Conflict between American-born Chinese and their immigrant parents bears a unique configuration in terms of the interaction between the bicultural Chinese Americans and their immigrant parents. This study examined the communication patterns and conflicts in seven Chinese American families by eliciting accounts from the younger generation in an interview. The results suggest that there are incommensurate cultural logics between the parents and the children, whose socialization is embedded in disparate cultural traditions. However, the Chinese American informants did not perceive their conflicts with their parents as incommensurate. Rather, they treated conflicts as though they were incompatible or incomparable. The study also challenges the common advice to compromise given to Chinese Americans who find themselves struggling between Chinese and North American cultures within which they are simultaneously enmeshed. It is concluded that suggestions such as achieving the balance between two cultural traditions or compromising are imaginary in light of the concrete actions performed by these bicultural individuals. The notion of compromise for these Chinese Americans can be understood as reconstitution of one cultural tradition, or transformation of the extant cultural practices.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Mothers' Aid was an early twentieth-century state mothers' pension program. In this dissertation, Mothers' Aid presents a focal point for examining the economic valuation of parenting, as reflected in the administration of and reform of welfare policies in the United States. Following a discussion of changing economic and familial roles of women and children in the U.S. prior to the Progressive period, Massachusetts' Mothers' Aid is shown to exemplify Progressive-era "maternalist" policies aimed at preserving traditional family forms, while being responsive to local concerns regarding potential employment opportunities for family members. Drawing data from archival Massachusetts welfare archives, a regression model demonstrates the articulation of Mothers' Aid administration with characteristics of recipients (marital status, children's ages) and local economies (industrial base, secular and cyclical employment trends for women and children). What emerges is a view of the dynamics of welfare administration as reflecting evolving societal standards regarding work and family life for women and children within a changing economy. The dissertation concludes with an examination of similar dynamics in subsequent welfare history at the national level (from the New Deal to current welfare reform debates). In particular, current workfare proposals, which seek to integrate adult welfare recipients fully into wage work in exchange for benefits, are contrasted against Progressive-era policies, which granted an economic valuation to parenting work, in its own right, in the form of regular benefits.

The study carried out describes some specific forms of scientific communication in the fields of family therapy and family psychology. It includes as primary source of data three journals (Family Process, Journal of Family Psychology and Therapie Familiale) and two electronic lists: (1) a family studies list titled FAMLYSCI, and (2) the American Marriage and Family Therapy Association's electronic list (MFTNET). The scientific communication processes analyzed included the study of forms of scientific collaboration, gender distribution of authors and the study of the development of controversial (i.e. polemical or non-consensus) research questions. The methods used included: (a) a bibliometric and citation analysis study carried out in order to characterized each journal profile and role; (b) a network analysis carried out in order to identify the most prominent research subjects and teams in each field; (c) a controversies analysis carried out with the goal of identifying the type of polemical issues selected by journal editors and the gender distribution of controversies participants. Within the frame of the mentioned methods a set of dimensions and variables and dimensions were selected accordingly to the above stated goals. Concerning the bibliometric and citational approach the variables selected were: number of articles published, average number of references per article, number and gender of first authors and co-authors, country of professional address of first authors, institutions where the research took place, key words used in the title of the articles, patterns of acknowledgment and grants and awards. The network analysis associated the research questions implied by the articles titles with the most prolific research teams in each field. Finally, the controversies analysis identified the controversies subject, the type of controversy and the participants gender. An adjunctive frame of analysis included the examination of the two mentioned electronic lists, specifying gender of participants, institutions of electronic addresses and countries involved. The results obtained point to a set of specific features of the emergence and consolidation processes of family therapy and family psychology. The analysis of the journal Therapie Familiale also demonstrates specific attributes of the dissemination of scientific information in the French speaking community of family therapists and researchers.

The relationship between attachment and identity was examined in a sample of 283 college students. The primary hypothesis was that the strength of the attachment bond is significantly positively correlated with the identity achieved style. Secondary questions addressed gender differences in attachment and identity as well as the role of reported memory of childhood attachment to current attachment and to identity development. Social and cultural factors including the role of adolescents' second generation status and of trauma in the attachment-identity association were also explored. Subjects were given questionnaires assessing current attachment and reported memory of childhood attachment to mother and father, identity styles, and difficult life events. Although no support was obtained for the hypothesized relationship between attachment and the identity achieved style, other patterns of attachment and identity were found. Results on gender differences seemed to show support for stereotypical notions in attachment but not identity. Gender differences between males and females in the attachment-identity association often indicated more significant results for males. Attachment to mothers vs. attachment to fathers showed somewhat different patterns in predicting identity styles. Results indicated that adolescents who had second-generation status may show a slightly different pattern of identity development that may involve struggling for integrating personal as well as familial and cultural influences. Trauma may disrupt the adolescents' ideological development. Individuals who have experienced traumatic events are more likely to question basic assumptions about life. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between genders, interpersonal vs. ideological identity and child vs. current attachment when conducting analyses on the association between attachment and identity. Future investigations should consider using more categorical measures of assessing attachment and identity styles, conducting studies of identity development with a multi-cultural sample, and incorporating measures of traumatic life events that may mediate the attachment-identity link.

This study provides current comprehensive information about the formal work/family planning practices of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" (Working Mother Magazine, Moskowitz and Townsend, 1994). These companies are chosen by researchers from thousands of firms that actively campaign for a place on the "100 Best" roster. The major objectives of this study were twofold: (1) to determine what factors may contribute to the successful implementation of employee work/family practices; and (2) to examine the characteristics of companies which have initiated progressive supportive work family programs and to describe the state of art of corporate work/family practices. The focus of this study was to examine the characteristics of specific work/family practices within U.S. private industry. The primary question addressed was, Do those corporations recognized as leaders in work/family policy management share similar traditions, comparable business philosophies and priorities, and certain industry, employee, and geographic characteristics? A mail survey consisting of sixteen questions was used to examine the company characteristics of recognized leaders in work/family program development and to describe the state of art in corporate work/family practices. Data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation. Descriptive statistics were used to report and summarize findings on the survey items describing specific components of the firms' work/family practices. Pearson's correlation was employed to test the study's eleven research hypotheses. Results of data analysis suggest that there is extensive and comprehensive development and use of work/family programs within the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers. The trend appears to be toward greater long-range planning work/family. Unionized firms in this study outnumbered the national average two to one. Study findings suggest that family supportive human resource programs are most likely to be adopted by companies that: have a large percentage of female managers and senior vice-presidents, maintain a relatively high proportion of well-paid, young, female technical and professional, skilled and non-union employees. Firms tend to be large in size, reflect a consumer orientation and have a history of concern for employees and their families' well-being.