Injury is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among Canadian youth. In order to develop successful prevention strategies for this major public health problem, it is necessary to determine injury risk factors. Despite reasons to believe that family structure (parents’ marital and living arrangements) may be associated with youth injury, this link has been largely overlooked in injury research. The objectives of this thesis were to determine whether family structure was associated with youth injury in a manner described by theory, after considering alternative explanations for the observed association and to explore how engaging in high risk behaviour mediated the impact of family structure on youth injury. The association was explored using cross-sectional and longitudinal data. This study was based on a representative, cross-sectional World Health Organization, Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (2006) survey of 9, 068 Canadian students, aged 11–15 years, from 186 schools. A sub-sample of 1, 885 Ontario students surveyed in 2006 and again in 2007 comprised the longitudinal sample. The associations were assessed using generalized estimating equations with classroom clusters and Poisson distribution, adjusting for identified potential confounders and examining mediation by high-risk behaviours. There were three main findings: 1) Family structure was associated with medically treated injury in females, after accounting for confounding. Results showed that females from non-intact families had slightly increased risk of any injury than those from intact families (PR=1.11; 95% CI: 1.04-1.19). However, they had a greater risk of non-sports (PR=1.30; 95% CI: 1.16-1.77) and severe, non-sports (PR=1.46; 95% CI: 1.12-1.91) injury. 2) Only a small portion of the association between family structure and injury was explained by engaging in high risk behaviour. 3) There was an inconsistent relationship between family structure and male non-sports injury (Canadian cross-sectional, PR=1.05; 95% CI: 0.94-1.16; Ontario longitudinal, PR=1.58; 95% CI: 1.20-2.07). The findings of this thesis call attention to the importance of non-intact family structures as a risk factor for youth injury. More research is needed to improve our understanding of the mechanisms through which family structure influences youths' risk of injury in order to guide policy development.

Injury is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among Canadian youth. In order to develop successful prevention strategies for this major public health problem, it is necessary to determine injury risk factors. Despite reasons to believe that family structure (parents’ marital and living arrangements) may be associated with youth injury, this link has been largely overlooked in injury research. The objectives of this thesis were to determine whether family structure was associated with youth injury in a manner described by theory, after considering alternative explanations for the observed association and to explore how engaging in high risk behaviour mediated the impact of family structure on youth injury. The association was explored using cross-sectional and longitudinal data. This study was based on a representative, cross-sectional World Health Organization, Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (2006) survey of 9, 068 Canadian students, aged 11–15 years, from 186 schools. A sub-sample of 1, 885 Ontario students surveyed in 2006 and again in 2007 comprised the longitudinal sample. The associations were assessed using generalized estimating equations with classroom clusters and Poisson distribution, adjusting for identified potential confounders and examining mediation by high-risk behaviours. There were three main findings: 1) Family structure was associated with medically treated injury in females, after accounting for confounding. Results showed that females from non-intact families had slightly increased risk of any injury than those from intact families (PR=1.11; 95% CI: 1.04-1.19). However, they had a greater risk of non-sports (PR=1.30; 95% CI: 1.16-1.77) and severe, non-sports (PR=1.46; 95% CI: 1.12-1.91) injury. 2) Only a small portion of the association between family structure and injury was explained by engaging in high risk behaviour. 3) There was an inconsistent relationship between family structure and male non-sports injury (Canadian cross-sectional, PR=1.05; 95% CI: 0.94-1.16; Ontario longitudinal, PR=1.58; 95% CI: 1.20-2.07). The findings of this thesis call attention to the importance of non-intact family structures as a risk factor for youth injury. More research is needed to improve our understanding of the mechanisms through which family structure influences youths' risk of injury in order to guide policy development.

