Each month, we select up to ten publications from those that have recently been entered into the Literature Database.

A year ago, there were approximately 7,300 citations in the Literature Database. As of April 2007, we now have over 8,500 citations.

Direct link to the Sloan Literature Update articles in the Literature Database.

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Global Perspectives - Bygren, M. & Duvander, A.Z. (2006). Parents’ workplace situation and fathers’ parental leave use. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68(2), 363-372.
This report investigates how both parents’ workplace situations affect fathers’ use of parental leave in Sweden. Swedish parental leave is intended for both mothers and fathers and amounts to a total of one year, to be divided and used as the parents like. The authors used a subset of the LOUISE database of 3,755 men who were first-time fathers in 1997. Findings indicate that fathers who work in the private sector, in small workplaces, and/or in male-dominated workplaces are less likely to use parental leave, or if their child’s mother works in a female-dominated workplace. Furthermore, fathers’ uses of leave increases with income up to a certain level, at which points it decreases. The authors also found a mirror effect in that fathers’ leaves decreases with mothers’ incomes up to a certain point, at which point it increases.

Global Perspectives - Craig, L. (2006). Does father care mean fathers share?: A comparison of how mothers and fathers in intact families spend time with children. Gender & Society, 20(2), 259-281.
The author used a subset of the 1997 Australian Bureau of Statistics Time Use Survey and analyzed the time-use diaries of 1,450 men and 1,476 women between the ages of 25 and 54 who were married or in a “de facto” couple with at least one child under the age of twelve. The time diaries asked participants to not only record their main activity, but also any secondary activities they were performing concurrently, i.e. shopping and caring for a child. Including secondary activities provides as clearer account of the true amount of time parents commit to their children. Findings indicate that mothers spend more time caring for children than fathers. Physical care such as bathing, feeding, and dressing accounts for over 50% of mothers’ time and 33% of fathers’ time, while interactive care such as talking, playing, reading, and reprimanding accounts for 40% of fathers’ time and 22% of mothers’ time.

Global Perspectives - Dermott, E. (2005). Time and labour: Fathers’ perceptions of employment and childcare. Sociological Review, 53(s2), 89-103.
While interviewing 25 British fathers—all of whom were employed in professional/managerial positions, had at least one school-aged child, and co-habiting with a female partner—the author was surprised to find a lack of comments on the difficulty of work-family balance. The fathers felt comfortable achieving and keeping the simultaneous roles of “good worker” and “good father.” Findings indicate that this group viewed the time spent working and the time spent carin for their children very differently, focusing more on the play aspect of parenting rather than the more work-like “child maintenance activities.” The different perceptions of “good father” and “good mother” are discussed.

Global Perspectives - Halford, S. (2006). Collapsing the boundaries?: Fatherhood, organization and home-working. Gender, Work and Organization, 13(4), 383-402.

Using a case study of home-working fathers who work for a large, multinational financial services company based in the United Kingdom, this report explores the changes that “time sovereignty” has on men’s fathering practices as well as mothers’ parenting and spouses’ gender relations. The author sent questionnaires to all 48 of the company’s staff members and conducted three focus groups and several in-depth interviews. Findings indicate that fathers of children under age sixteen were more likely to work at home than non-fathers or fathers of older children, half of the fathers reported that home-working changed their family relationships, and 65% named the opportunity to spend more time with their families as a benefit of working at home. The blurring and re-negotiating of the demarcation between public and private spaces are discussed.

Jacobs, J.N. & Kelley, M.L. (2006). Predictors of paternal involvement in childcare in dual-earner families with young children. Fathering, 4(1), 23-47.
This paper looks at fathers’ involvement in childcare in 119 dual-earner couples, all of whom live with a biological child between the ages of one and four, are employed outside the home, and have children who attend one of several day care centers in southeastern Virginia. All parents completed anonymous questionnaires that investigated fathers’ engagement, responsibility, and accessibility. Findings reveal that mothers’ numbers of working hours and fathers’ efficacy in childcare predict the amount of time men serve as their children’s primary caregiver, while men’s personal beliefs about the degree to which men should be involved in fathering, skills and efficacy in the fathering role, and institutional factors correlated with parental involvement.

