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Little research has examined how migration affects marital relationships, or the processes by which immigrant couples adapt to their new circumstances. This paper presents data from a research project conducted with newcomer Ethiopians in Toronto, both married and divorced or separated. The objective of this paper is to document post-migration changes in the lives of newcomer couples and to examine the impact of post-migration changes on marital relationships. The study sample consisted of 25 participants, all of who were Ethiopian immigrants to Toronto. Both individual and focus group interviews were conducted. The major types of post-migration changes described by study participants were losses of household help, emotional support, income and status, and changes in gender roles. The impacts of these change on marital relationships were described as increased marital conflict, increased autonomy for women, increased mutual dependence, more joint decisionmaking, and changes in communication and intimacy. Study findings challenged the notion that the impact of post-migration changes on marital relationships is all negative. Recognising the potential for positive and negative changes in marital relationships following migration can inform the practices of settlement organizations and the development of violence prevention strategies for newcomer couples and communities. Findings also have implications for the development of theory on the etiology of IPV. However, future research is necessary to confirm study findings with other immigrant communities representing different migration and resettlement experiences to identify commonalties and synthesize results across communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is essentially twofold. The first aim is to establish the demographic patterns and social trends which characterize contemporary grandparenthood in Canada using nationally representative data from the 1990 and 1995 General Social Surveys of Canada. Patterns characterizing and influencing grandparenthood such as the prevalence of grandparenthood, multiple generation families, step- grandparenthood and the availability of grandparents and grandchildren are examined. Analysis also focuses on rates of intergenerational cohabitation and surrogate parenting by grandparents, as well as the intersection of grandparenthood and other family and work-related roles. The second aim of the paper--where methodologically possible--is to provide a comparative analysis of Canadian and American trends, thereby placing findings within a North American context. Canadian families are presently undergoing processes of transformation and redefinition, generally assuming more heterogeneity in size and structure. Increasing life expectancy, decreasing fertility, changing gender roles, patterns of work and of marriage and divorce, all join to influence family structure and consequently, grandparenthood.

Canada's laws regarding children and families can be examined on the basis of the balance they strike among the rights and obligations of the child, the family, and the state. In the past, the legislation and policies have traditionally adopted what may be called a paternalistic and reactive stance towards ensuring the well-being of Canadian children. The emphasis has been on apportioning power over children between parental figures and the state, on the weighing of family (parental) autonomy versus state intrusion into the family. Government intervention has generally followed a residual or safety net model, in which the authorities react to rescue or protect children, and only after specified problems have occurred in the families. A shift does, however, appear to be beginning in the field of child and family law. The earlier focus on parental and state rights is now being tempered with a growing concern for the rights of the children themselves, a movement which may lead to laws and policies that are more proactive or preventive in character. Following a brief description of the historical context for current child and family law in Canada, this paper outlines the important principles which underly the legislation and which reflect the continuing attempt to balance con attempted balance: first the field of "child protection," and second the field of what used to be termed "juvenile delinquents" but which is now referred to as "young offenders." The paper closes with an indication of future directions for the shifting balance of the child's, the family's, and the state's riots within the process of seeking the welfare of Canada's children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immigration presents a major life challenge, especially when the move is both geographical and across wide cultural divides. One of the areas of greatest challenge is in adjustments in gender and marital roles, perhaps because both of these are so close to the core of identity, self esteem, and sense of place in the world. This paper reports on research conducted with immigrants from Iran to Canada that examined how their experiences post-immigration affected their marital roles and relationship. Fifteen men and fifteen women who were born in Iran, immigrated to Canada, and were currently in heterosexual marriage or marriage- like relationships participated in in-depth interviews. Participants were well-educated, with none having less than 12 years of schooling and most having post-secondary training. Three highly imbricated areas of influence on their couple relationships emerged in the interviews: gender role adjustments, labour force difficulties, and changes in family structure. Consistent with the literature on immigrant adjustments, both men and women found each of these 3 posed challenges to their couple relationships. Men had difficulty accepting the freedom their wives had to dress, socialize and make decisions for themselves. Women also identified shortcomings to the "freedoms" they were afforded in Canada. The greatest challenge to men's identities as "good husbands" was their loss of the breadwinner role. Women and men both faced difficulties integrating into the Canadian labour force, with these difficulties leading some to express a desire to return to Iran. The loss of extended family support and social networking were linked to loneliness and absence of wise mediators to help with couple-conflicts, but were also described as contributing to greater