Family Matters articles from June 2005

Family Matters archives from June 2005

Director's report.
June 22, 2005... Anniversaries, such as this in our 25th year, provide a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge our past, and all those who have contributed to the Institute's first quarter century. They also are a time to look to the future. While acknowledging...

Growing up in Australia: the longitudinal study of Australian children.
June 22, 2005... Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Children (LSAC) is Australia's first national study of its kind. It delivers comprehensive national data on children as they grow up. Prior to the establishment of LSAC, Australia was one of only a few...

Young children and their grandparents: the relationships children have with significant adults, including their grandparents, are the foundation of their development. The Growing Up in Australia study provides new information on how much time young children are spending with their grandparents.
June 22, 2005... It has been recognised for some time that attachment relationships are vitally important for children (Bowlby 1982; 1973) and that children are attached to significant others, beyond their relationship with their primary caregiver (Schaffer and...

Impacts of work on family life among partnered parents of young children.
June 22, 2005... Based on the first wave of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), this paper investigates potential sources of work-to-family strain for partnered parents of young children. The analysis identifies the importance of gender, job...

What can the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children tell us about infants' and 4 to 5 year olds' experiences of early childhood education and care?
June 22, 2005... The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) is concerned with documenting the breadth of children's early experiences both inside and outside the family in order to understand the factors that provide the foundation for children's...

Does it take a village? An investigation of neighbourhood effects on Australian children's development.
June 22, 2005... Hillary Clinton popularised the saying "It takes a village to raise a child" with her book, It Takes a Village (1996). In it she argued that the community plays a key role in children's development. There is a large body of international...

The relationship between childhood injuries and family type.
June 22, 2005... Using data on the 4-5 year old children participating in Australia study, this examination of the relationship between family structure and incidence of child injury indicates that children in sole-parent families--but not stepfamilies--were...

A comparison of children's temperament and adjustment across 20 years: this paper compares children from two large-scale Australian longitudinal studies conducted 20 years apart, offering insights into the progress of children growing up in different eras and the role of social environments in their development and wellbeing.
June 22, 2005... What determines how children develop, and what explains the huge variability among children? Are they pre-programmed, or moulded by their experiences? It is now realised that this "either/or" question is overly simplistic, and it is the...

From here to paternity: family biographies in the making: this small qualitative study explores the ways in which definitions of fatherhood and paternal identities are located within men's personal experiences of fatherhood, as well as within a variety of social contexts and processes.
June 22, 2005... Modern fatherhood in Western societies is a paradox of complex and competing images emphasising the importance of paternal involvement. On the one hand, television talk shows reveal the problematic aspects of dysfunctional fatherhood, venting...

Teenage mothers: constructing family: what are the supports, pressures and additional labour that shape decisions teenage mothers make about family life?
June 22, 2005... Over the last decade or so, the work and family debate in Australia has largely framed how we discuss motherhood (for example, Manne 2005; Pocock 2001; Glezer and Wolcott 1999). The participation rate of mothers in the workforce seems to be...

A woman's place? Work hour preferences revisited: nearly a decade has elapsed since the report by Glezer and Wolcott on mothers' work hours preferences. Lixia Qu and Ruth Weston look at whether mothers' preferences changed during this time.(FAMILY TRENDS)
June 22, 2005... Mid-day Sunday roasts, the "wirelesses", then black-and-white televisions, Elvis, men's "six o'clock swill", fathers as sole providers and mothers as house-proud housewives--these are but a few of the icons of 1950s and 1960s. Fast-forwarding...

Perspectives on the future of marriage: with marriage rates falling and cohabitation rising in many Western societies, there are concerns in some quarters that the future of marriage is bleak. What lies beneath these trends, and what are the implications for the institution of marriage? Robyn Parker discusses some of the current international thinking.
June 22, 2005... When discussing the current "state of the family", academics, politicians, and social commentators typically draw attention to trends in four key indicators across the past hundred or so years--the decline in marriage rates, the increase in...

AIFS represented at HILDA Conference.(Australian Institute of Family Studies, Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia )
June 22, 2005... This year has been of great significance for the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. While most surveys in Australia involve one wave of data and therefore can only provide snapshots at single time points, HILDA...

Institute at conference.(Australian Institute of Family Studies )(Brief article)
June 22, 2005... Institute Research Fellow, Bruce Smyth, gave a keynote address at the Family Services Australia Conference, Supporting Australian Families, in Adelaide (28-30 September 2005). His paper, titled "Time, identity, justice, and post-separation...

ACSSA co-hosts anti sexual violence event.(AIFS ACTIVITIES)(Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault )(Australian Institute of Family Studies )(Brief article)
June 22, 2005... In September 2005, the Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault (ACSSA) at the Australian Institute of Family Studies co-hosted an event with Amnesty International at the Gryphon Gallery at the University of Melbourne. The Anti...

Training interviewers for LSAC.(Longitudinal Study of Australian Children )(Brief article)
June 22, 2005... During September 2005, Institute staff were involved in training the new team of interviewers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the second wave of Growing Up in Australia, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC)....

