Studied stereotypes of single adults in (N = 400) interviews. The divorced indicated more loneliness than the never married, currently married and remarried. A small category of divorced exhibited "swinging behavior" or having numerous sexual partners. Suggests behaviors are more complex than indicated by singles stereotypes. (Author/JAC)

Married (N=50) and unmarried (N=50) cohabiting couples were asked to describe four problems which occurred in their relationship. Despite overall similarity of the kinds of problems reported by married and cohabiting couples, married women were particularly likely to complain that their husbands did not give them sufficient attention. (Author)

Identified and described the nature of those personality characteristics that enable couples to develop and sustain a vital relationship. Findings indicate that vital marital partners possess personality needs that promote: (1) sexual expressiveness; (2) "otherness" rather than selfness; (3) determination; and (4) high ego strength. (Author)

Discusses why marriage typically has positive effects on well-being. View presented is compatible with, and provides interpretation of, literature on family violence. Considers whether particularly competent individuals tend to be selected into marriage, thereby accounting for relationship between marital status and well-being. Examines evidence…

Examined incidence and nature of general psychopathology among Nigerian shift workers (N=320). Found shift workers more significantly psychopathological than non-shift workers (p<0.001). Prominent disorders among shift workers were intellectual, sleep, mood, and general somatic disorders. No significant difference could be attributed to gender…

Examined factors affecting belief in afterlife. Data from 1978 subfile on National Opinion Research Center's General Social Survey showed that, controlling on frequency of church attendance and religious intensity, Protestants had highest incidence of belief in life after death, followed by Catholics, and then by Jews. Race, religion, and church…

Studied partner status, social support, and psychological adjustment of pregnant women. Administered Brief Symptom Inventory to predominantly minority and lower-income pregnant women (N=157) categorized as married, single/partnered, or single/unpartnered. Found single/partnered women were at least risk for emotional disequilibrium and suggested…

Interviewed 132 older women and found that widows and married women had comparable number of primary friends. Being over age 74 influenced size of friendship network for widows but not for marrieds. Primary friendships of both groups paralleled each other in terms of endurance and stability. Compared to married women, widows did rely on confidant…

Explores the influence of marriage and family factors, including religiosity, on suicide beliefs or ideology using a national sample of 1,197 African Americans. Being married lowers prosuicide ideology, but institutional ties to religion are considerably more important than marital ties. The model is replicated for whites. (JPS)

Used event histories constructed from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to investigate roles of structural (pool of marriageable men) and cultural (familism) factors in marriage transitions of 3,853 Mexican American, African American, and Anglo-American women. Found that similarities were outweighed by differences in marriage process across…

Examined demographic and situational factors related to killing of women by male intimate partners. Data from 23 men incarcerated for such homicides revealed portrait of offender as while male, aged 20-24, employed full-time prior to imprisonment, coming from stable childhood. Findings suggest that persons who are separated are most frequent…

Administered demographic questionnaire and measure of ego development to 16 unmarried adolescent mothers and 14 older married mothers. Found that adolescents had significantly higher incidence of divorce in families of origin, lower mean length of relationship with partner prior to pregnancy, and lower stages of ego development. (Author/NB)

According to data from the Newly Entitled Beneficiary Survey and the 1979 and 1988 Current Population Survey, much of the gender gap in pensions is caused by gender differences in such labor market characteristics as experience, tenure, and income. Children and marriage have a negative effect on females' pensions, although not for more recent…

Results of an exercise in which 145 banking managers mentored a hypothetical protege indicated that mentors anticipated greater rewards and were more willing to mentor the better their proteges' past performance. Mentors were more willing to mentor and anticipated greater rewards if male proteges were married and female proteges were single. (SK)

Explored reasons that pregnant teenagers rarely consider option of adoption. Interviews with 21 unmarried pregnant adolescents and their significant others revealed 4 phenomena pivotal to their willingness to consider adoption: societal sanctions, low level of knowledge, anticipated psychological discomfort, and lack of support from helping…