Wives’ Perceptions of Husbands’ Housework and Parenting Contributions

Although husbands today may contribute more home and family labor than in previous decades, the type of contributions they make tend to be those of a “helpmate,” leaving the responsibility for organizing and managing housework and childcare to their wives. Gordon and Whelan-Berry (2005) found that husbands generally spent more time “doing” rather than “managing” in the household. The present study sought to examine working wives’ perceptions of how much their husbands “do” and/or “manage” in terms of housework and childcare. Results provide quantitative support for the high incidence of high-doing but low-managing husbands and shed light on the different implications that husbands’ various contributions have for wives’ marital and life satisfaction. Husbands’ “doing” behavior emerges above their “managing” behavior in terms of its importance in predicting wives’ satisfaction, suggesting that the “helpmate husband” arrangement is not only tolerated, but perhaps even preferred among some women

Prodigal Children: Why Older Mothers Favor Their Once-Deviant Adult Children

Objectives Past research suggests that adult children who reform their deviant behaviors (i.e., problems with drugs/alcohol or the law) are more likely to become favored by their mothers, yet the reasons underlying this phenomenon are unclear. This study employs a longitudinal, qualitative approach to explore why adult children’s behavioral reforms shape changes in maternal favoritism. Methods Analyses are based on qualitative interview data collected at two points seven years apart from older mothers regarding their adult children in 20 families. Each of these families had a “prodigal child”—a child for whom desistance from deviant behaviors between the two waves was accompanied by newfound maternal favoritism. Results Findings revealed two conditions under which mothers came to favor reformed deviants over their siblings. First, this occurred when adult children’s behavioral reformations were accompanied by mothers’ perceptions of these children as having grown more family-oriented. Second, this occurred when mothers came to see reformed deviants as exhibiting a stronger need and appreciation for maternal support, relative to their siblings. Discussion Mothers’ perceptions of children’s behavioral reformations as being accompanied by greater dedication to family or reflecting a need for their mothers’ support offer two explanations for why previously deviant adult children may become mothers’ favored offspring. These findings contribute to a growing body of scholarship on the complexity of intergenerational relations by shedding new light on changing patterns of favoritism in families with a history of parental disappointment, conflict, and strain

Prodigal Children: Why Older Mothers Favor Their Once-Deviant Adult Children

Objectives Past research suggests that adult children who reform their deviant behaviors (i.e., problems with drugs/alcohol or the law) are more likely to become favored by their mothers, yet the reasons underlying this phenomenon are unclear. This study employs a longitudinal, qualitative approach to explore why adult children’s behavioral reforms shape changes in maternal favoritism. Methods Analyses are based on qualitative interview data collected at two points seven years apart from older mothers regarding their adult children in 20 families. Each of these families had a “prodigal child”—a child for whom desistance from deviant behaviors between the two waves was accompanied by newfound maternal favoritism. Results Findings revealed two conditions under which mothers came to favor reformed deviants over their siblings. First, this occurred when adult children’s behavioral reformations were accompanied by mothers’ perceptions of these children as having grown more family-oriented. Second, this occurred when mothers came to see reformed deviants as exhibiting a stronger need and appreciation for maternal support, relative to their siblings. Discussion Mothers’ perceptions of children’s behavioral reformations as being accompanied by greater dedication to family or reflecting a need for their mothers’ support offer two explanations for why previously deviant adult children may become mothers’ favored offspring. These findings contribute to a growing body of scholarship on the complexity of intergenerational relations by shedding new light on changing patterns of favoritism in families with a history of parental disappointment, conflict, and strain.This accepted article is published as Reilly Kincaid, B.A, Marissa Rurka, M.S, J Jill Suitor, Ph.D, Megan Gillian, Ph.D, Karl Pillemer, Ph.D, Liam Mohebbi, B.A, Nicholas Mundell, B.S, Prodigal Children: Why Older Mothers Favor Their Once-Deviant Adult Children, The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2021;gbab075, doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbab075.</p

Nonatherosclerotic Obstructive Vascular Diseases of the Mesenteric and Renal Arteries

Nonatherosclerotic vascular diseases of the mesenteric and renal arteries are considered to occur less frequently than those caused by occlusive atherosclerotic disease. However, when present, they pose a significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Such disorders include fibromuscular dysplasia, median arcuate ligament syndrome, the renal nutcracker syndrome, and some forms of acute and chronic mesenteric ischemia (embolic and thrombotic). This is a heterogeneous group of disorders with substantial differences in the pathogenesis and diagnostic approaches to these diseases. We provide an overview of the pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and current management of fibromuscular dysplasia, median arcuate ligament syndrome, and the renal nutcracker syndrome