Offers an expansion of the construction-of-reality paradigm as proposed by Berger and Kellner (1964) as an appropriate theoretical perspective for the examination of the link between work scheduling and family interaction. Argues that this perspective is applicable across the family life cycle, and with increasingly evident nontraditional family…

Reviews a 1983-84 study of the marital and parental behavior of lesbian wives and mothers and gay husbands and fathers. Discovered differences between the men and women in: overall demographics, marital history, marital problems and their impact, parenting issues, and dealing with homosexuality. (Author/ABB)

The article favorably reviews "PREP for Effective Family Living," a curriculum designed to help adolescents develop social skills and prepare for adult family life. Curriculum strengths include organization of objectives and format of the student materials. A weakness is lack of clear correlation between the student handbook and the…

Investigated 169 family stories told by 56 families. Found no generational differences in number and types of stories. Parents were considered main source of stories; grandparents were main characters. More male than female characters were used, and themes of personality, work, and family were predominant. Concluded that stories go down into…

Parents are instrumental in teaching children to become critical viewers. However, parents should also provide children alternatives to television; the article suggests ways in which to accomplish this. Tips to guide viewing and motivate reading are given. (JL)

Describes one family's use of a journal to record family history and daily observations. Points out that family journals increase family unity and help teach children the value of writing. (ARH)

Examines the implications for children's library services of changes in family life and structure over the past 10 years. Library clientele, materials, hours, location, interior design, and services offered are discussed. (MES)

Observation of in-home interactions of mentally retarded children (N=16 and mean age 6 years) and their older nonhandicapped siblings as well as normal sibling pairs indicated high rates of interaction between siblings, accentuated role asymmetries, less joint object play, but no differences in affect. (Author/DB)

Uses three feminist assumptions (women are oppressed, the personal is political, feminists have double consciousness) to derive principles of feminist practice and identifies how principles are operationalized in programs published in "Family Relations." Discusses what it means to be a feminist practitioner, difficulty of translating feminist…

Considers the private image in family studies for its methodological assumptions and implications. Recasting the assumptions in terms of descriptive practice presents an alternative approach that construes family order as bound to organized, collective representation. Offers field data in illustration, and addresses procedural and theoretical…

Examined assertion that interfaith marriages have secularizing effect on family members. Assessed effects of respondent's and his/her parents' type of religious marriage on 11 measures of religious commitment. Catholics married to non-Catholics scored lower on attending mass and receiving communion than Catholics in homogamous marriages, but most…

Identifies sources of the change in aggregate distribution and examines year-to-year transitions among family types. New headship contributed most to shifts in the relative composition of family types, but its impact declined over the decade. General differences in transition rates by age and, to a lesser extent, by race and income were confirmed.…

Reviews grandparent/grandchild relationship relative to older adult, middle generation, and grandchild in light of recent demographic changes and increased life expectancy. The role of grandparents as a potential family resource is discussed and implications for family life programming are suggested. (Author)

Interviews with 24 families of deinstitutionalized developmentally disabled children revealed that 83 percent expressed high-level need for care and 67 percent were coping at a low level. Inner-city families most often expressed high-intensity needs and decreased coping ability, as did families of patients of younger age groups. (CL)

A study of 108 female and 120 male gifted high schoolers' career and family plans indicated that both sexes display similar plans. The majority plan on a professional career, marriage, and children. More gifted females than males plan a professional career and do not perceive a work/family conflict. (Author/CL)