Conducted secondary analysis of existing data from two major national surveys of adults to examine whether number of siblings is related to sociability among men and women. The findings do not suggest a relationship between sibling number and being affiliative as an adult. (Author/NB)

Examined relationships between child physical abuse and child neglect and five fertility patterns (family size, spacing, mother's age at first birth, number of fathers, family planning status of children). Data from 237 urban, single mothers who maltreated their children showed that both types of maltreatment were associated with fertility…

Investigated incidence of, and factors associated with, marriage and separation/divorce in welfare recipients. Race significantly affected probability of marriage; young child in the household and wife's employment status correlated with marital dissolution. Changes in welfare benefits, number of public assistance programs received, and length of…

In a study of 1,000 New Zealand children from birth to 10 years, risks of family breakdown were found to vary inversely to the number of preschool children in the family. These results persisted when many fixed and time-dependent variates were controlled, suggesting that the presence of preschool children reduces risks of family breakdown.…

Used data from 1985 United States Current Population Survey to examine trends and sociodemographic differentials in child spacing. Concluded that younger women were less likely to experience short birth intervals and that sociodemographic differentials in spacing have been reduced in past years. Findings are likely due to increases in effective…

Interviewed 1,020 spouses in 1980 and 1983 to test implications of exchange theory for fertility decision. Results suggest significant nonlinear component to determinants of fertility, especially factors related to women's roles. Neither sex-role traditionalism nor wives' achievement in nonfamilial roles had simple negative effect on fertility;…

Compared fertility expectations of young non-Mormon females living in Utah (2.4 children) with those of young Mormon females in Utah (4.4 children). Findings suggest that residence in a high fertility area per se does not affect fertility and that Mormon/non-Mormon fertility differences are likely to persist into the foreseeable future. (BH)

Compared marital adjustment of 210 employed wives with no children, infants, and/or preschoolers. Although childless wives reported higher levels of marital adjustment and emotional quality of home environment than did mothers, differences were primarily due to mothers with two children and mothers with male children. (NRB)

Examines structural, social-psychological, and ecologial factors affecting the direction and type of changes occurring in the Chinese family. Multiple demographic and socioeconomic influences and the family's adaptive responses are creating conditions in China for the traditional household arrangement to survive, while generating new variants of…

Adult daughters and sons of 31 cognitively disabled mothers were interviewed, regardless of their participation in providing care. Family size and gender composition appear to be important determinants of a system, and each is characterized by a predominant value (affiliation, equity, and emotional protection of offspring). (Author/JPS)

Conducted quantitative review of literature on the personality characteristics of only children. Combined results of 141 studies and found that only children scored significantly better than other groups in achievement motivation and personal adjustment. Overall, however, the review indicated that only children were comparable in most respects to…

Used interview data from 96 eighth graders from intact families with at least two children to examine effects of family size, sibling spacing, and gender on young adolescents' relationships with their parents. Results revealed that mother-child relationships in early adolescence were influenced by child's gender, while adolescents' relationships…

Compared 38 mothers with one child by choice and 37 mothers wanting a second child on background characteristics and attitudes about the first birth and a second child. While deliberate one-child wives had lower levels of religiosity and were less femininely sex-typed, mothers were highly similar on other characteristics. (NRB)

Tested models of intergenerational relationships using interview and questionnaire data from 124 couples in their early/mid-60s. Results indicated role context rather than role strain or role enhancement characterized competing-loyalties model. Family size had little effect on findings. Variables from size-constraint and familistic models…

Using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth's 1986 Mother-Child Supplement data, focused on 795 employed mothers with 3- to 6-year-old child. Results showed that occupational complexity of mother's work positively affected home environments; larger family size produced less optimal child environments; and mothers' self-esteem, locus of control,…