This study uses a targeted sample of 138 couples in Western Massachusetts to examine the impact of child care choices on social networks across the transition to parenthood and return to work. Dual-earner couples were interviewed separately during the third trimester of their first pregnancy and again near the child's first birthday. This study seeks to determine whether reliance on child care providers with different relationships to the couple influenced new mothers' and fathers' ability to maintain a diverse set of relationships with others. More specifically, it is hypothesized that as one draws on resources from a wider network to provide child care (expanding from the couple only to her kin, his kin, some combination of both sets of kin, and finally outward to non-kin providers), that one will have the ability to maintain a wider circle of contacts following the transition to parenthood and return to employment. This research has uncovered significant differences in new parents' social networks. As predicted by previous research, women's networks were more strongly influenced by the transition than men's, and gender differences in network composition, especially the percentage who are coworkers, intensified. A prenatal gender difference in network size dissipated by the baby's first birthday, with men's network size decreasing more than women's to lead to similar size postnatally. Regression results suggest that gendered patterns are influenced by choice of child care provider. Men's networks appear most restricted by a couple-only child care strategy, as men who used any other child care option reported ties with significantly more coworkers than men providing care while their partners worked. Women appear to have the least restrictions, and the most signs of diversity, when they chose a provider unrelated to either parent. At the second interview, women reporting use of a non-kin provider had significantly lower frequency of contact with others than those using their own kin, fewer partner's kin than those using their partner's kin for child care, and a higher percentage of coworkers than those using no child care.

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Survivors of child sexual abuse are often plagued by a miriad of residual effects which have the potential to limit their functioning and interfere with their interpersonal relationships. Twenty-three successful survivors were interviewed to determine what problems they attributed to the abuse and the process they had gone through to reach some degree of wholeness. Eight therapists of survivors were interviewed to determine how they treat past victims of sexual abuse. The content of these interviews was used to generate a book directed to the layperson who might be a survivor of sexual abuse, friend/family member of such a survivor or a therapist interested in treating these individuals. Major themes addressed are: a definition of sexual abuse, a discussion of who abuses children, outline of the residual effects experienced by survivors from both a male and female perspective, a discussion of therapies and other aids for breaking the cycle of continued victimization, suggestions of what survivors might experience while going through therapy, a consideration of the complications of sharing the facts of the abuse with the survivor's children, an exploration of the difficulties in learning to trust again and a discussion of what is meant by a "true" survivor. The book is interwoven with first person accounts of survivor's experiences with both incest and extra-familial abuse. Sexual abuse is seen in the context of other assaults on childhood such as alcoholism and physical abuse.

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.

Coaching is being used in a number of fields, careers, and situations including in the work of family life. Family Life Coaches enable family identified change through the relationship between the family scientist and the family (Allen and Huff, 2014). From a family perspective, rather than presenting as experts, family life coaches utilize coaching techniques to empower families in navigating normative life stages as well as unique life processes. The mission of the Family Life Coaching Association is to create research-based, globally recognized credentials; training standards; and networking opportunities for family life coaches. This workshop will cover the origins of Family Life Coaching, demonstrate a coaching session, and participants will be able to practice coaching techniques and discuss the direction of professionalizing the field of Family Life Coaching.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most commonly occurring form of dementia that affects African Americans at 2 to 3 times higher rate than other ethnic or racial groups in the United States. As the number of older African Americans with AD grows rapidly so will the need for daily supports; therefore, informal caregivers, such as an adult offspring, often assume the role of filial caregiver. Focusing on the unique patterns of caregiving among African Americans, this generic qualitative study may help explain the adult offspring’s perspective on sibling relationships as they function in the role of primary filial caregiver. Equity theory was the conceptual framework used to explore sibling relationships among African American adult filial caregivers. A purposeful sampling in conjunction with snowballing was used to recruit participants who provided filial caregiving to a home-bound parent with AD. For this generic qualitative study, 10 participants responded to 12 open-ended interview questions related to their sibling relationships and filial caregiving. After collecting and transcribing the data, I used a thematic analysis approach, resulting in the following 5 emergent themes: (a) perception of equity, (b) continuing a close sibling relationship, (c) strategies of communication and collaborative decision-making, (d) varying siblings supports, and (e) attitudes towards caregiving and siblings. The results from this study may enhance culturally sensitive or responsive interventions/strategies and family-centered programs supporting African American adult filial caregivers and their siblings as they navigate the demands of elder care, thereby informing perceptions of fairness related to caregiving responsibilities.

