Presents the view that the family is in trouble and discusses three symptoms of that trouble: no-fault divorce, fatherless families, and childlessness. Considers the role of individualism in causing symptoms and offers recommendations for changes in child support laws and parent responsibility. (NB)

Describes experience of helping two sets of divorcing parents retain meaningful contact between young children and non-resident fathers. Argues that failure to consider past parenting practices, to grant children party status and give them independent representation, and to offer child-centered services to help parents practice shared parenting…

Notes that children whose parents divorce will experience a decline in the quality of their relationship with the noncustodial parent and that many children from divorced families will spend a significant amount of time without an adult male present. Calls for research to examine effects of weakened child-father bond. (NB)

Most women who maintain families have a strong commitment to the labor force but have lower average educational attainment and earnings, bringing them closer to poverty with each additional child. (JOW)

Reviews research studies regarding the father's role in child development and indicates that theoretical perspectives on father-child relationships are incomplete. According to recent research, the father's role noticeably influences child development. Changing sex roles do not appear to have influenced most Australian fathers to share caregiving…

Discusses the claim that little has been done by health, social work, and educational professionals to speak up about the fact that children born out-of-wedlock lack the economic and psychological benefits that attach to the right to legal paternity. (RWB)

Reports that poverty among American youth increased between 1959 and 1982. Suggests that this was a combined effect of high unemployment, cuts in social welfare programs, and, most significantly, the increase in households headed by single women. Presents statistics on family demographics, race, and income, and calls for more supportive public…

Reviews factors such as income, employment, housing, and transportation which tend to keep women and female-headed families concentrated in cities. Proposes that cities are ideal places for future experimentation in lifestyles not based on traditional sex roles. (GC)

Discusses child poverty, the causes of high poverty rates among children, and proposals and programs aimed at reforming Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Proposes another approach to providing cash benefits to children in the form of a children's allowance or refundable tax credit similar to programs in other industrialized nations.…

A variety of research studies have indicated that fathers' availability and their leadership are vital to the healthy functioning of each individual in the family. One study showed that in 48 societies fathers assume an instrumental role in family life, while in only eight societies is fathering predominately an expressive function. Occasionally,…

Discusses psychopathology as portrayed in literature, followed by an examination of some theories of psychopathy and the association of sociopathy and crime. Also discusses using parental licensing as a preventive measure against the development of sociopathology in children. (GR)

Surveys the incentives and disincentives that influence men's decisions to participate in the role of father. A proposal is offered as a means of minimizing disincentives and maximizing incentives to increase fathers' support of their children, thereby decreasing child poverty. (GR)

Examines three critical weaknesses of the assimilation model of racial and ethnic minorities that dominates the study of racial and ethnic relations in the United States. Asserts that the basic assumptions of this model undergird much of the contemporary policy debate about welfare mothers and about family life among racial and ethnic minorities.…

The article describes a divorced mother's personal experiences in bringing up her deaf child. Aspects covered include dealing with her child's deafness, dealing with important decisions that had to be made, family relationships, the mother's role as a single parent, and the deaf child's school experience. (DLS)

Suggests the use of scenario analysis in assessing some of the options offered as interventions to adolescent crime prevention, including child protection policies and guardianship, and parent licensing. Also explores the problem of racism and other social concerns in implementing some interventions. Finally, the influence of IQ on sociopathy is…