 100 consumer reviews of baby monitors published on Epinions.com, the author examines how parents respond to that anxiety. Although Epinions.com reviewers are not representative of the population at large, they do represent married, well-educated women. The author demonstrates that in their discussions of monitors, parents normalize parental anxiety and that they depict the baby as both fragile (and thus in need of care) and mischievous (and thus in need of control). In addition, the author shows that as parents adapt to the anxieties associated with parenting by monitoring their babies, they gain some forms of freedom while accepting tethering and that they gain the new skills of interpretation through technology. In the conclusion, issues are raised about the links between parental monitoring of babies and increasing surveillance in contemporary society. (Contains 8 notes.)

The authors examine the consequences of incarceration for nonresident White, Latino, and African American fathers' contact with children and their formal and informal child support agreements. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, they found that fathers' current incarceration presented serious obstacles to maintaining contact with children and interfered with the establishment of informal financial support agreements with mothers. Recent and past incarceration were strongly and negatively associated with how often non-Latino White fathers saw their children but had a considerably smaller effect for African American and Latino fathers. A similar pattern of racial and ethnic differences was observed with respect to mothers' trust of fathers to take care of their children. Findings suggest the continued need for fathering programs in prisons and for reentry programs for fathers in communities following their release. (Contains 3 tables and 9 notes.)

This study examined maternal gatekeeping, its background and psychological antecedents, and its consequences for paternal and maternal involvement in child care. In sum, 209 couples with 6- to 36-month-old children completed extensive questionnaires. Analyses revealed that various dimensions of gate-keeping were differentially associated with the psychological antecedents and consequences of maternal gatekeeping. The standards and responsibilities dimension of gatekeeping was related to the mother's self-esteem, and it predicted the father's involvement in child care. The maternal identity confirmation dimension of gatekeeping was related to the salience of the mother's maternal identity, and it predicted her own involvement in child care. The importance of examining sociopsychological characteristics that account for gatekeeping tendencies is discussed, and the need is stressed to further explore the implications of these tendencies for various forms of involvement in child care. (Contains 3 tables.)

The majority of U.S. women who have abortions (61%) have children. This exploratory study analyzes qualitative information from 38 women obtaining abortions to examine how issues of motherhood influenced their decisions to terminate their pregnancies. Women in the sample had abortions because of the material responsibilities of motherhood, such as the care for their existing children, as well as the more abstract expectations of parenting, such as the desire to provide children with a good home. The women believed that children were entitled to a stable and loving family, financial security, and a high level of care and attention. One fourth of the women had considered adoption but regarded it as being emotionally distressing. The findings demonstrate reasons why women have abortions throughout their reproductive life spans and that their decisions to terminate pregnancies are often influenced by the desire to be a good parent. (Contains 1 table.)

This study explores the processes by which custodial mothers can support and inhibit fathers' relationships following divorce and separation. It draws on qualitative interviews with resident mothers and nonresident fathers from 54 separated families, including 22 sets of former couples. The study found that mothers adopt a range of strategies, from proactive gate opening to gate closing, and that these strategies appear influential. Maternal perceptions of paternal competence and child welfare beliefs, parental relationship quality, and parental role bargains were strongly linked to different types of maternal gatekeeping. Informed by systems theory, the interviews of former couples suggest that gate work, whether gate opening or gate closing, can be a dynamic transactional process rather than a linear and unidirectional process running from mothers to fathers. (Contains 1 table.)

The authors employ data from the Welfare, Children, and Families project, a probability sample of 2,402 low-income women with children living in low-income neighborhoods in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio, to test whether religious attendance is associated with parental satisfaction, perceived parental demands, and parental distress over 2 years. They also consider three potential mediators of the association between religious attendance and attitudes toward parenting: social support, self-esteem, and psychological distress. Results show that women who frequently attend religious services report greater parental satisfaction, perceive fewer parental demands, and report less parental distress than do women who attend less frequently. The authors also find that the mediators under study help to partially explain the relationship between religious attendance and attitudes toward parenting. (Contains 6 tables.)

This study explores cultural variance in parental health beliefs, knowledge, and information sources related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Structured interviews were completed by a representative community sample of 1,615 parents, including an ADHD knowledge and perceptions survey, behavioral questionnaires, and inquiries about ADHD detection and treatment. Most parents had heard about ADHD and considered themselves knowledgeable about it but were unaware of relevant school services; those who were aware rated their knowledge levels as low. Compared to their Caucasian counterparts, African American parents reported less ADHD awareness and lower self-rated knowledge. They experienced fewer cues to action, such as receiving ADHD information from teachers or reading media accounts. Furthermore, they made more etiological attributions to sugar intake and expected less benefit from treatment. Study findings suggest a compelling need for more culturally appropriate approaches to educating African American parents about the causes and treatment options for ADHD. (Contains 4 tables.)