The recognition that employees and employers wield different levels of power in the workplace makes labour legislation a central part of the workplace. This is because the different levels of power possessed by the two parties impact not only on workplace decision making but also on the relationship between the two parties, thus, being the weaker party (worker), the importance of worker protection through legislation is very important. However, the extent to which all employees enjoy legislation protection has always been a bone of contention. The lack of employment security in certain sectors of the labour market is not always the direct consequence of a lack of labour legislation aimed at those sectors. Rather, factors such as supervising compliance and implementation of labour legislation are crucial towards achieving important goals of labour legislation such as job security and worker protection. This study attempts to understand the interplay between the nature of work, legislation and the impact on family and community life of taxi drivers, through studying the everyday work experience of local taxi operators. This study looks at the labour process of taxi driving in Mamelodi Township (Pretoria, Gauteng Province) and Jane Furse (Sekhukhune District, Limpopo Province). The study draws on post-Bravermanian labour process theory, work-life balance debates and labour geography for theoretical frameworks. This is an ethnographic study that mainly draws on the extended case method, supplemented with semi-structured interviews. Results indicate that taxi drivers work under harsh working conditions with very few employment-related benefits and little time for their families (social life). The drudgery of labour and the nature of the labour process motivate the need for taxi drivers to “make out”, as Michael Burawoy has described worker coping strategies. This involves what is termed binding, floating, sekero and rocky relations in this study. Findings also point out that current legislative stipulations, particularly the definition of a workplace, are incompatible with the nature of work characteristic of the minibus taxi industry. The study concludes that taxi drivers remain largely vulnerable and unprotected due to this mismatch between legislative stipulations and the nature of work in the industry. Related to the foregoing, the study concludes that the informality of the minibus taxi industry benefits to some degree both taxi drivers and taxi owners. The study also points out the fact that geography/space is critical to our understanding of certain industries and successful application of labour regulation laws. Finally the study concludes that different localities impact on the intensity and duration of the labour process(es) therefore negates the successful uniform application of labour laws. / Dissertation (MSocSci)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Sociology / unrestricted

In the United States, African American fathers are incarcerated at a disproportionate rate and have a poor prognosis of success. Although researchers have considered how crime, paternal abuse, poverty, and social disparities have affected African Americans, they have not adequately studied how formerly incarcerated African American fathers experience parenting. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to bridge this gap in knowledge by exploring the parenting experiences of formerly incarcerated African American fathers on parole. The research question focused on the parenting experiences of African American fathers obligated to mandatory supervision following an incarceration. A criterion-based sample of 9 African American fathers from the Midwestern region of the United States completed 2 in-depth interviews. Interviews were analyzed using phenomenological techniques, resulting in 9 central themes focused on social objectification, survival, change, the agency of fatherhood, and parent-child relations. Despite difficulties and challenges, the quality of the fathers' lives hinged on the quality of their relationship with their children. The findings and recommendations from this study may advance positive social change by stimulating and guiding the efforts of human service practitioners working to develop culturally relevant interventions, and raising the awareness of advocates working to influence legislators toward comprehensive policy reform. The application of this study's findings may provoke community members to strengthen their support for African American fathers returning to the community following incarceration.

Self-evaluation in home management and its relationship to achievement motivation was investigated . The discrepancy between student self-evaluation and adviser evaluation was correlated with achievement motivation. The sample consisted of 33 female students, residents of -the Home Management House during Spring Quarter of the 1968-69 school year and Fall and Winter Quarters of the 1969-70 school year. The instruments used were: (1) a background questionnaire; (2) Management Resource Scale, and (3) Litwin Decision-Making Test. The statistical test used was the Pearson r (correlation coefficient). No significant relationship was found between absolute discrepancy between student self-evaluation in home management, and adviser evaluation and achievement motivation. However, when directionality of evaluation-deviation scores was considered, a significant relationship was found at the .05 level. Subjects who received positive evaluation-deviation scores were lower in achievement motivation than were subjects who received negative evaluation-deviation scores.

Older adults who provide care for an adult child with a disability have rarely been considered in the planning and preparation literature. As they grow older, these adults face the challenge of arranging care for their dependent children and for themselves. This study investigated influences on planning for one's own future care. Results indicated that parents who prepared for their adult child's future care were more likely to prepare for their own care. When compared to adults without a dependent child, parents caring for an adult child with a disability were equally likely to plan for their own future care.