Analysis of Canadian census data (1986-91) for 15 ethnic groups found the following: (1) the average educational attainment of a man's ethnic group was positively correlated with his returns to education; (2) lower fertility in one generation was associated with higher educational outcomes in the next; and (3) economic mobility at the ethnic group…

The negative stereotypes of only children are pervasive despite a growing trend toward single-child families and evidence of the only child's strengths. People maintain definite beliefs about the characteristics of each ordinal position in a family, typically viewing only children as lonely, spoiled, and maladjusted. The author reviewed the…

Background: Mental health problems comprise an international public health issue affecting up to 20% of children and show considerable stability. We aimed to identify child, parenting, and family predictors from infancy in the development of externalising and internalising behaviour problems by age 3 years. Methods: "Design"…

This study investigated the family reading behavior of 233 preschool children from low-income backgrounds who were attending Head Start. Parents completed a survey of their family reading behavior, including Child Reading, Parent Reading Interest, and Parent-Child Reading Interaction, and provided demographic data on their educational level,…

This article reviews and presents research findings on the relationships between parenthood and health over the life span. Existing research shows lacunae. The links between reproductive behavior and longevity generally focus on family size rather than contrasting parents and nonparents. Studies of marital status differentials in survival…

Publicly funded voucher programs attempt to target low-income families, but concern exists as to whether such programs actually "cream" students from public schools. Data collected as part of the evaluation of the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program are used to examine whether differences exist between three subgroups of…

This report updates recent trends in household and family characteristics and contains demographic data from the March 1986 "Current Population Survey." The population characteristics include household composition, household and family size, age at marriage, and unmarried couples. The document reports that the U.S. population characteristics are…

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;…

Longitudinal study of 166 couples indicated wives' participation in labor force is not negatively related to size of families. The study, which used a key informant methodology, the LISREL model, and a recursive model, also indicated labor force participation of wives and family size are codetermined by achievement motivation, sex role norms, and…

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…

Examined the relationship between reading achievement and birth order in 503 Greek children. Found that birth order was not related to vocabulary knowledge or reading comprehension at second grade, but total reading achievement and reading comprehension were higher for first- and second-born sixth graders than for later-born sixth graders. (KB)

Low income families were interviewed to determine the factors related to the number of family food servings per week. More food servings were found to be associated with participation in WIC, household size, and the number of different income sources. The number of food servings decreased the last week of the month, particularly in families with…

Families are becoming smaller and less traditional as fertility rates fall and more people live alone; Scandinavian countries are the pacesetters in developing nontraditional forms of family living, but the United States has the highest incidence of divorce and of single-parent households. (Author)