mutuality and closeness in couples. Couples spoke of creating a new, bicultural, identity and lifestyle to counter the stresses and tensions of acculturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little attention has been paid to the needs of refugee children in Canada. The last decade has seen increasing numbers of Roma refugees settling in southern Ontario, and this qualitative study explored the needs of Roma refugee children in the education, health and social services sectors. We interviewed or conducted focus groups with 24 Roma and 62 service providers from those sectors. Participants indicated that Roma children had high needs for service in all these sectors, but that families were often unable or unwilling to access services effectively. Specifically, children needed schooling for language acquisition and for the development of social relationships; absenteeism was a concern. Income assistance was needed by Roma and other newly-arriving families. Continuity and quality of health care was an issue. In all sectors, barriers were related to language, culture and the unique history of the Roma people. This paper contextualizes study findings by briefly summarizing Roma historical and current experience in Europe; this experience is critical to an understanding of the difficulties that Roma encounter with institutional systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As more adult women with young children have entered the paid labour force in the last decade, more Canadian families are seeking access to affordable child care. One might expect to observe a measurable and decided increase in coverage of child care in major media in that time. Yet, in terms of articles recorded and analyzed in four major Canadian dailies, child care has remained marginal, moving in and out of the spotlight and often all but disappearing. Even the Toronto Star, which covered the issue the most frequently of the dailies examined, had coverage that varied markedly between 2000 and 2007. By counting articles about child care, we found that the greatest jumps in coverage in all four dailies were spikes in 2000 and 2005-2006-coinciding with federal election campaigns. A closer look at the 2005-2006 period revealed that the National Post had the least extensive coverage. Nonetheless, it too had higher than its normal coverage during the campaign. At that time the newspapers' coverage nearly doubled, in all but one paper, before falling to their average (low) yearly coverage, in 2007- again, despite a continuing unmet demand for affordable child care among Canadian families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violence against the Aged (VAA) can take on the form of psychological, physical, sexual, economic abuse or neglect. The under-reporting of VAA is a major problem, although both Canadian and USA studies show that the consequences of this crime are very serious. Moreover, although the rates may be stable (5-10%), the numbers are rising due to the aging of the Canadian and USA populations. In this paper, I introduce an integrated conceptual model for predicting VAA, which goes beyond intimate partner violence. The model also suggests that struggles against VAA must simultaneously occur at the personal, social and structural dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses longitudinal data to examine negative child outcomes among young children in Canada. In following a cohort of children as they move through their early elementary school years, a slight decline in hyperactivity is documented, as is a slight increase in internalizing difficulties. After introducing a longitudinal dimension to the analysis, both family structure and income poverty are found to have a weaker effect on child outcomes than was initially anticipated. The current analysis also demonstrates the utility of LISREL's "weighted least squares" estimation procedure in the development of structural equation models while working with ordinal and/or censored variables.

This paper examines the relationship between family structure and child poverty in Canada over the 1981-1997 period. While recognizing the many methodological and conceptual difficulties encountered in efforts to document child poverty over time, two alternate indicators are used, Statistics Canada's official low income cut-offs, and an alternate indicator of "deep poverty". Using the Survey of Consumer Finances (1981, 1989 and 1997), trends in low income are considered, along with concurrent changes in the structure of Canadian families with children. Particular attention is paid to trends in the incidence of lone parenthood, the number of children per family, and the age of parents (as an indicator of recent shifts in the timing of childbearing). Overall, these changes are found to have offsetting effects on the incidence of child poverty, such that irrespective of a substantial growth in the incidence of lone parenthood, the overall impact of changes in family composition has been relatively modest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will measure attitudes towards cohabitation and marriage in a national sample of Canadian women and examine their association to various socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Among the various determinants of household formation, attitudes towards marriage and cohabitation are important causal factors. These attitudes intervene between structural variables such as geographical region, religion, education, labor force participation and place of residence and demographic outcomes such as marriage and fertility. There have been various attempts to explain the recent declining importance of legal marriage in the industrialized societies. Essentially, marriage decline and low fertility are seen as by-products of industrialization and economic growth. However, the forces of structural changes are seen as potentially influencing demographic behaviors via a set of attitudinal variables such as attitudes toward marriage, cohabitation and childbearing. The basic premise of this study is that attitudes towards cohabitation and marriage in the Canadian society are a result of broad social and economic changes taking place at the macro level. Industrialization, urbanization, higher education, decline in religiosity, increase in female labour force participation, changes in ethnic and language composition etc. are some of such forces which affect the norms towards marriage and family.

