JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE FAMILY STUDIES

Canada (Calgary) 14

1994 - VOLUME 25, NUMBER 3

96.14.1 - English - Linda M. CHATTERS, School of Public Health and Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 1420 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029 (U.S.A.), Robert Joseph TAYLOR, School of Social Work and Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan (U.S.A.), and Rukmalie JAYAKODY, Joint Program in Social Work and Sociology and Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan (U.S.A.)

Fictive kinship relations in Black extended families (p. 297-312)

Demographic correlates of whether an extended family has incorporated a fictive kin relative was examined among a national sample of black adults. Fictive kin are defined as persons who are treated like a relative but who are not related by blood or marriage. Two out of three respondents indicated there was someone in their family who was regarded as a fictive kin. Multivariate analysis revealed that gender, age, education and region were all significantly associated with the probability that a family would incorporate fictive kin members. These findings are discussed in relation to previous work on fictive kinship relationships. (UNITED STATES, BLACKS, EXTENDED FAMILY, FAMILY COMPOSITION)

96.14.2 - English - Dominique MEEKERS, Department of Sociology and Population Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (U.S.A.)

Combining ethnographic and survey methods€: A study of the nuptiality patterns of the Shona of Zimbabwe (p. 313-328)

Large-scale demographic surveys have been criticized by anthropologists because a limited set of standardized questions generally cannot adequately capture the details and complexities of social processes. One way to overcome these limitations is to collect qualitative data. Alternatively, ethnographic information can be used to develop a very detailed survey questionnaire. This study uses data from a detailed survey of the union formation process among the Shona-speaking peoples of Zimbabwe. The questionnaire for this survey was developed on the basis of ethnographic accounts of Shona marriage, and includes questions about a set of specific events that may occur during the development of a Shona union. The data indicate that many couples do not adhere to the traditional marriage customs and form new types of unions. Furthermore, while bridewealth payments traditionally gave a man sexual and reproductive rights to his wife, it is evident that this custom no longer regulates the onset of sexual behaviour and childbearing. This study demonstrates that event-history questionnaires can be used to produce detailed quantitative data which can supplement qualitative data from ethnographic studies. (ZIMBABWE, NUPTIALITY, MARRIAGE CUSTOMS, ETHNOGRAPHY, EVENT HISTORY SURVEYS, METHODOLOGY)

96.14.3 - English - Kerry D. FELDMAN, Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99508 (U.S.A.) Socioeconomic structures and mate selection among urban populations in developing regions (p. 329-344)

Nearly half the population of developing nations now reside in urban centers, attracting diverse ethnic groups from their surrounding rural regions. Anthropologists devoted considerable attention to documenting and understanding the mate selection norms and practices of these groups in their traditional settings and a plethora of descent and alliance theories ensued concerning this basic biosocial phenomenon. The investigation of these same groups in their new urban contexts has not brought forth many efforts at similar cross-cultural analysis of mate selection practices, or theoretical efforts to explain the continuity and change in these practices beyond the limited confines of this or that group/city/nation. In this paper mate selection practices by groups which have migrated to urban settings in the developing world are examined in the diverse settings of squatter settlements in Turkey and the Philippines, caste systems in India, tribal societies of Africa, matrilineal and patrilineal societies and among peasant societies of Peru and Mexico. The differential impact of socioeconomic urban conditions on men and women is emphasized recarding mate selection practices. It is argued that cultural factors (in a cognitive sense of that phrase) or psychological factors are not sufficient explanations alone for the diverse response of migrants to these urban settings regarding what occurs in them to traditional mate selection practices. It is argued that the structure of the socioeconomic system these groups depend on in an urban setting, must be analyzed as a major factor influencing the trends toward continuity or change in mate selection. Conversely, the "city" as an independent variable per se is not seen as the controlling factor in this regard. (DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION, MATE SELECTION, CULTURAL CHANGE)

96.14.4 - English - E. MOON PARK, Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea), and G. DIMIGEN, Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow, 56 Hillhead Street, Glasgow G12 (U.K.) Cross-cultural comparison of the social support system after childbirth (p. 345-352)

Korea and Scotland were compared regarding the social support offered in the periods after childbirth. It was predicted that Korean mothers would be more satisfied with their form of support than Scottish mothers, on account of the different family structure in the two countries (extended family in Korea, nuclear family in Scotland). Fifty-two Scottish mothers and 105 Korean mothers were interviewed six to ten weeks after childbirth (using the Social Support Inventory). The results showed that this prediction had to be rejected. In fact, Scottish mothers valued their support more than Korean mothers, although Scottish mothers actually received much less support on the whole. It was concluded that in both countries the actual support received was of less importance than the support the mothers thought their due (i.e. in line with the customs of their culture). (KOREA, SCOTLAND, MATERNITY BENEFITS, SATISFACTION, COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS)

