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The article presents the author's comments on the works of sociologist Robert F. Winch regarding permanence and change in the American family. The author suggests that there may be two significant aspects of a network of extended kin in a nuclear family. One is the literality of kin contacts and other is the presence or absence of formal kin groupings.

Age specific divorce rates for the United States as a whole are not available. This paper is an attempt to develop estimates of age specific incidence of divorce for the U.S. female population employing regression analyses. Certain correction factors are suggested to make the estimates built on a world divorce situation basis correspond to the American situation. Results derived in the paper reveal that the divorce curve for U.S. females is L-shaped in form. The age group below 20 years had the highest incidence of divorce (43 per 1000) followed by the age group 20 to 24 (33 per 1000) in 1969, while in 1960 these incidences were 33 per 1000 and 23 per 1000, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the idea of federal intervention in an increasing number of domestic areas still evokes spirited debate in some circles, the case for an active federal role on behalf of some of our most cherished institutions, such as marriage and the family, can be persuasively made. Today with federal expansion into nearly every sector of the domestic scene, more moneys are appropriated for H.E.W. and H.U.D. than any other national agencies. However, governmental inattention to directly assisting marriage and family life has been regretably inadequate. Rapid advancement into a post-industrial society has jettisoned marital and familial units into ill-adapting systems characterized by stress-overload, bewilderment, hostility, and isolation. While there have been promptings for direct environmental regulation for children and families, these efforts have been thwarted by sporadic pressure, and insufficient and uninfluential advocacy. The institution of marriage has been nearly excluded from concern. This paper suggests a reexamination of governmental involvement, and after a careful analysis of pertinent research on marriage and family support systems, proposes the creation of a cabinet-status U. S. Department of Marriage and the Family. The historical background, rationale, constitutionality, and political opportuneness of the proposed department are discussed, and its seven major functions are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the research on the Indian family is an attempt to establish the presence or absence of the joint family. The present paper deviates from the usual joint family controversy and focuses on the nature of the kinship and family ties among the 287 migrant lower-class and lower-caste gold miners in Kolar Gold Fields in Mysore State, India. The data suggest that the geographic mobility has caused the breakdown of the localistic patrilineal kinship system. However, the kinship ties are maintained despite the spatial distance. The nature of the kinship ties among the respondents is predominantly expressive and instrumental in character. In the city the modal family is the nuclear family. The respondents have adapted to the industrial setting despite the breakdown of their face-to-face extended kinship system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many studies have been made of geographic variation in the age at first marriage, few have considered the effect state laws specifying the minimum legal age of marriage without parental consent can have on comparative age distributions. This paper points out that, in a state permitting earlier marriage without parental approval, brides have a lower modal age than in a similar area with an older age requirement. Since American marriage data are compiled on a basis of place of occurrence and since migration for the purpose of marriage is considerable, it is not readily ascertainable what the differences would be if comparisons were made on a residence basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of this paper is to examine the extent to which the Japanese American family has retained a number of the characteristics which are associated with the family system in Japan. Interviews were conducted with 299 individuals in three generations of Japanese Americans. The evidence indicates that while considerable acculturation has taken place, even the third generation of Japanese Americans still retains certain characteristics of the more traditional Japanese family system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between female work force participation and fertility has been well documented for United States whites and samples from other countries. It has been asserted that the fertility differential between working and non working females is a result of the more frequent use of contraceptives by the working females. This paper has two purposes. First, the relationship between work and fertility be investigated for both white and black females. Second, the relationship between female work and fertility is found to be strong and essentially the same for blacks as for whites. The only relationship found between female work and contraceptive use was among women of zero parity. This finding was weak, however, and required tenuous assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Andrew Billingsley in Black Families in White America has criticized much of the previous research on the black family, saying that social scientists have ignored the structural variation among families and have focused on a very limited number of family functions. To correct what he believes to be a distorted picture of the black family, he has suggested a typology of family structures and a large number of family functions which should be taken into consideration. This paper, based upon data collected from 321 black households, uses Billingsley's typology to examine the association between family structures and functions. It is concluded that a few modifications of the typology would expand its utility, that more detailed information about family structure does reduce the chances of distortion and contribute to greater understanding, and that Billingsley may have overemphasized the capacity of many black families to deal with their functional problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dwelling is the arena of most interaction by the family as a group. It is well established that the family has lost some of its traditional functions. The thesis of this paper is that family functions are influenced by the characteristics of the home. Proposals to alleviate problems of inadequate housing among low-income groups of the world fail to consider what functions housing satisfies among various cultures, or within a given society. Descriptions of the "dream home" by rural residents of Georgia, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic are analyzed to determine the functions performed by the house. There are culturally specific differences, but in general, the higher the level of living of a group, the more functions are satisfied within the home. The manipulation of "fixed-feature space" in the form of housing could be considered as a mechanism for giving the family new functions as well as bonds that hold it together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the matricentric family system as it appears in three different societies: the Caribbean, the Nayar of India and Afro-American families in the United States. The author's purpose is to show the variations in female-centered families