In the last 30 years the Jamaican government has invested substantially in education at the primary and secondary levels by providing a large number of inputs, including trained teachers. Still, many children are illiterate after completing primary school, and a large number of teenagers leave secondary school without acquiring a skill. The educational attainment of Jamaican children is low in absolute terms, and in comparison to other Caribbean nations. This breakdown in the uptake of education cannot be explained by lack of physical inputs. This dissertation focuses on the dynamics of the household by posing the question: Is the educational achievement of children with unmarried mothers different than that of children with married mothers? This is a potentially important question for Jamaica, since 80% of children are born out of wedlock and the probability of having married parents at age 15 is just 50 percent. It was found that children whose mothers are unmarried had lower cognitive achievement than children with married mothers, that in certain cases the disparity accentuates over time, and that children with unmarried mothers are also less likely to be attending high school. A large number of women in Jamaica complete most or all of their fertility out of wedlock. Yet, many of these women enter marriages at a late age (between 35 and 50 years old). These marriages sometimes evolve from current domiciliary relationships, but quite often they do not. In this study, one possible motivation for these late marriages is explored. It is proposed that women with smart children enter late marriages as a way of securing funds to invest in the education of these children. They are motivated to do so because, in the absence of old-age protection in Jamaica, smart children are a good way to store consumption for one's old age. This hypothesis was supported by the data. / Ph. D.

This thesis investigates different aspects of family structure and children’s well-being in Sweden. Applying a child perspective, it analyzes children’s likelihood of stepfamily entry, their emotional well-being in different family forms and educational outcomes in families with complex sibling structures. Analyses are performed using data from nationally representative surveys of both parents and children as well as from administrative registers. The results do not show any socioeconomic differences in the process of family reconstitution, although children of parents with low educational attainment are more likely to be in the risk pool for stepfamily formation. There are however differences by gender, with girls having higher likelihood of stepfamily entry than boys, especially in the younger ages. Children are also more likely to experience a stepfamily formation on the paternal side, thus gaining a stepmother. Gender differences can also be found in the association between family type and emotional as well as educational well-being, with girls showing slightly more adverse outcomes than boys. Children of both sexes do however show lower well-being and school outcomes in post-separation family types than in original two-parent families. Like previous international stepfamily literature the results show that Swedish children in stepfamilies and blended families experience adverse emotional and educational outcomes but that the differences are generally small. The main contrast to previous, mostly American, studies are the lack of socioeconomic differences in stepfamily formation and that adverse emotional outcomes in single parent families as well as stepfamilies seem to be mainly explained by differences in parenting and the parent-child relationship rather than economic deprivation. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper3: Manuscript.</p> / Familjestruktur, ekonomiska resurser och barns levnadsvillkor

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Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / Adolescence is a critical developmental stage for any individual. The process of identity formation occurs during this stage and Erikson's theory states that adolescents' engagement in exploration, to form their own sense of identity, is influenced by environmental factors and socialization figures. Family has been one of the most important agents of socialization for adolescents. The family unit is essential in providing the support system for adolescents to overcome the challenges they face. Parenting is one of many aspects that play a role in the development of both adaptive and maladaptive behaviour in adolescents. Family and parenting are, therefore, important in adolescent identity formation. Berzonsky examined the process of social cognitive strategies that individuals utilize, when dealing with identity relevant information; that is the identity styles. One and two-parent families are among the forms of family structures, in which parents employ various parenting styles that, along with the interaction of families members, result in different outcomes in adolescents. The aim of this study was to compare the relationship between perceived parenting styles and the identity styles of adolescents living in one and two-parent families in Botswana. A quantitative methodology with a cross-sectional, correlational-comparative design was employed. The study population was Junior Secondary school learners in Gaborone, Botswana, aged between 13-17 years, residing in a one and two-parent families. Simple random sampling was used to select the 4 schools that participated. The study sample consisted of 194 learners. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires that included demographic information, the identity style questionnaire and the parenting style and dimensions questionnaire. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and independent t-tests were used to analyze the data. The findings of the study showed that the majority of the participants were oriented towards choosing the informational identity style as was shown by the mean and standard deviation (M=3.64, SD=.62). The most prevalent parenting style was authoritative, with higher maternal scores (M=3.52, SD=.81). There was a relationship between identity styles and parenting style and a significant difference in the relationship between parenting styles and identity styles in one and two-parent families. Pearson correlation was used to determine the relationship between variables and a significant positive relationship was at significance level (p = <0.05).