Certain patterns of family-related behaviour have changed rather extensively in the past 25 years: greater propensities to cohabit, lower marriage rates, older ages at first marriage, higher divorce rates, and lower levels of childbearing. Participants at the meeting disagreed on the nature of the "crisis in the family" and even as to whether there really was a crisis. After briefly documenting these demographic changes, the main purpose of this paper is to present interpretations of the trends and possible solutions for the negative consequences. Demographic changes are here placed in the context of the dynamics of marriage, the family and gender roles. An economic perspective is based on structural changes in the economy and its implications for families, women and children. Population aging is the most visible long term consequences of those evolving family patterns. The costs of aging largely results from the increased weight of health and pension expenses, which are only partly offset by decreasing educational costs. Also, education can be seen as an investment, which is less the case for health and pensions.

The state's responsibility for the care of children in need of protection has been acknowledged for some time now. Most jurisdictions have set out in law the obligations and procedures by which the state is to apprehend children who are abandoned, deserted, neglected or otherwise mistreated. In North America, for example, shortly before the turn of the century, U.S. and Canadian laws provided for the apprehension of children who require protection. Over the decades these laws have been mended continually in response to increasing evidence of mistreatment of children at the hands of their guardians. In more recent times, however, the reports of mistreatment by natural guardians have been joined by allegations of improper procedures and neglect of the apprehended children at the hands of the very authorities charged with their protection. The response to these reports of misconduct has taken many forms, including the establishment of citizen advocacy groups and ombudsmen, self-monitoring by state and private agencies and court appointed guardians. The province of Alberta in Canada has taken an innovative self-monitoring approach, through the appointment of a Children's Guardian. The Children's Guardian, established in law, assumes responsibility as the legal guardian of all children who are the wards of the state. The Children's Guardian must make decisions for, monitor the care and treatment of, and advocate on behalf of these children. The Alberta approach, which has been untried heretofore, is fraught with a number of legal and administrative problems. This paper seeks to describe the inchoate efforts of the province of Alberta, through the appointment of the Children's Guardian, to better ensure that children taken under care by the state are protected and given proper care and attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the determinants of living arrangements in Canada based on the 1979 Micro Data file, Economic Families, issued by Statistics Canada. The analyses were conducted separately on four groups i.e. males and females 18-34, and 50 years of age and over, all of whom are either widowed, separated or divorced. Given that the dependent variable is dichotomous, the estimation method used was logit analysis. The findings indicate that increasing age, higher education, residence in Western provinces and employment in managerial occupations increases the probability of living alone for both older men and women. A comparison with the younger subsamples shows that regional variations in living arrangements are less important and that the effect of urban residence differs by sex. Contrary to expectations, income has a statistically significant effect only for younger females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The family life cycle construct focuses upon major transition events in family formation, development, and dissolution. This paper provides an analysis of selected aspects of marital dissolution in Canada and the United States over the past six decades. In both countries, dissolution of marriages due to death have declined while dissolutions due to divorce have increased. Since the 1960's, divorce has been increasingly replacing death as a dissolver of marriages. In contrast to the United States, death still dissolves more marriages in Canada per year than divorce. Given these trends it is anticipated that Canada will follow the American pattern, in that divorce will become the primary contributor to marital dissolution. Implications of these changes for children of dissolved marriages, the phenomenon of remarriage, and the viability of the family life construct are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]