by studying their nature and functions among different groups in diverse parts of the world. A suggestion for more conceptual clarity of the matricentric family concept is posed in order to provide more theoretical consistency in its further analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contains an exposition of the types of family statistics derived and published annually from the Current Population Survey of the Bureau of the Census. The authors discuss the Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS) in terms of its relevancy and value to sociologists interested in the field of family studies. Recent improvements in data collection and processing techniques, as well as a discussion of the wide range of social and economic variables relating to family studies and obtainable from the CPS for the national population are presented. it is pointed out that the CPS is, and can be, an important source of recurring family data for supplementing independent research in many related fields. The Census Bureau's household and family projections program is discussed and a brief demographic sketch of the family in America in 1970 is offered as an illustration of the nature of the data currently available in the CPS programs and the "Current Population Reports" publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A partial explanation of high divorce rates in certain areas and states of the United States has been offered for many years by the claim of a "frontier atmosphere" in existence that is conducive towards divorce in these locations. This paper seeks to operationalize this concept and subject it to empirical testing by relating intra and in-migration rates of states to divorce rates. A resonably high positive correlation is found to exist between the two types of rates and it is suggested that an explanation of this relationship may be found in the comparatively lower social costs attached to divorce in states having high migration rates as compared to states having low migration rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the availability of subsidized family-planning services to poor and near-poor fertile women aged 18 to 44, not desiring pregnancy, in the United States. Examination of data leads to the conclusion that subsidized services are inadequate; that neither state nor local governments are meeting the need; that hospitals and other public health facilities are providing negligible services; that the federal government, despite stated policy favoring the availability of family-planning services to all who want them, is providing minimal funding for the initiation and support of programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to test whether some propositions, explaining the number of children desired by women of urban American settings, are equally valid in explaining those of women of an urban European setting (Louvain urban area, Belgium). Attention focuses on the ‘institutional socialization theory’ which states that differences among Catholic women are to be explained by a difference of degree of exposure to the value system of the Catholic church in their formative years including college education, more specifically to the amount and extent of Catholic education. This theory, however, fails to explain the empirical data. In order to do so, the author elaborates the ‘avoiding status incongruency theory,’ or, positively formulated, the ‘status congruency theory.’ This miniature theory states that if one has a high social status and one is a highly integrated church member, one is seeking also to have a high status in the church by practicing the total church ideology and having, among other things, a large family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hill's typology of comparative family research is a challenging attempt to classify international, e.g., cross-cultural, research. This paper intends to criticize some details of this classification, particularly concerning methodological issues. The main point stressed here is the problem of the reconceptualization of the research problem for each different country in which the research has to be carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparative data on marital power structure for the United States, France, Greece, and Yugoslavia are discussed. Data on the United States and France show a positive association between husband's authority score and such variables as husband's educational status, occupational status, and income; data on Greece and Yugoslavia show a negative association on these variables. The contradictory findings are used to elaborate a ‘theory of resources in cultural context’—the distribution of marital power is seen to result from the interaction of (1) comparative resources of husband and wife and (2) cultural or subcultural expectations about the distribution of marital power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is a report of the help patterns among older people and their adult children in three countries—Denmark, Britain, and the United States. The data come from interviews conducted in mid-1962 with nationwide probability samples of approximately 2,500 persons aged 65 and over in each of the three countries. Family help patterns in old age in Denmark, Britain, and the United States differ by the social class position of the older person. The class position of old people effects primarily the size of their immediate families, their family structure, and their living arrangements. While the social class of the old person effects the magnitude and direction of parent-child help, persons in every social class report that they help their children and that their children help them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major reason for the sociological importance of Negro-white intermarriage is the possibility of a link between the low status of Negroes in the United States and the infrequency of such intermarriage. This paper analyzes trends in Negro-white marriage in the four states -- California, Hawaii, Michigan, and Nebraska -- which have recent data. For these states an upward trend in Negro-white marriage is shown which cannot be accounted for merely on the basis of changing racial composition. Negro-white intermarriage rates are relatively high in those areas where residential segregation by race is low and where there are minimal status differences between the white and Negro populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with problems in the area of family life education and marriage counseling which are encountered by the practicing obstetrician-gynecologist in the United States today. The purpose of the paper is to acquaint the family life educator-marriage counselor with these problems and to emphasize the need for research and education in the area as well as more and better communication between the disciplines that are vitally concerned with marriage and the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides an overview of the topics discussed in the journal about families in the U.S. and discusses the developments related to the journal. The new volume of the journal is repetition free and covers a wide range of topics and problems. Some sections of the journal are eliminated including Articles in Brief, Letters to the Editor, Abstracts, and Book Reviews to accommodate a range of high quality papers devoted to families. Contributors are planning another special issue for 1965 on "ADOLESCENCE," wherein the materials will come from the Miami Beach meeting held on October 9 to 11, 1964. Also, all back issues of the "Marriage and Family Living" can be purchased in bound volumes.

