Interviewed 96 fathers to map their personal networks and probe their use of network members for childrearing advice. Twenty-seven percent of the fathers reported they discussed childrearing with no one. No-advice fathers were embedded in networks dominated by kinfolk. Discusses different meanings of advice from kin versus non-kin. (Author/BH)

Investigates the effect of disciplinary reasoning on subsequent misbehavior with 2 and 3 year olds. The largest increase in disruptive behavior by age 4 occurred when parents used reasoning frequently without backing it up with punishment. The largest decrease occurred when parents used reasoning frequently but backed it up with punishment when…

Examined changes in spouses' experiences of their mates and marital relationships from last trimester of pregnancy through 3 years postpartum. Found 4 distinct patterns of marital change (accelerating decline, linear decline, no change, modest positive increase). Findings from 128 families revealed that patterns of marital change were determined…

Tested human capital and social-structural explanations of responsibility for child care arrangements using data from young dual-earner couples. Although gender remained most apparent determinant of responsibility for child care arrangements, found that both male and female employees who had greater structural opportunity at work had less…

Collected data from 451 2-parent families to test model regarding direct and indirect effects of socialization and spousal attitudes upon supportive parenting and harsh discipline of husbands and wives. As hypothesized, quality of parenting received as child, satisfaction with parent-child relationship, education, and various parenting beliefs…

Assessed effects of violated parenting expectations on adjustment to parenthood among 473 married women. Interviewed women during final trimester of first pregnancy and at one-year postbirth. Found women expected things to be better at one year than they actually were. Discrepancies significantly affected ease of adjustment to motherhood.…

Reports on a model of parenting satisfaction showing that reciprocal paths between marital happiness and parenting satisfaction are statistically significant and are of approximately equal strength. Data are from a nationally representative panel of parents interviewed in 1988 and 1992. These associations operate similarly for mother and fathers.…

An explanation for wives' shift in preferences about the division of child care labor before and after the birth of their first child is tested (N=69 couples). Evidence is presented that love for their husbands motivates wives to align their preferences with their husbands'. The mediating role of love is explored. (Author/EMK)

Used the 1980 Current Population Survey to highlight differentials in life-course events of American women born during the first half of the 20th century. Results indicated blacks have greater variation than whites around nearly all life-course events studied, but the overall level of variation among both blacks and whites has been declining…

Investigated the relationship between marital satisfaction and perceptions of the distribution of housework and child care from two theoretical perspectives--social exchange and equity--in four population groups. Results show that there are significant relationships between marital satisfaction and perceptions of the distribution of housework and…

Assessed childrearing attitudes of 155 West German parents and 215 immigrant parents to West Germany from Greece, Italy, and Turkey. Subset comparisons indicate the need for parent-education programs that inform each group about attitude similarities as well as differences and that support family cohesion while integration proceeds. (Author/JAC)

This replication and extension of a study of social class differences in parental use of physical punishment suggests that the widespread practice of using social class as an independent variable in socialization research suppresses important relationships between occupational group and socialization practices. (Author)

Used trends in proportion of children with working mothers and trends in numbers of children to project proportion of children with employed mothers in 1990 and 1995, by age of child. Profiles distribution of children in nonparental care, examining trends since 1965. Discusses supply of child care and trends in supply. Examines future supply and…

Examined relations among parents, stepparents, and children after separation and divorce. Results suggest that most children have little contact with their nonresident parents, and what contact there is tends to be social rather than instrumental. However, when the former spouse remains active, stepfamily life does not seem to suffer. (Author/BL)

Examined the attitudes and values of 64 prospective parents choosing maternity center, hospital, or home births. Maternity-center couples emerged on the whole as less traditional and more representative of sex-egalitarian attitudes toward parenting. Overall, differences by gender, not group, were found. (JAC)