Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of the Labor Market Experience of Youth, examined the aspirations and expectations of Americans aged 14-21 years regarding their education and future fertility. Found family background, social values, and sex role traditionality to be strong predictors of educational and fertility expectations. (GC)

Interviewed first-time expectant fathers (N=100) regarding factors which contributed or detracted from their emotional readiness for fatherhood. Found factors contributing to readiness for fatherhood included: a sense of stability in the couple's relationship, relative financial security, and a sense of closure to the childless part of the…

Zajonc has proposed that the decline in high school achievement since 1965 can be explained by the trend from 1947 to 1962 toward larger, closer-spaced families. This study tested this theory with data on students in Iowa high schools. Overall, the results raise doubt about this hypothesis. (Author/CTM)

The implications of demographic trends for the system of higher education in Spain are assessed. Also discussed are the peculiarities of population trends in Spain compared with other European countries, and the formulation of future projections of enrollment, and the relative importance of demographic factors. (Author/MLW)

Present economic difficulties in Sweden, it is suggested, pose a threat to educational policy for which demographic development could otherwise offer alternatives aimed primarily at promoting qualitative progress. The present demographic situation is dominated by changes in three dimensions: the size of its younger age groups, internal migration,…

The effect of a sharp fall in the birth rate on German universities and the need to identify new target student groups are considered. The implementation of extended education and three matters of significance in promoting it (prospective audience, organization, and use of appropriate distance-study materials) are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Examined the effect of the sibling structures of number and spacing, sex composition, and birth order on adolescents' perceptions of the power and support dimensions of parental behavior. Results suggest that research focusing on birth order must control for number of siblings, spacing, and sex composition of siblings. (Author)

Very close age spacing was an obstacle to high academic performance for later borns. In family relations and self-esteem, first borns scored better and performed in school as well as their potentially much more able younger siblings, regardless of age spacing. (Author)

Urban residential and Christian religious background and higher levels of educational attainment yield a later marriage age. Findings suggest that benefits accruing from higher social status, greater education, and delayed marriage are lessened by a shorter marriage/first birth interval. (Author)

Classification equations from birth certificate information accurately identified approximately 80 percent of the first-grade children who scored one standard deviation or more below the mean on both a measure of intellectual competence and a measure of adaptive behavior. (Author)

Data indicate that much socialization for parenthood occurs well before the onset of childbearing. By the time a young woman is at risk of pregnancy, she has notions about the value of children and preferences for appropriate family size and sex of offspring. (Author/GC)