This text combines a positive and practical approach to the study of marriage and family life. It is based on extensive and up-to-date research as reported in the journals and monographs. It shows how sociological theories apply to the various topics. Thus, it not only provides students with a basic understanding of marriage and family life, but also helps them apply this knowledge to enrich their lives and nurture their own intimate relationships.
Journal of Marriage and Family (JMF) encourages submissions of manuscripts describing original research, theory, empirical findings, and analysis, concerning all aspects of marriage, other forms of close relationships, and families.
The Dibble Institute is a private, non-profit organization created to promote relationship training for youth, with special focus on dating and romantic interactions. Their goal is to help young people gain the skills essential for healthy relationships now, and successful marriages in the future. They have received several government grants and their programs have been empirically tested and have been found to be effective. In addition, they have won several awards. Some of their programs include dealing with emotions, conflict management, recognizing dangerous relationships, healthy relationships, effective communications, low-risk dating strategies, social and emotional aspects of sexuality, and setting limits and boundaries.
By Maria Schmeekle, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology at Illinois State Unversity
Posted by Nancy Gonzalez | April 04, 2012
Maria Schmeekle, Professor of Sociology at Illinois State, teaches family studies through a global lens. She began experimenting with a global/transnational/comparative approach in her Marriage and Family class. This kind of approach felt vital to her in a world that is increasingly interconnected, a world that we are sending students out to navigate. In this article, she offers some valuable tips.
The National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University just released a new family profile titled, Marital Duration at Divorce, 2010.
In the past decade, policymakers and researchers have become increasingly interested in social programs that promote and support healthy marriages. A growing body of research evidence suggests that marriage has benefits for families and children, including improved economic well-being and mental health, and that children raised in two-parent families perform better in school and have more positive developmental outcomes than children from single-parent families (Amato and Booth 1997; McLanahan and Sandefur 1994; Waite and Gallagher2000; Wood et al. 2007). Inspired in part by these potential benefits of marriage, a wide range of programs have been developed to encourage and support healthy marriages (Dion 2005).
Generally, spending more time on the job is associated with an increase in work-spouse conflict which, in turn, is associated with less marital satisfaction. This is especially so when people are working more hours than they desire. People report increased conflict when they are working more hours than their spouses would prefer. Still, research findings on the effects of increased work hours are mixed. So it may be important to consider whether it is husbands' or wives' work hours that is at issue to understand the relationship between increased work hours and marriage. Also, differences in findings may reflect differences in approaches taken in studies.
Closing Plenary Session - Official Conference Closing
Presider: Norma Bond Burgess
Divorce rates are higher in low-income neighborhoods than in upper-income neighborhoods, but most research about adult intimacy comes from studies on relatively well-educated, affluent couples. Dr. Benjamin Karney will describe the latest results from a program of research focusing on intimacy in lower-income couples. This session is followed by a related workshop on military families.
