Considers how ritual processes function to reduce the usual ambiguities, tensions, and conflicts following divorce. Examines ritual in collective gatherings when ex-spouses must interact, and observable behaviors that are formalized on the basis of rules of etiquette. Presents a ritual model of family reorganization, highlighting formal and…

Average household size in the United States fell steadily throughout the 1970s due to decrease in the size of family households during the first half of the decade, and proportional decline of married-couple households during the second half of the decade. The slower rate of decline in the 1980s represents a continuation of these trends.…

Compared older adults living alone or with only a spouse to those living with children, relatives, or friends. Found that those living alone or with a spouse were more likely to prefer to move into alternate setting (senior housing or nursing home). Findings revealed limited evidence to support view that residency with others is substitute for…

Examined the impact of military service and exposure to war trauma on marital patterns and problems in a stratified, probability sample of 1,259 nonveterans, era veterans, and Vietnam veterans. Results focus on rates of marriage, age at first marriage, rates of divorce, and levels of marital satisfaction. (Author/BL)

Examined future time perspective and its association with change in food habits among elderly persons (N=805). Findings suggest that the elderly change food habits and that there is an association of positive or negative food habit changes with a positive or negative future time perspective. (Author/NB)

Used five national surveys to investigate the relationship between attitudes toward extramarital sexual relations and a group of predictor variables. Results indicated that size of community was strongly and directly related to extramarital attitudes, along with premarital sexual permissiveness, level of education, and marital happiness/status.…

Reports the findings of a two-year field study examining the reciprocal influences of home and school on women teachers. Case studies of eight teachers included day-to-day observations and comparisons with data gained from interviews with 42 other teachers. (RH)

Sex and race differences in the problems and needs of medical students were investigated. The variables of marital status and the year in school were also considered. The results suggested that many important needs of first- and second-year medical students at Emory University were not being met. (Author/MLW)

It is suggested that it is often in intimate relationships that people seek to develop and maintain both a sense of personal identity and a sense of stability. By outlining some of the major conditions required for the carrying out of these two activities it is shown that they are in potential conflict. (Author)

Effects of marital status on morale relative to five covariates were examined with 232 widowed and 363 married women aged 45-74. Lower morale scores found among the widowed may be partly attributable to other factors commonly associated with this status and not due to the role of widowhood per se. (Author)

This paper examines whether marriage is effective in reducing child poverty and notes the comparative effects of marriage and maternal education on combatting child poverty. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth indicate that marriage plays a powerful role in lifting children out of poverty. While both marriage and maternal education…

Cohabitation is an increasingly prevalent living arrangement in the United States. Although the effects of living in a cohabiting arrangement on child wellbeing are not fully understood, the literature on children growing up in cohabiting families suggests that they have poorer developmental outcomes than do those growing up in married-parent…

As measured by the most recent income data available from the Current Population Survey (CPS), between 1996 and 2002 median household income increased 4.7 percent more than inflation. That statistic compares a "snapshot" of households in 1996 with another "snapshot" in 2002. This report uses the most recent longitudinal data available from the…

A study of both the legal and the actual situation in Texas with regard to schools and married students provides some important implications for family life education, school systems, and married students. (Author)

Counselors may expect an increasing number of marriages to include open intimate involvement with others either as an adjunct to the marriage or as an integral part of it. Key problem areas are noted and application to counseling situations is made. (Author)