Journal of Social Issues

Rosenberg, Allison A.; Limber, Susan P.

doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1996.tb01576.xpmid: N/A

This article defines family policy as the subset of domestic policy, programs, and legislation concerned with strengthening the integrity and the viability of families with dependent children, including both single‐ and two‐parent families. The article examines the legal context of U.S. family policy as well as the political history of U.S. family policy from 1965 to 1996. The contributions that social scientists have to make in policy formulation are noted. This article ends by previewing the accompanying articles, which collectively constitute a Journal of Social Issues treatment of family policy. Those articles are grouped into three broad areas of family policy (family structure, work, and health) representing the range of policies that affect the formation and dissolution of families and the health and economic well‐being of family members.

Mason, Mary Ann; Mauldon, Jane

doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1996.tb01577.xpmid: N/A

About one‐fourth of all children born in the 1980s will live with a stepparent before they reach legal adulthood. Despite the prevalence of stepfamilies and their importance in nurturing children and protecting them from poverty, they have been largely ignored in state and federal policy. In this article we first analyze demographic data, focusing on the supportive yet fragile stepparent‐stepchild relationship. Second, we review existing state and federal stepparent policies, with a critical eye to their shortcomings. Finally, we propose a new conceptualization of the stepparent‐stepchild relationship in which stepchildren receive the same protections under law as do natural children, and in which stepparents who are functioning as de facto parents have the same rights and obligations as do natural parents, and a limited set of rights and obligations should the marriage terminate.

Patterson, Charlotte J.; Redding, Richard E.

doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1996.tb01578.xpmid: N/A

In this paper, we provide an overview of variability across jurisdictions in family law relevant to lesbian and gay parents and their children, showing that some courts have been negatively disposed to these families. We summarize recent research findings suggesting that lesbian and gay parents are as likely as are heterosexual parents to provide home environments that support positive outcomes among children. Research findings suggest that unless and until the weight of evidence can be shown to have shifted, parental sexual orientation should be considered irrelevant to disputes involving child custody, visitation, foster care, and adoption.

Rosenberg, B. G.; Jing, Qicheng

doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1996.tb01579.xpmid: N/A

The present article examines the need for family policy, acknowledging its potentially invasive nature and emphasizing its profound impact on extended areas such as health, education, the status of women, and national economies. Using the enormous problem of overpopulation in China, the earth's most populous nation, we detail the problem, its development, and family policy as the Chinese government's response (the one‐child mandate) to the problem. We then explore the policy's subsequent impact on families, socialization practices, cultural values, the status of women, and even its potential impact on the system of government. We caution that the problem is not simply an intellectual exercise, but has its counterpart in the marked trend to smaller families in the West. In addition, we examine preliminary evidence that the only child condition produces some personality similarities in China and the West. The scientific literature and newspaper accounts reflect what we know and the many questions that remain.

Wilcox, Brian L.; Robbennolt, Jennifer K.; O'Keeffe, Janet E.; Pynchon, Marisa E.

doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1996.tb01580.xpmid: N/A

Contemporary welfare reform efforts frequently include provisions intended to alter current policies that are presumed to provide incentives for out‐of‐wedlock childbearing, especially for adolescents. This article examines the political debate around “welfare incentive effects.” The history of the debate is briefly presented, followed by an introduction to both the federal cash welfare program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and the trends in both welfare use and adolescent pregnancy and nonmarital childbearing. Social science research examining the question of whether welfare is implicated as a significant cause of teen nonmarital childbearing is presented and discussed in light of the current policy debates.

