Tag: Family

Jun, 24 '21

Digital Living

As technology both offers and demands of us lifestyle changes as fast as we can absorb them, we must cope with the new possibilities and new vulnerabilities it introduces into our home lives.

May, 28 '21

Beaurocrats V. Parents: Who Knows Best for Pre-schoolers?

With record-low rates of births and marriages combined with COVID-related economic hardship, family policy initiatives have taken on renewed urgency in the US. President Biden’s solution – the American Families Plan – has sparked criticism from those who interpret it as imposing a view of family not shared by the majority of the people who most need the help.

Apr, 22 '21

What Has Become of the Impulse to Marry?

Convinced that raw numbers don’t tell the whole story, University of Texas at Austin sociology professor Mark Regnerus looked deeper into the marriage ecosystem of several countries, in particular among cohorts traditionally more inclined to marry. He gave STI the following interview concerning the book he’s published about what his study revealed.

Feb, 26 '21

Bursting the Bubble of Affluent Ignorance

A new documentary puts faces to research on America’s growing class gap in terms of the social capital that leads to people’s ability to live their own definition of a full and happy life, following and filming real people over the course of a year.

Oct, 30 '20

Crises Put Families to the Test

This year’s edition of the American Family Survey – an annual snapshot of the American family – gave further support to the consistent conclusion that strong families support strong individuals, who in turn support strong neighborhoods and societies, in a virtuous circle. But the COVID-19 crisis has accentuated differences.

Sep, 17 '20

Talking Left, Walking Right

STI author and UVA Sociology Professor Brad Wilcox sheds a light on one of the unfortunate ways that elites perpetuate their advantages in an interview about marriage in America with Jonah Goldberg. Wilcox talks about why marriage matters for kids, why it’s in trouble among working-class and poor Americans, and why it’s getting stronger among more educated and affluent Americans.

Jul, 20 '20

Home Is Where the Care Is

A new collection of essays furthers study into the multifaceted realities of the contemporary home. Co-editor Antonio Argandoña shares some thoughts on the work in this overview.

Dec, 18 '19

UN Prioritizes Effective Family Policies

Effective family-oriented policies and programs are critical for poverty reduction, the promotion of gender equality, the advancement of work-family balance and the prevention of family homelessness, states a UN report.

Sep, 19 '19

Cross-Country Comparison of Leave Policies Reveals Important Differences

The latest review of global leave policies and related research is now available from the International Network on Leave Policies and Research. Two STI experts, Allison Koslowski and Alexandra Macht, were among the authors of this 15th edition of the report. It is excerpted below.

May, 22 '19

Faith as a Force for Good in Family Life the World Over

The World Family Map 2019 was presented last week at the Brookings Institution’s Center on Children and Families. The Executive Summary “The Ties that Bind: Is Faith a Global Force for Good or Ill in the Family?” follows:

Apr, 15 '19

Pro-Family Initiatives Take Many Forms

All over Europe, civil society is not waiting for governments to solve the problems families face. Varied initiatives in many countries seek to strengthen this fundamental building block of society.

Mar, 26 '19

Cohabitating Couples Less Certain of Union Stability

Existing data already show that cohabitating unions are less stable than married ones. New data reveal that many of the partners in such unions are less sure of and less committed to these relationships from the start.

Mar, 18 '19

The Home Goes Digital

How can we incorporate digital technologies and AI into our homes to benefit all household members, particularly those in need of more care – children, the elderly, the infirm or disabled – while guarding against their disadvantages?

Nov, 19 '18

The Wealth of Nations Begins at Home

Stable families contribute not only to the success of individuals but to the economic prosperity of the broader society according to W. Bradford Wilcox and Joseph Price. They present their view in the chapter “What Does Family Structure Have to Do with Growth around the Globe,” in the latest publication to stem from an STI experts meeting.

Oct, 29 '18

What do Children Really Need?

A year after reporting on the European Union 7th Framework project “Families And Societies – Changing families and sustainable societies”, we return to examine the findings of one of its reports on the future of families in vulnerable situations.

Oct, 10 '18

Home is Where the Heart of Society Is

The recently published The Home: Multidisciplinary Reflections was launched in Barcelona on October 10, with a round table discussion of the enterprise of the home. Editor and chapter author Antonio Argandoña framed the topic for the audience.

Sep, 30 '18

Five Myths about Fathers, Debunked

Sociologist Brad Wilcox argues that data do not support much of the “received wisdom” the media perpetuates about fathers. He takes on the following five myths:

Sep, 05 '18

Elevating Fatherhood

Active paternal involvement in the lives of children has been shown to make important differences to the health, wellbeing, satisfaction and productivity of individuals and the society they comprise.

Mar, 27 '18

An Essential Lens through Which to Understand Human Flourishing

As the home is a living deposit of the human culture of care and transmission of values, it plays a crucial role in the wellbeing of all members of society. The Home: Multidisciplinary Reflections addresses the many facets of this contribution.

Jan, 30 '18

Economic Mobility and Family Structure

Richard Reeves takes issue with some of the ways upper-middle-class families perpetuate their relative advantages, locking-in and even increasing inequality. He identifies behaviors he calls 'dream hoarding,' those that unfairly corner the American dream for those who are already living it.

Dec, 11 '17

No Salary, No Progeny

Economist Alicia Adserà explains some of the ways fertility and employment choices are interrelated. Professor Adserà participated in the Experts Meeting Whither the Child?, which dealt with the issue of low fertility in developed nations.

Nov, 20 '17

Families in a Changing Society

What will families look like in the future? Are existing social and family policies compatible with changes in family patterns? The project “FamiliesAndSocieties – Changing families and sustainable societies,” coordinated by Stockholm University, studies questions like these.

Oct, 31 '17

Cheap Sex

This provocatively-titled new book by Mark Regnerus has stirred up some controversy. The author, a sociologist from the University of Texas at Austin, expounds on the work and addresses some criticisms of it in this interview with STI.

Mar, 23 '17

Cohabitation: “Until Life Do Us Part”

Data do not support the claim that “marriage is just a piece of paper.” The paperless alternative – cohabitation - is measurably less stable, both for the adults who choose it and for their children, who don’t have the luxury of choice.

Feb, 28 '17

Apt to Be Overlooked

If domestic tasks and direct care were assigned a monetary value, they would constitute between 10% and 39% of Gross Domestic Product, but they are generally unrecognized and undervalued by policymakers and legislators.

Dec, 27 '16

Does Divorce Contribute to Social Inequalities?

Understanding families in order to understand society. This is the motivation behind Marta Castillo González’ Master’s Degree work. She intends to analyze whether divorce provokes social inequalities. Is this real?

Jun, 13 '16

World Family Map Report Highlighted at the United Nations

Speaking at the fourth annual commemoration of Global Parents’ Day at the UN, STI contributor W. Bradford Wilcox presented conclusions from this and the previous year’s World Family Map reports to an audience of some 200 diplomats and NGO leaders.

Jan, 11 '16

Implications of the Gender Gap

This is the second IFFD policy paper on unpaid work shared by its Director of International Relations, Ignacio Socias. This paper considers the influence of gender inequality on labor outcome.

Dec, 28 '15

The Value of Care and Domestic Work

Ignacio Socias, Director of International Relations at the International Federation for Family Development (IFFD) shared with STI two policy papers on the value of unpaid work in the home, the first of which follows. The second will follow next week.