Using data from a national longitudinal survey of residential mobility in U.S. metropolitan areas, the analysis suggests that for both males and females moving, whether voluntary or involuntary, decreases formal organizational participation, has little effect upon informal social relations either within or outside the neighborhood of residence, relatively small impact upon how respondents perceive their neighbors, and little effect upon the extent of alienation, unhappiness, suspected mental disturbances, and poor physical health. However, recent residential mobility experiences have a marked effect upon the mental health of females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A test is made of the theory that children's creativity varies according to the degree to which the child's role in the family requires conformity to conventional norms. A test of this ‘conformity-inhibition’ theory is made possible by the known differences in degree to which Indian and American society expect normative conformity of children, and also because both societies expect greater conformity on the part of girls. Creativity was measured by the ability to generate ideas which might solve a puzzle in the form of a game presented for solution to husband-wife-child groups. Data for 128 family groups show that the Bombay children had lower scores than the Minneapolis sample. Girls' scores were lower than those of boys in both societies. Sex differences in creativity were greatest in Bombay. The lesser sex difference in the Minneapolis sample is interpreted as reflecting the greater freedom and individuality permitted girls in American society. As societies change towards a less restrictive normative code, individual creativity is likely to increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concern over recent increases in the number of bankruptcies filed by individual consumers has resulted in a small group of studies of consumer bankrupts and their financial problems. Four studies, dealing with consumer bankruptcies in Sacramento, California; Flint, Michigan; Seattle, and the state of Maryland are examined and their results compared. These studies provide detailed information on the bankrupts' personal characteristics, the nature of their debts, and the reasons for their financial difficulties. The studies, however, provide relatively less information about the reasons for the choice of bankruptcy over other alternatives or about the effectiveness of bankruptcy as a long-run solution for family financial problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information related to the life and works of family life educator, Ernest Glenn Osborne. He was born in Riverside, California on September 3, 1903 and died in New York City on December 8, 1963. He has been an associate in parent education in the Child Development Institute of Teachers College from 1932-1937. Due to his specialization in child development, Osborne has contributed a lot for the family life education in the U.S. He became the vice president of the Child Study Association of America and serves as an advisory editor of the "Parents' Magazine." Other information concerning Osborne's contribution on the family life education in the U.S. are discoursed in the paper.

Following the method of construction of current life tables, abridged divorce tables are presented for U.S. females for the year 1960. In the construction of the tables, mortality factor has not been considered. An index of marital disruption has been defined. It is seen that a married female aged 20 had a chance of 29 in 100 of becoming divorced during her lifetime, while her chance of falling a victim to divorce during the child bearing span was 25 in 100. A married female aged 20, could look forward to 25 years of uninterrupted married life during the reproductive span. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corrections to articles in previous issues including an article by Harold T. Christensen and "Kin and U.S. Society: General Concern," by Bert N. Adams.