Hyde, Janet Shibley; Essex, Marilyn J.; Clark, Roseanne; Klein, Marjorie H.; Byrd, Janis E.

doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1996.tb01581.xpmid: N/A

Parental leave, a key aspect of family policy, is a relatively new concept in the United States; it is crucial that policy development be guided by social science research. In this article we first review policy issues associated with parental leave. Following that, we consider relevant social science research pertaining to parental leave and mothers' and fathers' functioning (e.g., mental health, relationship with spouse and infant). We focus particularly on results emerging from the Wisconsin Maternity Leave and Health Project, which suggest, for example, that short leave (6 weeks or less) for women is a risk factor, when combined with other risk factors such as marital concerns, for depression. We conclude with policy implications of this and related research.

Galinsky, Ellen; Bond, James T.; Friedman, Dana E.

doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1996.tb01582.xpmid: N/A

This paper examines life on and off the job for a nationally representative sample of 2958 wage and salaried workers, comparing the situations of parent and nonparent employees within the sample. Although parent and nonparent employees were found to be quite similar in most respects, some notable differences were revealed—in the value they place on different benefits and workplace policies; in the extent of the sacrifices they have made in their family/personal lives for the sake of their jobs or careers, and vice versa; and in the time they have available off the job for themselves and with their spouses after completing household chores and fulfilling child care responsibilities. In addition, parent employees exhibited significantly poorer quality of life outcomes than nonparents—higher levels of conflict between work and family I personal life, more stress, and less effective coping. Analyses designed to identify the workplace conditions under which employed parents fared better found that parents had better outcomes (less conflict, less stress, and better coping) when they had jobs with greater autonomy, more schedule control, fewer demands, and greater security. Parents also fared better when they had more supportive workplaces—more supportive supervisors, more supportive workplace cultures, and opportunities for job advancement that were not inhibited by gender or race. In contrast, access to policies, programs, and fringe benefits specifically intended to be family friendly—flexible time and leave policies and dependent care assistance—was not associated with lower levels of work‐family conflict, and only slightly predictive of lower stress and better coping.

Carlson, Allan C.

doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1996.tb01583.xpmid: N/A

The “family wage”—or the bending of market signals and the labor force to accommodate marriage, gender roles, and children—has bedeviled political economists and policymakers for two centuries. This article reviews the treatment accorded family bonds in a competitive economy and outlines the quest for a family wage by working class families. After analyzing the feminist critique of the concept, the article shows how the family wage actually held corporate and state power in balance, relative to the family, from the 1840s through the 1960s. It also offers an original numerical measure of the scope of the American family wage during the 1950–1970 period, and charts its decline thereafter. The article proposes changes in income support, taxation, and regulatory policies that could deliver the benefits of a family wage while avoiding systemic gender discrimination.

Korbin, Jill E.; Coulton, Claudia J.

doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1996.tb01584.xpmid: N/A

This paper addresses the policy recommendation that child protection efforts be reoriented to the neighborhood level. Residents of neighborhoods with varying rates of reported child maltreatment were questioned as to the roles of neighbors and/or the government in preventing child abuse and neglect. Residents in all neighborhoods were more optimistic that neighbors could prevent child maltreatment than they were about government action. Actions by neighbors involved reporting and providing assistance. There was less certainty about what the government could or should do. While reporting of child maltreatment was viewed as an important responsibility that could prevent serious harm and even death, neighborhood residents felt this responsibility was compromised by the potential of retaliation from neighborhood adults and children. Because economic and social conditions are inextricably bound together, child maltreatment prevention programs must be embedded within comprehensive efforts to strengthen communities.

Gardner, William; Preator, Karleen

doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1996.tb01585.xpmid: N/A

Seven to ten thousand American children are orphaned each year when their mothers die from AIDS. AIDS‐affected families with children have four acute needs. First, many parents with AIDS are indigent with no prospect of employment, and need welfare or disability‐based income support. Second, parents need accessible and affordable health care for themselves and their children. Third, parents need legal services to secure the custody and guardianship of their children. Finally, many orphaned children require placements in homes through foster care and adoptive systems. Current legislative initiatives have proposed to change federal entitlement spending programs in ways that could make it less likely that AIDS‐affected families would receive these safety‐net services.