Caught in the Middle? Occupancy in Multiple Roles and Help to Parents in a National Probability Sample of Canadian Adults

This paper considers for a Canadian national probability sample of middle-aged women and men the question of how typical is the experience of being "caught in the middle" between being the adult child of elderly parents and other roles. Three roles are examined: adult child, employed worker, and parent (and a refinement of the parent role, being a parent of a co-resident child). Occupancy in multiple roles is examined, followed by an investigation of the extent to which adults in various role combinations actually assist older parents and whether those who provide frequent help are also those "sandwiched" by competing ommitments. The majority of middle-aged children do not provide frequent help to parents. Notably, the highest proportion of daughters who assist elderly parents are those in their fifties whose children are no longer co-resident. For both sons and daughters, being "caught in the middle" is far from a typical experience in this cross-sectional analysis.multiple roles

Crafting Qualitative Research Articles on Marriages and Families

This paper aims to assist those who do qualitative research in the field of marriage and family to reduce the number of rejections received in response to article submissions. Recurring shortcomings identified by reviewers and suggestions made to authors about revising papers are organized using headings traditionally used in a research article—introduction and literature review, method, results, and discussion. Considerations stemming from the fact that data on marriages and families are produced largely through interviews also are addressed

Review of Friendships Between Women: A Critical Review

Reviews the book Friendships Between Women: A Critical Review, by Pat O\u27Connor

Review of Disciplining Feminism: from Social Activism to Academic Discourse, by E. Messer-Davidow

Review of Disciplining Feminism: from Social Activism to Academic Discourse, by E. Messer-Davido

Age-Gapped and Age-Condensed Lineages: Patterns of Intergenerational Age Structure among Canadian Families

This paper examines intergenerational connections within Canadian families. Its focus is on intergenerational age structure, the interval or 'gap' in years that separates one generation from the next. Intergenerational age structure is measured in terms of the age of a mother at the birth of her first child. Using data from the 1995 General Social Survey of Canada, the study examines the socio-demographic characteristics of women (n=404) in three- and four-generation families (lineages) that are age-condensed (small age distances between generations that are the result of early fertility) and those that are age- gapped (with large age distances between generations that are the result of late fertility patterns). Across two generations of women, there is a striking similarity in the distributions of age at first birth with just under one-third of the sample having early fertility, just over one-half falling into a normative or "on-time" category, and one-seventh having delayed fertility. However, when matched pairs of mothers and daughters are compared across generations, age-condensed and age-gapped lineage patterns show considerable variability. Although just under one-half of mother-daughter dyads show lineage consistency in family age structure across three generations (most typically in age-condensed/age-condensed or normative/normative age structures), low percentages of women whose family of origin was age-gapped repeat that age structure pattern in their own families of procreation. Socio-demographic factors such as mother's and daughter's age, family size, age at first marriage, and level of education are associated with lineage continuity and discontinuity in family age structure.intergenerational age structure; GSS

Incidence of Four-Generation Family Lineages: Is Timing of Fertility or Mortality a Better Explanation?

Objectives. This article estimates the percentage of lineages that include four or more generations for a sample of the U.S. population and explores how social status and race are related to lineage depth. Methods. We assembled data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households in order to estimate the proportion of adults in four or more generations for the Wave 2 sample (1992-1994). When necessary, we used various decision rules to overcome an absence of information about specific generations. We examine relationships between lineage depth and sociodemographic variables by using logistic regressions. Results. The data show that 32% of the respondents were in lineages comprising four or more generations. Blacks and individuals of lower social class were more likely to be in four-generation lineages, especially shorter-gapped lineages. Whites and individuals of higher social class were not more likely to be in longer-gapped, four-generation lineages. Discussion. The majority of the adult population in the early 1990s was in three-generation lineages. The verdict is still out on whether population aging results in the wholesale verticalization of lineages. Social differentials in four-generation lineages in the early 1990s were mainly due to differences in the timing of fertility, rather than mortality

Experiences and perceptions of Spring Lane Sure Start Children's Centre

Spring Lane Sure Start Children’s Centre was designated in September 2007, and ‘officially opened’ in February 2009. The Centre is housed in refurbished premises within a nursery/school complex in the heart of Northampton and offers diverse health, childcare, early education and support services delivered by a multi-professional team. These services and activities are available to children aged 0-5 years old, and their parents/carers, residing within a catchment area comprising eight ‘Super Output Areas’ in the Castle and St. James ward of Northampton. In April 2009, the Centre for Children and Youth (CCY) – a research centre based at The University of Northampton – was commissioned by Spring Lane Sure Start Children’s Centre to collate and gather evaluative data regarding experiences and perceptions of the Children’s Centre during its first year of activitie

Form of Supplemental Selenium Affects the Expression of mRNA Transcripts Encoding Selenoproteins, and Proteins Regulating Cholesterol Uptake, in the Corpus Luteum of Grazing Beef Cows

Selenium (Se)-deficient soils necessitate supplementation of this mineral to the diet of forage-grazing cattle. Functionally, Se is incorporated into selenoproteins, some of which function as important antioxidants. We have previously shown that the source of supplemental Se; inorganic (sodium selenite or sodium selenate; ISe), organic (selenomethionine or selenocysteine; OSe) or 1:1 mix of ISe and OSe (MIX), provided to Angus-cross cows affects concentrations of progesterone (P4) during the early luteal phase of the estrous cycle. In this study, we sought to investigate (1) the effect of form of Se on the expression of mRNA encoding selenoproteins in the corpus luteum (CL), and (2) whether this previously reported MIX-induced increase in P4 is the result of increased luteal expression of key steroidogenic transcripts. Following a Se depletion and repletion regimen, 3-year-old, non-lactating, Angus-cross cows were supplemented with either ISe as the industry standard, or MIX for at least 90 days, with the CL then retrieved on Day 7 post-estrus. Half of each CL was used for analysis of targeted mRNA transcripts and the remainder was dissociated for culture with select agonists. The expression of three selenoprotein transcripts and one selenoprotein P receptor was increased (p \u3c 0.05), with an additional five transcripts tending to be increased (p \u3c 0.10), in cows supplemented with MIX versus ISe. In cultures of luteal cells, hCG-induced increases in P4 (p \u3c 0.05) were observed in CL obtained from ISe-supplemented cows. The abundance of steroidogenic transcripts in the CL was not affected by the form of Se, however, the abundance of mRNA encoding 2 key transcripts regulating cholesterol availability (Ldlr and Hsl) was increased (p \u3c 0.05) in MIX-supplemented cows. Overall, the form of Se provided to cows is reported to affect the expression of mRNA encoding several selenoproteins in the CL, and that the form of Se-induced effects on luteal production of P4 appears to be the result of changes in cholesterol availability rather than a direct effect on the expression of steroidogenic enzymes within the CL