The institutionalization and pace of fertility in American stepfamilies

This paper compares nonparametric fertility rates for American women in stepfamilies and intact families using data from the June 1995 Current Population Survey. Results show that childbearing behaviors in stepfamilies resemble those in intact families. Regardless of stepfamily status, timings and levels of fertility for second and third marital births are identical for all women at the same lifetime parity. Fertility patterns are also similar for all first marital births, with the exception of a constant difference of three years in the pace of fertility. These findings are consistent with (1) the institutionalization hypothesis of stepfamily processes; (2) the hypothesis that lifetime parity is the primary determinant of female fertility; and (3) a speculation that women in stepfamilies attempt to catch up on lost fertility outside of marriage.fertility, nonparametric method, stepfamily, USA

Differences in mental health between adults in stepfamilies and 'first families'

This study used longitudinal data from the UK National Child Development Study (N = 5844) to examine whether mental health measured at age 42 was associated with living in a stepfamily. Accounting for the potential selection of those with mental health problems at the onset of family formation (at age 23) into, or out of, stepfamilies we show that stepparents, their partners and particularly those in dual stepparent families all had worse mental health than parents in ‘first families’. It was also found that the mental health of men was worse if they were a stepparent than if they were the partner of a stepparent, while the reverse was the case for women

Stepmothers\u27 Preparation for Remarriage: Influence on Spouse and Stepchildren Relations

Role theory suggests that preparation for one\u27s role contributes to clearer guidelines and less ambiguity about role performance, which in turn contribute to unity and stability of family life (Cherlin, 1978). The purpose of this study was to examine if stepmothers preparation for remarriage (observation, reading, educational programs, or talking to their spouses) influenced their relationships with stepchildren and spouses. The results indicate that stepmothers who prepare for remarriage are more involved with their stepchildren, have higher levels of communication with the children\u27s fathers regarding child rearing issues, and have positive relationships with their stepchildren

Stepfamily Instability in Germany

Separations exert a detrimental impact on different areas of life in both adults and children. Having already experienced family instability, stepfamily members are at risk of experiencing even multiple family separations across the life course. To better understand stepfamily (in)stability in Europe, we study stability risks and facilitators between stepfamilies in Germany. We pursue Cherlin's perspective of stepfamilies' destabilizing lack of institutionalization. Specifically, we assess the impact of social control in terms of social and legislative conditions, (step)parents' social roles in terms of gender roles, and customs and conventions of family life in terms of union status. We apply event history analysis to a sample of 2,166 stepfamilies, 543 of which end up separated, from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). For example, we find that social and legislative liberalization might destabilize stepfamilies if it eases leaving unhappy relationships, and might stabilize stepfamilies if it alleviates stepfamilies' financial or caregiving burdens through de-familiarization. In contrast to stepfather families, stepmother families' stability appears to profit from stepmothers' and biological fathers' investment in stepfamily relationships to make up for noncomplying with gendered social roles. Overall, stepfamily stability appears to benefit from individual as well as societal pursuits of re-institutionalization

Constructing Parenthood for Stepparents: Parents by Estoppel and De Facto Parents Under the American Law Institute’s Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution

It is astonishing both how little and how much we know about neutrinos. On one hand, the neutrino is the second most abundant particle in our Universe. Neutrinos may be created in the Sun, core collapse supernovae, cosmic rays, geological background radiation, supernova remnants and in the Big Bang. On the other hand, they have unimaginably small masses and are unwilling to react with their surroundings. Because of their abundance and their inclination to show us physics beyond the standard model of particle physics, neutrinos are hoped to carry yet unknown information of the Universe. However, it will take some effort and time to persuade the neutrinos to tell us what they know. Among the things we do not yet know of the neutrinos, is the -phase in the neutrino mixing matrix. If is in fact non-zero, neutrino flavour oscillations violate CP-symmetry. Also, if neutrino masses are introduced in the standard model through the See-Saw mechanism and if leptogenesis is a valid theory, CP-violation in neutrino oscillations could help explain why our Universe has no antimatter even though equal amounts of matter and antimatter should have been created at the Big Bang. In this thesis, we investigate the flavour evolution of supernova neutrinos. We present the full Hamiltonian in the flavour basis for our system and identify how the different contributions affect the evolution and in which environment. We also present a theoretical motivation from [1, 2] as to how a non-zero -phase affects the flavour evolution and the final energy spectra. The analytical conclusion is that it has no impact under the assumptions made in our analysis. Thus, the -phase may not be measurable from supernova neutrinos

Single parenting: fewer negative effects of children\u27s behaviors than claimed

In this literature review, research on single parenting is examined. Current research heavily correlates single parenting with internalized and externalized behavioral problems in children. After broader investigation it appears traumatizing events (e.g. divorce, separation) display a confounding variable which is not given adequate significance in research on single parenting. Reviewed research in which early childhood differences in children raised by dual-, or single parents were controlled for has not found behavioral differences between these two groups. In this article, research on adopted children has also been examined. Adopted children taken care off by single-, or dual parents do not show behavioral differences between each other. This suggests single parenting in itself does not have as many negative behavioral effects on children as currently claimed by researchers in western society. Researchers who find positive correlations between single parenting and negative behaviors in children do not control for events like divorce or separation, which often occur early during the childhood of single parented-, but not of dual parented children. Reviewed research on this topic strongly suggests that single parents do not need to be overly concerned about the negative effects their single parent status could have on children

To marry or not to marry: marital status and the household division of labour

Data from an Australian national survey (1996 to 1997) are used to examine domestic labor patterns among de facto and married men and women. The results show that women spend more time on housework and do a greater proportion of housework than men. However, the patterns are most traditional among married men and women. Women in de facto relationships spend less time doing housework and do a smaller proportion of indoor activities than married women. Men in de facto relationships do a larger proportion of indoor activities and a lower proportion of outdoor tasks than married men. The data also show that couples who have cohabited prior to marriage have more egalitarian divisions of labor than those who have not cohabited prior to marriage. This article concludes by arguing that the incompleteness of the de facto relationship provides a period of relative freedom in which to negotiate more equal roles