96.14.5 - English - Denise HERD, School of Public Health, University of California, 518 Warren Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 (U.S.A.) The influence of parental drinking attitudes and behavior on the drinking patterns of Black and White adults (p. 353-370)

The importance of parents as a source of influence on drinking behaviour has been emphasized in socialization theories which stress the primacy of parent-child relationships and the critical roles parents play as role models and as agents for imparting moral values and normative codes. This study examines parental attitudes and drinking, frequency and their effects on the drinking, patterns of 1 947 black and 1 777 white adults. Black respondents reported that their parents held more conservative drinking attitudes and drank less often than white respondents. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that parental influences predict current drinking patterns in both racial groups even when controlling for age, religious factors, region and socioeconomic status. However, important racial and gender differences were observed in the effects of parents' attitudes versus parents' drinking frequency on respondents current alcohol use: Black men differed from white men and women of both races in showing no association between parent attitudes and drinking patterns; the frequency of parental drinking was a more important predictor of drinking patterns among blacks, particularly men, than it was for whites; and heavier drinking among women was not correlated with parent drinking attitudes but was associated with parental drinking behavior. These results were attributed to racial differences in the social context of drinking and family structure and to gender differences in the prevalence of heavier drinking. (UNITED STATES, ALCOHOLISM, BLACKS, WHITES, FAMILY ENVIRONMENT)

96.14.6 - English - Alan E. CRADDOCK, Department of Psychology, University of Sydney (Australia) Relationships between marital satisfaction and privacy preferences (p. 371-382)

The Spanier Dyadic Adjustment Scale and a shortened version of Marshall's Privacy Preferences Scale were administered to 114 married couples living in the city of Sydney, Australia. Marital satisfaction (male, female and couple satisfaction) was regressed upon individual and couple difference scores in four areas of privacy preferences (solitude, reserve, not neighboring and intimacy). The results indicated that male satisfaction was associated with spouses' low preference for Reserve and couple differences in respect to Solitude and Reserve. Female satisfaction was negatively associated with couple differences in Not Neighboring. Couple satisfaction was positively associated with wives' low preference for Reserve and couple differences in preferences for Solitude. (AUSTRALIA, MARITAL UNION, SATISFACTION, SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY)

96.14.7 - English - Vern L. BULLOUGH, Department of Sociology, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14261 (U.S.A.), and Fan FU RUAN, Chinese College of Medicine, Oakland, CA (U.S.A.) Marriage, divorce and sexual relations in contemporary China (p. 383-394)

Customs and attitude about marriage, divorce, and sexual practices are undergoing chance in China. Some of the chances have been encouraged by the government while others have occurred almost in spite of government efforts to redirect policy. Getting information on changes is not an easy task, even in this period of Chinese willingness to be more open. The resulting overview is based on available sources as well as the personal experiences of the authors, one of whom is a Chinese national and well known researcher into sex, marriage, and family in China. The others is an American who has visited China and written on various aspects of sexual behavior in China. (CHINA, SEXUALITY, MARRIAGE, DIVORCE)

96.14.8 - English - Gavin W. JONES, Department of Demography, The Australian National University, GPO Box 4, ACT 2601, Canberra (Australia), Yahya ASARI, Faculty of Agriculture, Padjadjaran University, Bandung (Indonesia), and Tuti DJUARTIKA, Population Studies Centre, Padjadjaran University, Bandung (Indonesia)

Divorce in West Java (p. 395-416)

This paper traces trends in divorce rates in West Java over the past 40 years. West Java's divorce rate was among the highest in the world in the 1950s and 1960s; by the mid-1980s, it was about one-fifth as high as that in the United States. Regional differentials were, and still are, quite pronounced. The differentials appear to be related more to cultural than to socioeconomic differences. The sharp declines have been related to social and economic changes, prominent among which were rising levels of income, expanded education and work opportunities for girls, and a breaking down of traditional attitudes through improved transport and communications. Concurrent with, and largely consequent on these changes has been a rising age at marriage of females and decline in arranged marriage, thus reducing the prevalence of those marriages traditionally most prone to divorce. Ideology and legal changes also played a part in the decline in divorce though the legal chances followed, rather than led, changed community attitudes. (INDONESIA, DIVORCE RATE, NUPTIALITY, MODERNIZATION)

