Large numbers of infants and toddlers have parents who live apart due to separation, divorce, or nonmarital/noncohabiting child-bearing, yet this important topic, especially the controversial issue of frequent overnights with nonresidential parents, is understudied. The authors analyzed data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal investigation of children born to primarily low-income, racial/ethnic minority parents that is representative of 20 U.S. cities with populations over 200,000. Among young children whose parents lived apart, 6.9% of infants (birth to age 1) and 5.3% of toddlers (ages 1 to 3) spent an average of at least 1 overnight per week with their nonresident parent. An additional 6.8% of toddlers spent 35% – 70% of overnights with nonresident parents. Frequent overnights were significantly associated with attachment insecurity among infants, but the relationship was less clear for toddlers. Attachment insecurity predicted adjustment problems at ages 3 and 5, but frequent overnights were not directly linked with adjustment problems at older ages.
Married adults show better psychological adjustment and physical health than their separated/divorced or never-married counterparts. However, this apparent “marriage benefit” may be due to social selection, social causation, or both processes. Genetically informed research designs offer critical advantages for helping to disentangle selection from causation by controlling for measured and unmeasured genetic and shared environmental selection. Using young-adult twin and sibling pairs from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Harris, 2009), we conducted genetically informed analyses of the association between entry into marriage, cohabitation, or singlehood and multiple indices of psychological and physical health. The relation between physical health and marriage was completely explained by nonrandom selection. For internalizing behaviors, selection did not fully explain the benefits of marriage or cohabitation relative to being single, whereas for externalizing symptoms, marriage predicted benefits over cohabitation. The genetically informed approach provides perhaps the strongest nonexperimental evidence that these observed effects are causal.
This study examined how sexual attraction varied across age, gender of participant, and gender of romantic partner, from adolescence to early adulthood. Comparisons between same-sex and both-sex attracted individuals were of particular interest. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth), we examined the responses of participants who reported experiencing same-sex attractions or both-sex attractions at least once within four waves (n = 1889). Results indicated that same-sex attractions became more stable over time, whereas both-sex attraction remained unstable even into adulthood. Compared with males, females were less stable in same-sex attraction, but more stable in both-sex attraction. The majority of people who reported same-sex attraction did not report having a same-sex romantic partner before they entered adulthood, and those who reported a same-sex romantic partner were more likely to maintain their same-sex attraction than those who did not. As males got older, the gender of their romantic partner tended to become more consistent with their sexual attraction. However, for females, the consistency between the gender of their romantic partner and sexual attraction did not change over time.
Over the past 5,000 years, marriage and family structure in China have changed dramatically due to extensive economic development and cultural transformation. The revisions to marriage law, the reform resulting in open trade with other nations (especially Western ones), the single‐child policy, and the consistent respect for Confucianism across time all contributed to the unique dynamics that characterize Chinese family life today. But, despite the drastic changes in family life in the Eastern hemisphere, most marriage and family‐related studies have been conducted in Western cultures. Thus, tremendous opportunities for both similar and innovative inquiry about family life in Eastern cultures currently exist. China provides a unique opportunity for investigation of this topic due to the country's rich historical background and culture of tradition. We explored the generational differences in individuals' attitudes toward marriage in China. Chinese college students and middle‐aged Chinese adults were recruited as participants. We found evidence that, with regard to attitudes about cohabitation, Chinese elders are more conservative than Chinese youth. Moreover, middle‐aged Chinese individuals report that Chinese youth have differing opinions on some issues surrounding marriage, but these perceptions of the youth's attitudes about specific issues deviate from the youth's actual opinions. Keypoints for the Family Court Community Discusses important transitions in marriage throughout Chinese history. Points out unique marriage‐related culture in ancient China and modern China. Presents interesting data addressing different marital attitude among older Chinese population and Chinese youth. Discusses cross‐cultural difference in marital attitude between the Chinese and Americans.
This study examined tolerance and appreciation for differences within a group among leaders of numerically distinct factions (majority vs. minority), whose size remained stable or changed over time (majority ↔ minority). Appreciation or valuing differences in and of themselves was significantly higher among minority than majority leaders when their positions remained stable but not when their positions changed. Appreciation for differences decreased significantly when minority leaders became majority leaders. Tolerance or willingness to put up with differences even when evaluating them negatively increased significantly among both minority and majority leaders once their positions changed. Although this increased tolerance may be temporarily beneficial, in the long run, it could be detrimental to the group as it leads to a cessation of interactions between a minority and a majority. Findings could inform policies to advance functioning of the groups whose minority and majority factions may reverse positions by design (e.g., political parties winning or losing elections) or via demographic changes (e.g., ethnic or racial minorities becoming majorities and vice versa).
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