Although bicultural competence has been viewed as an advantage for immigrants and other ethnic minorities in American society, we do not know whether bicultural socialization is similarly advantageous for children in families formed through international, transracial adoption. This study examines what factors enable adoptive Chinese children to achieve modest levels of bicultural competence. The data are from a longitudinal survey of parents who adopted children from China in the 1990s. Results indicate that parental attitudes toward bicultural socialization, parental social networks of Chinese adults, and the racial composition of the community all affect children's levels of Chinese cultural competence, while documenting how bicultural socialization can occur even when parents and children do not share a common birth culture. The implications of the findings for adoption agencies and professionals are also discussed, as well as the need for future research as the first cohorts of children adopted from China become adolescents. (Contains 4 tables and 13 notes.)

Every summer more than 10 million children attend day or resident (sleep-over) camps sponsored by churches, not-for-profit youth agencies, and independent operators. This study explored the outcomes of a 1-week or longer camp experience from the perspective of parents. A national sample of almost 2,300 parents responded to pre-, post-, and follow-up surveys about their children's growth experiences at camp. Parents perceived statistically significant gains from precamp to postcamp in 10 youth development constructs with the highest effect sizes related to adventure/exploration, independence, making friends, positive identity, and peer relationships. Additional gains from the precamp to the 6-month follow-up were noted for leadership. Parents also described what their children learned at camp and what changes they perceived occurred as a result of their child's camp experience. (Contains 7 tables.)

Associations among three dimensions of parenting (support, behavioral control, psychological control) and measures of adolescent depression, delinquency, and academic achievement were assessed in a sample of African American youth. All data were adolescent self-reports by way of school-administered questionnaires in random samples of classrooms in southeastern U.S. metropolitan areas. Path analysis revealed several associations between parenting dimensions and youth outcomes, including negative relationships between paternal support and depression and between parental behavioral control and delinquency. Group comparisons (by youth grade level, gender, and family socioeconomic status [SES]) were also conducted, and no age or SES differences were noted. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)

This study employs a Chinese sample to explore children's privacy rights within the family. For the purpose of comparison, parental views of children's privacy rights and children's own perceptions are examined. Privacy rights are defined to include three spheres--spatial, physical, and mental. Results show that age differences in perceptions of privacy rights exist not only between generations but also between the junior high and senior high school students. However, the three cohorts are relatively consistent in their ratings of aspects of privacy rights. Gender differences are manifest in the mental sphere of privacy and move in the opposite directions, with the male students valuing their privacy rights less but the male parents respecting them more. Perceptions of privacy rights also differ dependent on whether "privacy" is defined as rights or secrets. Developmental and cultural perspectives are employed to examine these findings. (Contains 3 tables.)

This article uses a sample of 867 African American households to investigate differences in parenting practices and child outcomes by type of household. Results indicate that mothers provide similar levels of parenting regardless of family structure. Secondary caregivers, however, show a great deal of variation in quality of parenting. Fathers and grandmothers engage in the highest quality parenting, stepfathers the poorest, with other relatives falling in between. These differences in parenting do not explain family structure differences in child behavior problems. Results suggest that children do best when there are two caregivers in the household, although stepfathers are an exception to this rule. Child behavior problems are found to be no greater in either mother-grandmother or mother-relative families than in households with two biological parents. In terms of risk for child behavior problems, these family forms seem to be functionally equivalent. (Contains 3 tables.)

Retrospective sense making is a common practice necessitated by new appearances that contradict old ones. This article examines this practice by parents who have recently learned that their sons are gay. Eighty parents are interviewed, and the data are analyzed for recurrent themes. In efforts to make sense of the past, parents recall much atypical gender behavior in their sons and lack of interest in sports. The article suggests that these behaviors become apparent to the parents because of long-lived cultural scripts equating atypical gender behavior with homosexuality. Parents also reflect on why they had earlier misinterpreted their sons' behaviors as heterosexual and do so through three methods (revelations, confirmations, and justifications). Theoretical implications as they pertain to the heterosexual presumption and cognitive dissonance are discussed. (Contains 9 notes.)

The father-child relationship and father's parenting style are examined as predictors of first delinquency and substance use, using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997, Rounds 1 to 3 (N = 5,345), among adolescents in intact families. Discrete time logistic regressions indicate that a more positive father-child relationship predicts a reduced risk of engagement in multiple first risky behaviors. Having a father with an authoritarian parenting style is associated with an increased risk of engaging in delinquent activity and substance use. Two-way interaction models further indicate that the negative effect of authoritarian parenting is reduced when fathers have a positive relationship with their adolescent. Permissive parenting also predicts less risky behavior when the father-child relationship is positive. The positive influence of the father-child relationship on risk behaviors is stronger for male than for female adolescents. (Contains 2 notes and 5 tables.)