The article provides an overview of the topics discussed in the journal about governmental programs and their relationships to the structure and functions of the family in the U.S. Each article gives serious attention to current government programs and their historical antecedents, philosophies of the programs and issues in their development and direction, impact of changes in family life on the programs, and impact of the programs on family life. Each author selected the topic he considered the most significant legislation in a specific area and the issues which he considered important and relevant.

The article discusses the findings of a study in which 394 married couples were examined in order to determine the relationship between marital satisfaction and personal anomie. The findings support the Mertonian anomie theory, which dictates that there is an inverse relationship between the two variables. The authors discuss the sociological context of the study as well, and point out that emphasis on family sociology leads to less attention paid to personal isolation or social separation.

The article reports the findings of a survey conducted with 200 pairs of mothers and daughters to gauge the amount of influence or pressure mothers exert on daughters regarding marriage, and the relationship between employment and notions of marriage. The findings indicate that marital launching behavior of mothers is minimized when the mother is employed. The authors assert that the societal emphasis and ideological bias for free mate choice in America lessens parental involvement in courtship as compared to other cultures, however mothers still tend display marital launching behavior toward daughters.

The article discusses the relationship between social status attainment and marriage, particularly the dependence of women upon husbands for social achievement. The authors contrast a status-borrowing model to an independent-status model. The study was conducted in the context of major feminist movements in the U.S., which directly influenced the research pertaining to the role of women in American society. It was found that this context supported the independent-status model and that women tend to gauge their social achievements individually.

The research concerns female homosexuals in the United States, participating in quasi-marital unions with a member of their own sex. The general hypothesis is that they will function using heterosexual complementary marital roles as a model for their behavior, largely as a result of past socialization. The context of this research is the "real" world as opposed to most of the available work in this area which has been done exclusively in controlled environments, i.e., prisons and dormitories. The data were gathered by participant observation and interview. The following specific topics were investigated: (1) perception of sex role by the individual and partner; and (2) sex roles as they were defined by objective criteria. The findings indicate that the female homosexuals in the present study did, in fact, adopt quasi-marital roles similar to those of heterosexual unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from the 1960 and 1970 Censuses of the United States are analyzed with respect to the prevalence of marriage between blacks and whites. During the decade there was an overall substantial increase in the prevalence of such marriages. This overall increase included: (1) a very sharp increase in the prevalence of such marriages in the North and West and a substantial decline in the South and (2) a very large rise in marriages involving a black husband and a white wife and a small fall in those with a white husband and a black wife. The stability over the decade of black-white marriages is shown to have been less than that of racially homogeneous marriages. The theory that racial-caste hypogamy is associated with class hypergamy is subjected to empirical test and found to receive no support unless the availability of marriage partners by educational attainment is held constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of unique data collected in the Rhode Island Health Study indicates that differentials in never-pregnant status are similar to those in childlessness. The study makes possible the comparison of childlessness among three distinct birth cohorts--the depression cohorts having one of the lowest fertility, the "Baby Boom" mothers having one of the highest fertility, and the currently under 30 cohort, who are still in the midst of reproductive processes. Inter-cohort comparisons of differentials in childlessness and never-pregnant status indicate certain new insights into the phenomenon of childlessness. For example, there is an indication as judged from the 30-49-year age group, that the educational differentials in permanent childlessness have disappeared for those with more than eight years of schooling. This result probably suggests the general aversion to childlessness in the United States. Again, the 30-49 group points to a decline in the conventional white collar-blue collar differential in permanent childessness. The religious differentials in childlessness indicate that cohort variations in per cent childless among Catholics are similar to those of Protestants. They probably imply the significance of the general social and economic experience of the specific birth cohorts and suggest that in all cases religious preferences alone are not decisive. An approximate estimate of fetal loss taken as the difference between per cent childless and per cent having been never pregnant indicates that, except for the under 30 cohort, it has no systematic relationship with SES factors. For the under 30 cohort, however, the index is higher among the higher educated and the white collar occupations. It is important to emphasize that the differences in this index by SES factors are not statistically significant at the usual five per cent level of significance. Lastly, an attempt to estimate the prevalence of involuntary childlessness due to fertility impairments indicates that it is about four per cent in an American population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data front the 1965 National Fertility Study we examine the differential infertility by whether a woman's first marriage was terminated by divorce or death of spouse, or whether it was still intact at the time of interview. For women 25 to 54 in1965 we find: (1) controlling for age and race differentials women whose first marriage was terminated by divorce have .14 children fewer than those who remain in intact first marriages; (2) this is an understatement of the overall differential infertility since women who have experienced divorce have an earlier age at marriage and thus higher fertility. When we take this fact into account the fertility deficit is about 0.6 children; (3) about one-half of the remaining differential is attributable to the higher incidence of childlessness among the divorced; (4) the fertility deficit is reduced to about 0.1 children when we control for months of "exposure" spent in a married state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the Reginald Heber Smith Memorial Fund has been created by the U.S. National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA). Maynard J. Toll, president of NLADA, made the announcement in September, 1967. The fund was created to honor the late Reginald Heber Smith, the "father of organized legal aid."