Global Perspectives - Williams, R.A. (2006). Masculinities fathering and health: The experiences of African-Caribbean and White working class fathers. Social Science & Medicine, 64(2), 338-349.
The author interviewed six African-Caribbean and seven White working class fathers from the West Midlands area of the United Kingdom and analyzes their experiences with fathering, health, and personal health practices. For the African-Caribbean men, anticipated or perceived racial prejudice or abuse influenced their health experiences. All fathers saw health as a means to meet the responsibilities of working and parenting. Fatherhood affected health experiences in that the men avoided unhealthy behaviors such as drinking, smoking, and poor eating and challenged “solitary experiences” that served to prevent men from expressing vulnerabilities such as fear, sadness or anxiety. Some men expressed that exposing these vulnerabilities could be perceived as weak or burdensome.

Alfred, M.V. & Martin, L.G. (2007). The development of economic self-sufficiency among former welfare recipients: Lessons learned from Wisconsin’s welfare to work program. International Journal of Training and Development, 11(1), 2-20.
This article seeks to identify the problems and barriers to self-sufficiency among former welfare recipients and other low-income workers as well as the effectiveness of services and programs available to the workers. The authors surveyed 69 W-2 agency representatives and 41 employers of workers placed by the W-2 agency, citing the importance of employers’ perspectives when considering the development of training programs designed to teach skills to prospective workers. “Pervasive barriers,” or those with a high inhibitor factor and appearing in high proportion, identified by the two groups include problems with childcare, problems with transportation, lack of motivation, poor interpersonal skills, poor written English, poor math skills, substance abuse, and learning disabilities. Primary services, or those most commonly provided and considered most effective, include child care assistance, transportation assistance, Medicaid, job placement, food stamps, employment skill training, educational programs, and job counseling.

Sherif-Trask, B. (Ed.). (2007). Cultural diversity and families: Expanding perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Table of Contents: Historical trends in the study of diverse families / Pearl Stewart and Katia Paz Goldfarb -- A nation of diversity : demographics of the United States of America and their implications for families / Fabienne Doucet and Raeann R. Hamon -- Theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of culturally diverse families / Bahira Sherif Trask and Ramona Marotz-Baden -- Gender and class in culturally diverse families / Katherine R. Allen and Ben K. Beitin -- Trends in marriage and cohabitation / Bahira Sherif Trask and Julie M. Koivunen -- Women, work, and families : locating experiences in social contexts / Seongeun Kim and Tara Woolfolk -- Parenting in color : culturally diverse perspectives on parenting / Kimberly A. Greder and William D. Allen -- Cultural diversity and aging families / Rona J. Karasik and Raeann R. Hamon -- Parent-child ties of culturally diverse aging families / Paula M. Usita -- Human services and cultural diversity : tenuous relationships, challenges, and opportunities ahead / Donald G. Unger, Teresita Cuevas, and Tara Woolfolk -- Family, school, and community : finding green lights at the intersection / Judith A. Myers-Walls and Larissa V. Frias -- Family life education : implications of cultural diversity / Deborah B. Gentry -- The compelling realities of diversity, policies, and laws / Tammy L. Henderson -- Ethical reflections for a globalized family curriculum : a developmental paradigm / Mary Ann Hollinger -- Concluding observations.

Sullivan, S.E. & Mainiero, L.A. (2007). Kaleidoscope careers: Benchmarking ideas for fostering family-friendly workplaces. Organizational Dynamics, 36(1), 45-62.

The authors have developed the Kaleidoscope Career Model to describe “careers that [are] not defined by a corporation but by the individual worker, based on his/her own values and life choices.” The careers described in the paper are constantly changing and are altered to adjust to personal life changes, rather than vice versa. The studies included a web-based survey of 109 women, a more complrehensive web-based survey of 1,647 men and women, an online focus group of 27 workers, another online survey of 1,525 men and women, and in-depth interviews with 52 workers on career choices and changes. Findings indicate that authenticity, balance, and challenge are the most important considerations when workers respond to life and career choices. Many practical ideas for accommodating and embracing kaleidoscope careers are offered.

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