Family and Marriage

Empirical research response to opt-out revolution

Christine Percheski, trends among college educated woman born between 1906 and 1975, woman made steep gains over time, woman working more than ever, but can't assume its easy to combine work and motherhood.

Effects of women's labor force participation on time spent with children

Has increased but leveled out in recent times, woman reallocate priorities (work hard to spend time with kids)

Effects on children with incarceration

High chance of criminality or incarceration, raises physical aggression in boys, elevated risk of homelessness foster care, infant mortality

Reasons for rise in women's labor force participation

In the beginning there was no employment, increased among all groups, more substantial for middle and higher educated moms

Reasons for trends in incarceration

Increase in number of incarcerated parents, Social patterning of incarceration (poor, minorities): trend continues on to their children.

Trends in women's educational completion (including the less positive aspects)

Increasing gender gap in college completion (Striking reversal, woman advantage began in 1982, woman receive about 58% of all BS's, persist across all race/ethnic groups), But not all good news for woman

Effects of same-sex parents on child wellbeing

Increasing numbers of children being raised by same sex parents, bundles together many family arrangements, harms children because of the stigma around same sex relationships: not having different gender role models, bully from other children that don't understand same sex relationships, benefit children because higher SES, higher tolerance, having a planned child rather than just by society pressure or accident, Kids in a same-sex parental relationship do same, or better than kids in opposite sex parental relationships

Public opinion on same-sex marriage

It has increased over time.

Transition to adulthood

Leaving school, starting full time job, leaving the home of origin, getting married, becoming an adult

Immediate response to opt-out revolution

Pushed out, not opting out (inflexibility of jobs/employers, lack of meaningful part time work, difficulty reentering labor market, discrimination)

Male-Marriageable Pool Index

Second attempt at explanation, no marriageable men (need to be employed), unemployment that took men out of the marriage pool, incarceration, mortality

How the legalization of same-sex marriage affects marriage among heterosexuals

has gone up, closing the gap on straight

Effects of incarceration on marriage and divorce

incapacitation, erodes marriageability, erodes mens economic capacities, increases stigma, influences relationship,Race/ethnic differences in association between incarceration and marriage: no effect for whites, very small effect for hispanics, large effect for blacks, Gap gets smaller when accounting for employment.

Effects of teenage pregnancy on later life outcomes

poverty, poor health, family instability, makes finishing education very difficult, you need support from family, kids are really expensive, there is a correlation not causation.

Types of father involvement

engagement, accessibility, and responsibility

Permissive parenting

when parents provide support but exercise very little control.

Demographic changes

1. incarceration 2. increase in divorce 3. delaying or forgoing marriage 4. increase in cohabitation 5. increase in non marital child bearing 6. decrease in fertility rate 7. increase in life expectancy 8. in woman's labor force participation

Fertility rate

2.1 % in the United States. It has declined, hispanics have the most, blacks second, asians third, whites last

Measures of child wellbeing

41 percent of children born to unmarried parents, 40 percent of children will experience divorce, 1 in 3 will live with a step—parent.

Empirical research on the wage penalty for motherhood

7 % penalty per child, penalties larger for married women, reasons: less job experience, less productive at work, discrimination by employers

Transition to parenthood

Between last trimester and child's 3rd b'day, addition of child often positive, joyful time, but challenging period in life course (psychological well being, partner relationship, changes in social support network)

Effects of parental cohabitation on child wellbeing

Children of cohabiting biological parents have slightly worse outcomes than children of married parents (Higher dissolution, lower investments, more disadvantaged)

Trends in household living arrangements of children

Decline and postponing of marriage, increase in cohabitation, increase in divorce, increase in non marital childbearing.

Family decline versus family resilience (as it pertains to children)

Decline is negative for children and resilience not negative for children.

Effects on men with incarceration

Decreases earnings, hurts their employment chances, harms mental plus physical health, mortality rates increase after released, decreases civic participation, high risk socialization for violence.

Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

Defines marriage as the legal union of one man and woman for purposes of federal laws, states need to recognize same sex union for another state, majority of states have own DOMS, Obama administration

Difficulty in studying effects of same sex-parents on child wellbeing

Difficulty finding representative samples, small sample sizes, comparison groups, subject-group heterogeneity, measurement issues, statistical issues

Effects of divorce on child wellbeing (and explanations for these effects)

Divorce associated with cognitive, social, and emotional problems in children (Childhood through adulthood, modest, remained modest over time, divorce as process and multiple transitions, crisis Vs. Chronic strain). Mechanics linking divorce to poor outcomes in children (Economic insecurity, parenting, stressors). Predictors of variation in outcomes of children of divorced parents: income, length of time in single parent versus married-parent family, parental relationship, race, gender.