Using national sample data the family composition, living arrangments, and family contacts of persons aged 65 and over in the United States are compared with those of the elderly in Denmark, Britain, Yugoslavia, Poland, and Israel. In every country the right of older people to live separately from adult children is recognized. Nonetheless, a majority of the American elderly with children live either with a child or within ten minutes' distance from him. Old people in the United States are seen frequently by their children, their siblings, and their relatives. In the United States, as in other countries, the elderly find their primary supports in the family and kin network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a study which discusses various issues related to how the modern American family differs from its historical predecessors. It makes specific reference to a distinction between the public and private character of the institution of family. The development of the concept of private family is a modern phenomenon which has taken place in the 20th century. The separation of work and family activities is at the root of this development. A family is said to bear a public character if it is a common practice here to get family activities done outside the confines of the domestic establishment.

This article discusses the social and economic aspects of the practice of boarding and lodging within the family in nineteenth century in the United States. The article makes specific reference to the social impact of urbanization and industrialization. The American used to be an accommodating and flexible institution during the period of urbanization and industrialization. The practice of lodging and boarding breached the biologically-defined limits of the family. It paved way for the emergence of an instrumental relationship based on economic and service exchange. It was a matter of privacy which endangered the social space of the family.

This article discusses various issues related to the state of experiential families in the United States in the nineteenth century, with specific reference to the role of sex in family life. During the period, marriage was regarded as a means which could develop good habits and character. Anger was considered to be illegitimate, and one needed to keep hostile feelings under control. However, sexuality often resulted in tension and conflict in marital relations. The passion for sex was the real terror for the institution of family.

This article discusses various issues related to step-kin relationships in the United States. A number of children are living with a stepparent these days due to the growing rate of divorce in the United States. The phenomenon has incited sociologists to focus their attention towards the relations among steprelatives. There are two dyads in a reconstituted family including one between stepparent and stepchildren and another between stepsiblings. Several sociologists hold that stepfathers generally do not have major issues in establishing a good relationship with his stepchild, while stepmothers generally find it a bit difficult to have a good relation with her stepchild.

Data obtained from 4,220 middle American boys and girls in communities of different socioeconomic status offer no evidence of a major revolution in the sexual behavior of adolescents. Similar behavior for both sexes, at culturally defined lower levels of sexual activity, was shown. Light petting was the earliest stage at which girls demonstrated the sexual inhibitions associated with the traditional double standard. Regardless of differences in incidence rates, the developmental progression of girls was similar to that of boys. American-British comparisons show the degree premarital coital activity can vary at different age levels in different societies. Findings support Reiss' proposal that social and cultural support theory is the best single explanation of premarital sexual intercourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primacy of home duties and a dependent relationship on her husband have been traditional role expectations for American wives. Two current trends challenge the image of dependent homemaker. First, the dual role of home and employment is increasingly popular among married women; for some this means career-commitment. Second, the new wave of feminism stresses autonomy (self-determination) for women. These two factors may be important in recasting or shattering the mold of American family life, especially through their impact on the marital relationship. Repeatedly, research has indicated how crucial the husband's attitude is for adjustments necessitated by the wife's employment. This research attempted to determine whether married women seek to make their role preference congruent with that of their husband. The study also examined the effect of wives' attitude to autonomy for women on their expectations as to which partner should adjust when there is tension or conflict over her role. Secord and Backman's theory of interpersonal congruency provided the theoretical model for the research. This theory suggests that behavioral stability and change are determined by one's desire for congruency in the interpersonal matrix formed by (S) self-concept, (B) relevant behavior, and (0) the perceived reaction of significant others. When incongruency threatens, adjustment is made among the components S, B, and/or O. A purposive selection of women's clubs was made, and members were given mail-back questionnaires for themselves and their husbands. The women surveyed covered a broad range in terms of commitment to employment and attitude to autonomy for women. Two hundred thirty-five questionnaires were returned; most included the husband's also. The hypothesis that shared husband-wife role preference leads to role continuity or change, depending on whether this preference was for her present role or a different one, was strongly supported. The hypothesis that women with a liberal attitude to autonomy expect their husbands to make more adjustments and those with a conservative attitude expect to make more adjustments themselves was supported in general interaction but not when wives occupied roles in defiance of their husbands. Women moderate in attitude to autonomy evidenced more ambiguity over their roles than either the conservative or liberal women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on a study that aims to analyze the nature of fictive kin term use within the United States. The study findings highlight that the first description of fictive kin term usage is based mainly on its functional utility for the American kinship system. According to the study, the kin term usage for nonrelatives can be developed in lieu of a more appropriate verbal expression of a familiar relationship. The study suggests that fictive kin terms can also be used by a third party as a process of confirming a personal association.

