This hearing examined the history, current status and trends, and strengths of American families. Testimony (1) described the complex and intense daily life of members of blended families and pointed out that social, financial, and other supports needed by stepfamilies are often not available; (2) provided accounts of personal experiences with…

This publication is an edited record of a series of public seminars held between June and October of 1983. The seminars, entitled "Community Based Services for Children and Families," were based on two policy background papers commissioned by the Institute of Family Studies (ISF) on the topics of family support and children's services.…

A study examined the effects of participation in Adult Basic Education (ABE) on quality of life. To gather data for the study, researchers mailed packages of questionnaires to the supervisors of 89 ABE programs that served 2,225 students throughout Tennessee. Packages of completed survey instruments were returned from 72 of these programs, thus…

Situational issues related to families and influences upon families in North Dakota and the United States are briefly outlined in these fact sheets. Contents specifically concern (1) outbound migration from North Dakota and transition of rural families from farming; (2) suicide in North Dakota and the nation; (3) child care issues, such as child…

This updated version of a 1985 monograph includes new findings on Project Redirection, a program intended to ameliorate many severe problems that typically accompany childbearing among economically disadvantaged adolescents. It opens with a review of the consequences of teenage pregnancy and the Redirection approach for addressing the problems.…

This fact sheet presents an overview of current and projected changes in American family life, along with implications of those changes for home economics educators. Topics which are covered include: (1) changing family structures; (2) working women and homemakers; (3) family problems such as divorce, adolescent sexuality and pregnancy, violence…

Based on information on women who attended Oberlin College between 1833 and 1860, a sketch is drawn on the lives of American females during that period. Attention is directed to such demographic factors as the area of the country from which they entered the Oberlin College, the number of years they remained at the college, their mobility,…

This discussion argues that two approaches are helpful in reconciling the dissonance and conflict between attitudes and behavior in families, that results from faulty expectations in childrearing processes. One such approach is to change attitudes so they conform to actual behavior. An alternative approach is to change behavioral patterns to make…

This booklet contains five sample lessons integrating population education into health and home economics instruction. It is one of four in a series. Materials differ from those in an earlier series (1980) in that lessons are presented at the secondary level only; there is no duplication of lessons from the earlier series in content and teaching…

This paper challenges the traditional view that, in families of children with disabilities, mothers have the primary responsibility for child care because they are the "natural" caregivers. Family support services are an emerging way of delivering services to families of children with disabilities, and they seem to operate within a framework that…

This guidebook provides information to help local communities plan and carry out National Community Education Day, a day that has been promoted since 1982. The guide is organized in six sections. The first section contains a message for local sponsors and an overview of early childhood and family education. The second section provides ideas for…

This family life instructional unit is organized around four themes: (1) the importance of families; (2) human growth and development; (3) dilemmas and issues; and (4) promoting positive lifestyle practices. Lessons in the dilemmas and issues section include more in-depth information on subjects such as marriage and issues related to sexuality and…

Available research in the area of transracial adoptions is surveyed, emphasizing the programs and services which could be developed based on this accumulated knowledge. It is argued that, because of the implications for the growing number of lives involved, the area of cross cultural adoptive placements needs further research, thoughtful program…

This document describes an evaluation of the Family Living including Sex Education (FL/SE) program of the New York City public schools. The evaluation summary describes the FL/SE as a comprehensive, sequenced curriculum for kindergarten through high school on the topics of human growth and development, family relationships, friendship,…

This study examined both general and specific parent-child television viewing experiences together with any interactions related to television viewing whether the child has watched television with a parent or alone. A total of 384 telephone interviews of parents (57% female, 43% male) with children at home between the ages of 6 and 18 were…