Prescription stimulant abuse is a recent drug abuse trend that is becoming a major problem across the United States. Previous research has mainly examined the amount of individuals that are abusing prescription stimulants and has ignored using sociological theory to explain why individuals are abusing these drugs. To address this gap in the literature, this thesis applies the theory of social capital to explain how an adolescents’ family structure can affect the likelihood they will abuse prescription stimulants. Examining survey data from the 2008 The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, it was found that adolescents from single parent households, with minimal parental involvement, are more likely to report abusing prescription stimulants. These findings highlight the influence of family structure and parental involvement in an adolescent’s life, as well as the need for additional research in this area to fully understand prescription stimulant abuse.

Studies show that family structure is an important factor in explaining delinquency among adolescents (Price & Kunz, 2003). There is a lack of research, however, pertaining to cohabitation. The main goals of this study are to determine if there are variations in delinquency between cohabitating and other family types, and to examine the extent to which parental social control measures account for the variation in delinquency by family structure. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) are used for the purposes of this study (n = 4,389). While there are no significant differences in violent delinquency between cohabitating families and other family types, results indicate that adolescents from cohabitating families have a greater odds of engaging in nonviolent delinquency compared to those from 2- biological-parent families, although reaching only marginal significance. This difference, however, is explained once parental social control factors are accounted for in the models.

This paper addresses the question: Have the changes in family structure in the U.S. become a catalyst for juvenile delinquency? For this research, I use existing statistics for my three independent variables: divorce rates, rate of working mothers with children under age 18, percent female-headed households. My dependent variable, juvenile violent crime rates, is measured using data from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. My control variables consist of the following: percent of population aged 15-25, unemployment rate, incarceration rates, drug rates, rates of gun ownership, police employment, percent of those with weekly religious service attendance, percent of persons who have a "great deal" of confidence in the Executive branch of the United States, and percent of people who can trust others. I examine Gottfredson and Hirschi's self-control theory (1990) as a possible theoretical explanation of the correlation between changes in family structure and juvenile delinquency. Previous research has shown with less supervision, monitoring and punishing the child, low self-control results leading to delinquency. My population includes all individuals in these statistics. I use a time series analysis, spanning from 1980 to 2006, to show the changes in rates over time and the correlations between family variables and juvenile delinquency. / Master of Science

The purpose of this dissertation was threefold. First, this researcher identified and critically examined selected characteristics of professional social science journal articles related to African American grandparents; the level of their involvement/role (arbiter for parent-child conflict, bearer of family history, caretaker/ childrearing, emotional gratification, gift giving, passing traditions/values and role modeling). Secondly, this researcher identified and evaluated selected characteristics (race, gender, university affiliation and academic degree) of all authors associated with articles chosen for this dissertation study to determine who were writing these articles. Finally, a content analysis exploring direction of inclusion or exclusion of grandparents and scope of literature and research related to the dissertation as discovered in articles of professional social science journals covering a 16-year study period. Survey research and content analysis techniques were utilized to examine relevant articles in professional social science journals in a pool of 12,082 articles for the study period. Implications for counseling African Americans and Black family research are included. Limitations inherent in this study were that (1) relevant journal articles may have been overlooked because the authors used terms in their title or text which 'were related to African American grandparents but were unknown to the researcher; (2) the researcher assumed that descriptive data were necessary to analyze study journals and authors as well as to provide an analysis of the direction and scope of literature and research; and (3) a total of three (3) years of study journals were unavailable to the researcher which altered the number and percent of pages and articles pertaining to African American grandparents issues. Directions for future study conclude this investigation.