Analysis of California divorce petitions of 1968 shows that doctors have very low divorce rates. They are married later and longer than other divorcing professionals, and marriages break up at the height, not the outset of their careers. The highest divorce rates in the profession, each posing special problems, appear among women, blacks, and small-town doctors. Blacks may reflect unusual mobility strains because of sharp racial differences in the sex ratios of the college-educated. Peripheral specialists who see few patients have more stable marriages; those in more stressful specialties may incur a greater divorce risk Divorce-prone persons do not gravitate to particular kinds of professions or medical specialties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's view on the family system in the U.S. and his predictions regarding possible changes in the system by the end of twentieth century. He says that marriage vows have become anachronistic and have lost much of their meaning. According to him, twentieth century will witness the movement of many values formerly associated with family membership over to the individual.

Blood and Wolfe's theory of resources in marital decision-making was tested in a survey of American and Danish urban families. In both countries, marital power was neither consistently nor always positively correlated with the resources (family income or occupation) brought into the marriage by each spouse. However, wife's employment, whether part-time or fulltime, contributed to her increased power within the household. The importance of socioeconomic resources for marital decision-making may not derive primarily from the availability of financial and status rewards as much as from the opportunities for gaining experience in interpersonal and decision-making skills outside the family which an individual can then utilize within the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information related to a study which performed comparison of attitudes of young people of different generation towards providing support to their aged parents in the United States. The people of the U.S. worship young generation and isolate the older one. The sample of the people investigated in the study was composed of 255 Caucasian students and 191 Caucasian parents. The student investigated include 136 high school students and 119 college students. Out of these students 114 were males and 141 females. The old hypothesis of willingness to support aged parents varies independently of generation was rejected by the study.

This study began with the finding that the U.S. Department of Defense does not tabulate data on family characteristics of casualities in Vietnam, and has no interest in doing so. With data from various sources, the impact of the war upon families is considered in relation to deaths and injuries, ethnic differentials, military family life, resocialization of veterans, father-absence, marriage and divorce, sex roles, and bereavement. Denial or hiding of grief is regarded as a sign of impaired or undeveloped empathy, a factor contributing to preventable family losses, and therefore relevant to the prevention of accidents and other catastrophes, including war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the theory of female psychology. It refers to the views of sociologist Helene Deutsch on the development of the female personality. Based on his experience, the author discusses the American women who are unable to integrate the traditional ideals of womanhood with the expanded experience and opportunities of modern woman. It is opined that many women are strongly connected with an internalized image of the "natural" role a woman. Some single women are afraid of marriage because they believe that it will adversely affect their individuality and freedom.

Information on marital histories of adults in the entire United States is summarized from the Survey of Economic Opportunity. Four-fifths of whites and two-thirds of Negroes in the cohort who married at least 20 years ago had married only once. One-fourth of the whites and nearly one-half of the Negroes in this cohort with youthful marriages had experienced divorce. Intervals between marital events were generally shorter for whites than Negroes. Probabilities of marriage were highest for single men in their late twenties; this cohort had the lowest probability of divorce. Men with an incomplete high school or college education had high probabilities of early divorce and early remarriage. Poor men tended to postpone divorce and, after a short period of divorce, not to remarry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]