1995 - VOLUME 26, NUMBER 1

Families in Asia: Beliefs and Realities

96.14.9 - English - Leela MULLATTI, Department of Sociology, Karnatak University, Belgaum Campus, Belgaum 590001 (India) Families in India€: Beliefs and realities (p. 11-25)

India is a land of diverse populace and geography. The Indian family is meant to fulfill religion obligation from birth to death. Religion is an all encompassing way of life. The guiding religious texts are the Purusharthas and Varnasrama Dharmas. Inequality of gender, occupation and life-cycle is inherent in Hinduism. There is a negative correlation between population growth and literacy rate. The Indian family is patriarchal, the family follows a joint-nuclear-joint cycle. Marriage is a union of two families arranged by elders. A modern scourge of Indian family is the dowry system and 'dowry deaths'. Elders are respected even today divorce though having legal sanction has yet to get social sanction. Religion is an everyday part of a Hindu family and the family exists to fulfill religious obligation. (INDIA, FAMILY LIFE, MARRIAGE, HINDUISM, TRADITION)

96.14.10 - English - Anwarullah CHOWDHURY, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000 (Bangladesh)

Families in Bangladesh (p. 27-41)

This paper deals with the growth of family studies and various other aspects of family in Bangladesh. The studies on family depict the picture about the changing family situation in Bangladesh over time. It is, therefore, an attempt to understand the dynamics of the rural society of Bangladesh with particular reference to the institution of family. The paper also provides a demographic profile with regard to family situation and it describes some other related issues including the pattern of rural social organization of Bangladesh. Finally, the paper suggests to undertake further studies on some important aspects of family for a better understanding of the family situation with particular reference to Bangladesh. (BANGLADESH, RURAL ENVIRONMENT, FAMILY)

96.14.11 - English - Zainal KLING, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 59100 (Malaysia) The Malay family: Beliefs and realities (p. 43-66)

The study of Malay family and its ideology has to start with an understanding of the interlinkages of three basic foundations: the traditional sociocultural configuration which is internally understood as adat, the impact and accommodation of Islamic religious principles and the influence of British colonial legislative laws. Compounding three major influences is the current direct exposure of family members, especially the younger generation, to foreign familial interaction pattern as portrayed, rightly or otherwise, by the mass media. The electronic media, especially, brought in an alternative structure of interaction in a pattern of family socialisation for the younger generation and create a sort of structural gap in the situation of family life. (MALAYSIA, FAMILY, TRADITION, MODERNIZATION, SOCIALIZATION)

96.14.12 - English - Bhassorn LIMANONDA, Institute of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand) Families in Thailand: Beliefs and realities (p. 67-82)

The main objective of this paper is to analyze families in Thailand in light of the country's dominant religion, Buddhism. The analysis is based mainly on a review of the literature and research findings on family and religion documented previously. The focus is on changes in demographic structure and fertility behavior in relation to changes in household structure and size. Certain aspects of families are investigated, including the family system, the family life cycle, marriage and divorce, women in labor force, and the elderly. Buddhism, which has flourished in Thailand since the thirteenth century, has borne a strong influence in Thai society. Buddhism, as interpreted in terms of cultural expressions, has long been associated with the Thai way of life, attitudes, and codes of behavior of individuals at both societal and family levels. Moreover, in the past Buddhism played a very significant role in a person's life from childhood to old age. However, during, the past 2-3 decades Thailand has undergone rapid socioeconomic change toward more modernization and a greater degree of urbanization, and certain social values and behaviors which used to be closely related to religious interpretation are observed to undergo some changes as well in both the family and society in general. This may be an indication of a widening gap between beliefs and realities in modern Thailand. (THAILAND, FAMILY DEMOGRAPHY, BUDDHISM, VALUE SYSTEMS, MODERNIZATION)

96.14.13 - English - Hoiman CHAN and Rance P. L. LEE, Department of Sociology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories (Hong Kong) Hong Kong families: At the crossroads of modernism and traditionalism (p. 83-99)

The cultural embeddedness of family structure and processes is a crucial point of departure in unravelling family life in Hong Kong. Two sets of cultural forces, that of Chinese traditionalism and Western modernism, provide the key ideological axes in the shaping of Hong Kong families. This ideological vantage point sheds important light on salient aspects of the family conditions, e.g., the prevalence of utilitarianistic familism, the rise of nuclear families, the changing authority pattern among family members, and the formation of gradated, extended familial ties. These variegated features are characterized in this essay in terms of the concept of modified nuclear family. (HONG KONG, TRADITION, MODERNIZATION, FAMILY, IDEOLOGY)