In this article, the authors examine effects of partners' attitudes on the timing of the birth of a first child, the division of domestic labor, the division of child care, and the division of paid labor of couples. They use data from the Panel Study of Social Integration in the Netherlands, which includes independent measures of both partners' attitudes in one wave (1995) and family life behavior in the next wave (1999). Using theories about decision rules, the authors formulate hypotheses about possible outcomes when partners have dissimilar attitudes. The results show that partners' attitudes are not always identical. Most important, attitudes of both partners are found to be equally important in joint decisions. (Contains 4 tables and 1 note.)

Research indicates an association between parents' disciplinary practices and their children's developmental outcomes. Research also suggests that disciplinary practices vary with demographic factors such as class, ethnicity, and gender. This article draws on the Douglas-Wildavsky grid-group theory to explain the association between demographic factors and disciplinary practices in microsocial terms. This theory links disparate sets of core beliefs and value priorities to contrasting conceptions of the family (including distinctive orientations toward parenting) and parental preferences for different disciplinary strategies. Studies by other researchers provide empirical support for these linkages. This grid-group theory application contributes to theory development through (a) bridging macroexplanations and microexplanations by showing how culture contributes to shaping parental practices, (b) distinguishing rival sets of core beliefs and value priorities that help researchers and practitioners understand parents, and (c) indicating ways for practitioners to apply these distinctions in family intervention.

This research explored the influence of family structure on midlife parents' attitudes toward the economic support of adult children and measured change in those attitudes as their oldest child moved from adolescence to young adulthood. Results suggest that family structure has long-term effects on parents' attitudes toward financial obligations to children. Compared to intact families, both stepparents and remarried (biological) parents were less likely to agree that parents should provide economic support as children make the transition to adulthood. Among stepfamilies, perceived financial obligations were stronger when parents had had a child together in addition to children from prior relationships. Single parents reported less positive attitudes toward economic support than two-biological-parent families when their oldest child was an adolescent, but their attitudes became more positive over time.

The authors report on a telephone poll with a nationally representative sample of 1,425 U.S. adults in which they investigated how parental status and age of child might affect patterns of adult engagement with children and youth outside their own families. Compared to nonparents, parents considered 12 of 20 ways of being involved with young people to be significantly more important for all adults to do. This result suggests that fears of negative parent reaction about other adults' involvement may be exaggerated. Parents and nonparents alike rated it more important for unrelated adults to engage with children than with adolescents, and adults, in general, actually engaged more with those younger children than with adolescents. Community efforts that raise explicit awareness of how supportive parents are of such relationships may help create new social norms in which positive engagement with other people's children and especially adolescents is expected and supported.

This study addresses three questions: (a) What influence do parents' attitudes toward divorce have on offspring's attitudes? (b) How are offspring's attitudes toward divorce influenced by parental divorce, and do the effects vary depending on the gender of the child? and (c) How do conditions surrounding parental divorce influence young adults' attitudes? Results indicate that parents have the greatest influence on offspring during the late teen years. Fathers have more influence on sons' attitudes than mothers; the gender of parent has no effect on the influence of parents' attitudes on daughters' attitudes. In contrast to prior research, this study finds that parental divorce continues to influence offsprings' views of divorce after controlling for parents' attitudes only for daughters, not for sons. Postdivorce conflict and diminished closeness to father following the divorce have different effects on sons' and daughters' attitudes.

Explores parents' perceptions of the privacy needs and behaviors of their preschool-age children. Results indicate that parents do not perceive privacy as important for young children and are more likely to see them as invaders of others' privacy. Parents mostly recognize children's privacy needs in spatial terms. (MKA)

Explores the critical factors that explain couples' choice of day care arrangements. Results show that the different approaches couples use are the "mothering" approach, the parenting approach, or the market approach. Changing sentiments about mothering and its centrality in how couples organize and integrate family and work lives are discussed. (RJM)

Examines the diversity of parenting styles in a sample of low-income, African American families served by Head Start. Analyses revealed a range of child-rearing beliefs. Findings suggest that crude group comparisons neither describe nor explain the effects of parenting values and parent-child interactions in such samples. (RJM)

Examines parents' role--especially paternal participation--in family processes in poor and nonpoor two-parent families. Used longitudinal data to observe poverty patterns, and measured various factors, such as educational level, to determine their impact. Findings show that poverty and welfare experiences influence levels of father involvement with children. (RJM)

Conducted qualitative and quantitative analysis of motivations for employment among 166 Sydney (Australia) mothers with preschool-aged children. Mothers with high and moderate work attachment indicated many motives, both extrinsic (financial) and intrinsic, while most mothers with low work attachment cited extreme financial need as only reason to enter labor force. (TE)

Investigated intellectual giftedness in relation to parents' mediation of child's television-watching in a sample of 364 children and their parents. Findings suggest that intellectual giftedness and, to a lesser degree, quantity of television-watching influence parents' perceptions of possible effects of television on their children and the type of mediation strategies they employ. (Author/TE)