Clearinghouse team out and about.(Australian Institute of Family Studies )
June 22, 2005... Researchers from the National Child Protection Clearinghouse team at the Australian Institute of Family Studies have attended several events in recent months. In July 2005, researchers Daryl Higgins, Leah Bromfield and Nick Richardson gave...

Institute at communities for children forum.(Australian Institute of Family Studies )(Brief article)
June 22, 2005... In August 2005, the Department of Family and Community Services organised a forum, held in Sydney, for the Chief Executive Officers, managers and project managers of the Communities for Children initiative, funded under the Australian...

AIFS SEMINARS 2005: in 2005 the Australian Institute of Family Studies continued its series of public seminars presenting contemporary research on national and international issues related to family.
June 22, 2005... What can we learn from the Growing Up in Australia study? (Seminar held at the Institute on 18 August 2005) Carol Soloff (Project Manager) and Sebastian Misson (Data Administrator) of the Growing Up in Australia study (the Longitudinal...

A program of interesting Seminars is planned for 2006.
June 22, 2005... In 2006 the Australian Institute of Family Studies is continuing its series of seminars presenting research on national and international issues related to family. The seminars, designed to promote a forum for discussion and debate, are free...

Families Diverse and Changeable.(Diversity and Change in Australian Families: Statistical Profiles)(Brief article)(Book review)
June 22, 2005... Diversity and Change in Australian Families: Statistical Profiles by David de Vaus, Australian Institute of Family Studies, September 2004. 352 pages. Price $50.00 plus $5.00 postage and handling. There is hardly any aspect of family...

Youth: Choices and Change, Promoting Healthy Behaviours in Adolescents.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 22, 2005... Youth: Choices and change: Promoting healthy behaviours in adolescents, by Cecilia Breinbauer and Matilde Maddaleno, Pan American Health Organisation, Washington, 2005. US $38.00. This compilation of theories and models of health promotion...

The Starting Out with Scarba Project: Facilitating Children's Participation in Child Protection Processes.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 22, 2005... The Starting Out with Scarba Project: Facilitating children's participation in child protection processes, by Jan Mason and Annette Michaux, The Benevolent Society, Paddington, 2005. This report examines some of the issues and obstacles...

Dilemmas of Lone Motherhood.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 22, 2005... Dilemmas of lone motherhood, edited by Randy Albelda, Susan Himmelweit and Jane Humphries, Routledge, London, 2005. The papers in this book were previously published as a special issue of Feminist Economics. The authors write from a variety...

Children are service users too: A guide to consulting children and young people.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 22, 2005... Children are service users too: A guide to consulting children and young people, by Lina Fajerman, Phil Treseder and Joyce Conner, Save the Children, London, 2004. UK 4.95. The aim of this publication is to give guidance to organisations...

Children are People Too: A Parent's Guide to Young Children's Behaviour, 4th ed.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 22, 2005... Children are people too: A parent's guide to young children's behaviour (4th edition), by Louise Porter, East Street Publications, Bowden, 2005. Price: $29.95. This practical guide, written by an Australian psychologist, advocates a...

Families in Society: Boundaries and Relationships.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 22, 2005... Families in society: Boundaries and relationships, edited by Linda McKie and Sarah Cunningham-Burley, Policy Press, Bristol, 2005.UK 24.99. This book proposes a new framework for understanding families and other relationships, arguing that...

The changing face of parenting: Exploring the attitudes of parents in contemporary Australia.(Australian Childhood Foundation)(Brief article)
June 22, 2005... The changing face of parenting: Exploring the attitudes of parents in contemporary Australia, by Joe Tucci, Janise Mitchell and Chris Goddard, Australian Childhood Foundation, 2005.Also available to download from website...

Ideas and Influence: Social Science and Public Policy in Australia.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 22, 2005... Ideas and influence: Social science and public policy in Australia, edited by Peter Saunders and James Walter, UNSW Press, Sydney, 2005. Price: 39.95 The joint editors of this collection of Australian papers are Professor Peter Saunders,...

Conferences.(family studies)(Calendar)
June 22, 2005... This selection of family-related conferences is taken from the continuously updated "Forthcoming Conferences" page on the Australian Institute of Family Studies website. For the complete list select "Conferences" from www.aifs.gov.au. 8-9...

Early childhood interventions.(NEW)(Australian Government Department of Family and Community Services' "The Efficacy of Early Childhood Interventions")
June 22, 2005... The efficacy of early childhood interventions, A report prepared for the Australian Government Department of Family and Community Services, by Sarah Wise, Lisa da Silva, Elizabeth Webster and Ann Sanson, AIFS Research Report No.14, Published by...

Adolescent anti-social behaviour.(NEW)(Australian Institute of Family Studies and Crime Prevention Victoria's "Patterns and Precursors of Adolescent Antisocial Behaviour: Outcomes and Connections")
June 22, 2005... Patterns and precursors of adolescent antisocial behaviour: Outcomes and connections: by Diana Smart, Nick Richardson, Ann Sanson, Inez Dussuyer and Bernie Marshall, The third report from the collaborative partnership between the Australian...