96.14.14 - English - Mei-Lin LEE, Institute of Social Welfare, National Chungcheng University, 160, San-Hsing, Ling-Hsiung, Chia-yi (Taiwan), and Te-Hsiung SUN, Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, The Executive Yuan, 12F, No. 4, Section 1, Chung-hsiao West Rd., Taipei (Taiwan)

The family and demography in contemporary Taiwan (p. 101-115)

This paper analyzes changes in the family of Taiwan in the context of demographic change and ideological characteristics. The analysis is mainly based on a series of KAP surveys from 1965 to 1985, which interviewed representative samples of the households with married women of ages 20-39 in Taiwan. The results indicate that although the traditional Chinese family system persists, it is being eroded by the rapid social and demographic changes. Following the resolution of extended families, the proportions of nuclear family increased significantly, and the size of family reduced. Although most women eventually get married, the age at marriage increased and the divorce rate also increased. The family structure varies significantly by region and traditional beliefs. (TAIWAN, FAMILY DEMOGRAPHY, TRADITION, CULTURAL CHANGE)

96.14.15 - English - Insook Han PARK, Department of Population Science, Konkuk University, 93-1 Mojin-Dong, Sungdong-Ku, SŽoul (Korea), and Lee-Jay CHO, Program Development, East West Center, 1777 East-West Road, Honolulu, Hawaii 96848 (U.S.A.)

Confucianism and the Korean family (p. 117-134)

This paper examines Korea's contemporary family system and demography in the context of the Confucian tradition and recent socioeconomic changes mediated by western influence. In portraying changes the composition, function and structure of the family of today, the discussion contrasts it not only with the recent past but also with the traditional family in the process of industrialization, urbanization and demographic transition in Korean society. (KOREA, CONFUCIANISM, FAMILY, SOCIAL CHANGE)

96.14.16 - English - Fumie KUMAGAI, Department of Foreign Studies, Kyorin University, 476 Miyashita-cho, Hachioji, Tokyo 192 (Japan) Families in Japan: Beliefs and realities (p. 135-163)

The transformation of a society from a traditional to a modern type involves changes in the family, a demographic revolution, and fading impacts of religion. Japanese society is not an exception. In examining changing patterns of the Japanese family and household there emerged three major findings; namely, emergence of modern characteristics in external spheres, persistence of traditional elements in internal aspects, and existence of distinctive regional variations in rural-urban settings. These findings are taken as evidence to support the dual nature of contemporary Japanese family in which traditional and modern elements coexist simultaneously. In other words, Japanese society today is tolerant of diversification of family alternatives while at the same time protective of its tradition, which may come from the very nature of the multi-religious culture itself. (JAPAN, FAMILY, MODERNIZATION, TRADITION)

1995 - VOLUME 26, NUMBER 2

96.14.17 - English - Dominique MEEKERS, Population Research Institute, and Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802-6207 (U.S.A.) Freedom of partner choice in Togo (p. 163-178)

The dominant theories of the nuptiality transition postulate that marriage processes in societies across the world will transform in a similar fashion. It is argued that these marriage transformations will include a shift from unions arranged by the couple's parents to unions based on individual partner choice and love, and that this increase in autonomy of partner choice will be accompanied by a decrease in the prevalence of consanguineous marriages. Recent empirical studies have challenged these convergence theories, and suggest that some sociocultural groups may maintain their traditional marriage practices, while other groups may develop new customs that are neither purely traditional nor purely Western. This paper uses data from the 1988 Togolese Demographic and Health Survey to examine variations in women's autonomy of partner choice, as well as differentials in the prevalence of consanguineous unions in Togo. (TOGO, MATE SELECTION, THEORY, CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGE, CULTURAL CHANGE)

96.14.18 - English - Zenaida R. RAVANERA, Fernando RAJULTON and Thomas K. BURCH, Department of Sociology, Population Studies Center, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5C2 (Canada) A cohort analysis of home-leaving in Canada, 1910-1975 (p. 179-193)

This paper presents a survival analysis of data on home-leaving gathered through the 1990 General Social Survey. The distribution of age at home-leaving, the main reasons for leaving, and home-leaving in relation to the timing of first marriage and of first union are examined by gender and by 5-year birth cohorts from 1910 to 1975. Changes over cohorts, the differences between gender, and major events - historical, economic, and social - that may have had an effect on home-leaving are discussed. (CANADA, YOUTH, HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION, LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS)

96.14.19 - English - Cui-Xia ZHANG, Department of Sociology, University of Illinois-Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60680 (U.S.A.), and John E. FARLEY, Department of Sociology, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, Edwardsville, Illinois 62026-1455 (U.S.A.)