Effects of demographic trends on child wellbeing

Divorce: modest negative effect (short term (Crisis model not chronic strain), It is causal (at least partly, 50 percent due to income) Single parenthood: worse off, mostly due to income. Cohabitation: Slightly worse outcomes (higher dissolution, lower investments in kids, more disadvantaged.) Remarriage: On average it isn't beneficial for kids, yes they get more income but it is a transition, any transition is bad for a kid.

Changing meaning of parenthood

From property to priceless, kids can't do no wrong, children as symbolic goods, from inevitability to discretion, change in job discretion, change in job description of being a parent sources of parental gratification, intergenerational exchange

Trends in incarceration

Dramatic increase in us incarceration rate since mid 1970's (Changes in economic and social life of urban men, punitive turn in criminal justice policy), increase in number of incarcerated parents, social patterning of incarceration, important demographic change on family life, incarceration has increased 9x since 1925;men in prison more than women, disproportionately effects poor and minority, US stands alone in incarceration rates, prison vs jail: prison is longterm, jail is short-term, 7% of child will experience some type of incarceration before they're 14 has increased because(1.changes in economic and social life of urban men; de-industrialization took away many jobs making many men resort to other ways of providing for their families, 2.turn in criminal justice policy: tougher laws on drug crimes, sentence enhancements, discrimination against minorities)

Reasons for decline in fertility

Economic change (Kids use to do a lot of work in the past), ideological change, institutional change/differences, technology change (its a lot easier to have sex without having kids)

Effects on women with incarceration

Family resources goes down (less family income and it is expensive to go see them in jail) contributes to dissolution of relationships, emotional and social costs, having partner go to jail raises their risk for depression, there is a social aspect, lose social support.

Moynihan Report

First attempt to explain racial differences, culture - "tangle of pathology", very controversial (Seen as claims the victim), attributed it to slavery/jim crow laws

Obama administration's views on same-sex marriage (and change over time)

First was against it. believed it should be with a man and woman but then changed his mind because bidden changed his first.

Pamela Druckerman's commentary of French parents

French parents not as involved, more authoritative, less stresses because of things being free.

Authoritative parenting

Medium to high levels of emotional support with consistent moderate control, warmth and affection and firm and consistence discipline, discipline is very moderate, requests and explanations rather then the use of punishment.

Contemporary explanations for race/ethnic differences in demographic changes

Not about race at all - actually story about SES. Why SES matters? relationship bar, economic bar (HH, HE, PICK)

Socialization

Process by which we learn the ways of a given society or social group as to adequately participate in it (emotional support, control), teaching norms and values.

Klinenberg video (Going Solo)

People who have more money tend to live alone, exceptions: SRO's —single mom occupancy, elderly, there is a lot of variability.

Theoretical reasons for the wage penalty for motherhood

Suggest mothers earn less money than childless women (lose job experience, less productive at work, trade off higher wages for mother-friendly jobs, discriminated against by employers, spurious relationships)

Effects of remarriage on child wellbeing

Theorists suggest remarriage may improve child wellbeing (household income rises, addition of parent in the home), But on average remarriage doesn't improve child well being.

Authoritarian parenting

Where parents provide very little emotional support, high temps of control

Trends in women's labor force participation

Why the rise in women's employment? Expansion of service sector, declining fertility, rising wages of woman, decline in wages of men without college education, high divorce rate

Trends in the division of household labor (including gender differences)

With the rise in women working, men do more house work and watch kids.

Opt-out revolution

Women make up for half of the graduates at big schools. only make up less than half in law firms and CEO's. My fantasy is a world where there are two kinds of people -- ones who like to stay home and care for children and ones who like to go out and have a career," she says. "In this fantasy, one of these kinds can only marry the other." But the way it seems to work now is that ambitious women seem to be attracted to ambitious men. Then when they have children together, "someone has to become less ambitious." And right now, it tends to be the woman who makes that choice.

Amy Chua's commentary of Eastern parenting and "Chinese mothers"

strict or harsh parenting for Chinese parenting, western parents care to much about child's self esteem, in contrast Chinese parents assume strength not fragility, Chinese parents believe their children owe them everything, Chinese parents believe they know best, override child's interest/preferences.

Trends in teenage pregnancy over time

with percent of teenagers with a child...There has been a decline since ww2, it peaked during the 70s largest percentage of birth by teen moms, percentage of teenage births to unmarried has increased, In comparative perspective: Higher pregnancy rates, birthrates, and abortion rates, decline is less steep, less likely to use contraception, teen pregnancy problem: fertility rates among older woman dropping, but birthrate for teenage girls is comparatively low, problem is non marital low