Gender and the distribution of household work: A comparison of self-reports by female college faculty in the United States and China (p. 195-205)

Samples of married faculty women were surveyed at a university in the United States and at a university in the People's Republic of China. They were asked what proportion of various household tasks were performed by them, their husbands, their children, housekeepers, and others. They were also asked about their household's division of child care responsibilities on weekdays and weekends. Their surveys revealed striking similarities in the division of household labor by gender in the two samples, with faculty women in both countries performing disproportionate shares of all household tasks except repairs, despite the fact that both husband and wife were employed full time. What few differences did emerge were due to differences in the use of housekeepers and in help from children. Virtually no difference was observed in the share of household work done by husbands in the two samples. The great similarity of the two samples, despite the considerable social and cultural differences between the United States and China, is explained in terms of a similar lag between changing gender roles with respect to labor force participation, and traditional gender roles with respect to household division of labor. Whether this lag is temporary or permanent is unclear. (UNITED STATES, CHINA, TEACHERS, SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOUR, DOMESTIC WORK)

96.14.20 - English - B. E. AGUIRRE, Department of Sociology, Rogelio SAENZ, Department of Rural Sociology, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX 77843 (U.S.A.), and Sean-Shong HWANG, Department of Sociology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294 (U.S.A.) Remarriage and intermarriage of Asians in the United States of America (p. 207-215)

Information on couples married in the U.S.A. in which at least one of the spouses is of Asian descent is obtained from the 1980 U.S. Census' 5% Public Use Microdata Samples. It is used to analyze Asians' ethnic and racial exogamy. Results show that the probability of exogamy is lowest when foreign-born Asians are in their first marriages and husbands are older and more educated than their wives. Asians remarried to previously unmarried spouses are more racially exogamous than other Asians. Moreover, Asians are more likely to cross racial lines whenever they are more educated than their spouses. Results also show that foreign birth is not necessarily associated with endogamy among Asians, but its effects are mediated by the marriage history of the spouses and the type of exogamy involved. The increased diversity and cultural pluralism of family forms in the U.S.A. are seen as facilitating these exogamous patterns. (UNITED STATES, ASIA, EXOGAMY, REMARRIAGE, MIXED MARRIAGE)

96.14.21 - English - Lewellyn HENDRIX, Department of Sociology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901 (U.S.A.), and Willie PEARSON Jr., Department of Sociology, Wake-Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109 (U.S.A.) Spousal interdependence, female power, and divorce: A cross-cultural examination (p. 217-232)

Using data from a worldwide sample of preindustrial societies, we clarify issues concerning how the frequency of divorce is affected by gender factors such as female power and spouses' interdependence. Using aspects of the division of labor by sex to measure interdependence in marriage, we find that divorce is more frequent in societies with more interdependence under specified conditions. Also, divorce is positively related to female power when there is extensive task segregation between the sexes. We argue that balanced power plus a rigid division of labor in marriage may heighten divorce because this combination may: (1) make the coordination and control of spouses' labor problematic, (2) lead to disparate interests of husbands and wives or (3) indicate cultural ambivalence about marriage. Any of these factors may result in marital conflict and hostility, and thereby more divorce. (COUPLE, INTERSPOUSE RELATIONSHIPS, DEPENDENCY, DIVORCE, COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS)

96.14.22 - English - Yu-Wen YING and Xiulan ZHANG, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (U.S.A.) Mental health in rural and urban Chinese families: The role of intergenerational personality discrepancy and family solidarity (p. 233-246)

This study empirically examines the mental health in rural and urban Chinese families. Parents' and adult children's depression levels were postulated to be mediated by increasing intergenerational personality discrepancy (as measured by level of internality and norm-abiding tendency), decreasing family solidarity (as measured by consensus, affect, and support), urban residence, and decreasing, social desirability. We found the parents' depression level to be negatively mediated by perceived consensus and urban residence. The children's depression level was negatively mediated by perceived consensus and affect. For children, increasing, intergenerational personality discrepancy negatively affected consensus, through which it indirectly mediated negative mental health. (CHINA, FAMILY, MENTAL HEALTH, SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY)

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