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In this issue:

Families and Children

Introduction

Economic Effects of Divorce in Minnesota

Adolescent Adjustment Before and After Divorce

Farm Women--Work and Family

Kids In Farm Families

Long Term Health Care

Parenting our Parents: Supporting Caregivers and Family of Alzheimer Disease Patients

Policy Issues

Family Social Science Department:
Research and Policy about Families and Children

In earlier years when the American frontier was being explored and settled, one of the core values that promoted survival was independence. Although the value of unrestricted independence worked well when there appeared to be unlimited resources, it is clear that our physical resources are finite and that our lives are more bound with those of each other than we might have thought. The watchword for the l990's and beyond must be interdependence. Nowhere is this more evident than in what we are learning about the American family. Social scientists are now discovering ways to understand how the nuclear family is embedded within multiple generations and linked to the community, the economy, the society, the global community, and its historical context.

Family research conducted in the University of Minnesota's Department of Family Social Science illustrates how several important social issues can be approached with sensitivity to these multiple perspectives. In this Early Report, brief summaries of six research projects highlight the special challenges faced by divorced families, farm families, and aging families. Among them are economic well-being, psychological adjustment, and relationships among children, parents, and grandparents.

In two studies concerning divorce, Kathryn Rettig and William Doherty focus on the complementary issues of economic and psychological consequences of divorce. Both studies have implications for improving relationships among divorcing couples in order to diminish the negative impact of divorce on children in the family.

Economic and psychological issues facing farm families are explored in the research of Sharon Danes and Paul Rosenblatt. Danes documents what happens in families when a poor economy requires that farm women work off the farm to make ends meet. Rosenblatt's research addresses the importance of parent-child relationships in farm families, both in terms of links between the adult generations and in the supportive role that children play when their parents face economic crisis with the farm.

Two studies concerning aging also focus on the links between economic and psychological issues. Marlene Stum reports research based on a national survey by the Bureau of the Census which identifies predictors of economic well-being among non-institutionalized elderly. Pauline Boss reports on challenges presented to families with a member diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

These studies contribute to our understanding of families and relationships and have implications for public policies that could strengthen the psychological and economic well-being of American families. In closing remarks, Shirley Zimmerman suggests ways public policy can better support American families of the '90's.

Harold D. Grotevant, Professor and Head Department of Family Social Science

Economic Consequences of Divorce in Minnesota

By Kathryn Rettig, Ph.D.

Research Goals

Our project looks at how divorce is related to family economic stability and the conditions underlying poverty for children. We looked at 1153 case records of final divorce decrees initiated in Minnesota in 1986. Additional information was obtained through self-administered surveys done in two separate years plus telephone interviews. The study had four primary purposes:

I) provide information about financial settlements at the time of divorce for cases with minor children;
2) identify the economic and social-psychological consequences of financial decisions three and four years later; 3) provide information for state decision makers to use in evaluating, developing, and implementing policies related to the economic well-being of divorced families; and 4) develop educational materials for the lay public regarding the financial aspects of divorce.

Research Needs

The poverty of children is a particular risk for society. Decisions made at the time of divorce are a critical factor affecting family economic stability and contributing to childhood poverty. Policies about economic decisions at the time of divorce have included measures to:

1) increase transfers of income or income-in-kind to the households of children;
2) increase the compliance of payers of child support; and 3) improve the standards of awarding support.

Our study seeks to address the third issue by providing information to state agencies, interest groups, and legislative committees about the consequences of child support guidelines for the income adequacy of children.

Goals of Child Support Guidelines

State child support guidelines were designed to accomplish three goals: make sure that parents of similar income pay similar amounts; protect the economic wellbeing of children; and equalize the contributions of custodial and noncustodial parents. It now appears there are gaps between the original intentions and how these policies affect children. While few studies have looked at the financial consequences of divorce settlements on children, this study concluded that none of the above policy objectives were being met.

Economic Well Being of Children

Court-ordered child support awards in this study failed to provide an adequate income for children. "Adequate income" is measured by calculating the support award and dividing it by income need.

In this study, the median court-ordered child support awarded to the custodial parent was $3,900, nearly $200 less than established guidelines. We found that parents at higher income levels were likely to pay less than guideline amounts while parents at the lowest income levels (those less able to pay) paid more than guideline amounts . If Minnesota guidelines had been enforced, the median annual award would have been $4,211 (under Wisconsin guidelines, this figure would have been $5,085).

Three estimates of child income (actual child support award, Minnesota guidelines, and Wisconsin guidelines) were compared to three income need standards (federal poverty level income, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Costs of Raising Children in our region, and an estimate of parental expenditures on children for full-time employed mothers at median socioeconomic status). The results, summarized in the chart below, are sobering, especially since the study overestimated the income of children and underestimated their income needs.

Percent of income need met by three amounts of child support payments.

The results of this study agree with the recommendation of the Minnesota Supreme Court Task Force for Gender Fairness in the Courts (1989). Guidelines for support awards need to be interpreted as a minimum rather than a maximum level of support for children. Results were provided to the Minnesota Department of Human Services. A legislative proposal for changes in the guidelines was written and will be introduced during the 1991 Minnesota Legislative Session.

Adolescent Adjustment Before and After Divorce

By William J. Doherty, Ph.D.

One of the main unresolved issues in the divorce literature concerns the proportion of negative effects of divorce on children that sterns from the divorce itself versus the conflictual marital relationship that preceded divorce. Very little information is available to answer this question because almost all studies of divorce and children have examined families who were already divorced. Therefore, children's adjustment prior to the marital breakup has not been directly measured.

A Study of Teenagers of Divorced Families A study co-authored with Richard Needle (to be published in April 1991 Child Development) offers interesting data on the psychological adjustment and substance use of adolescents before and after divorce. The families in the study were a subset of those participating in a 5 year study of families randomly selected from the rolls of an HMO. They were mainly white and middle class.

Although the longitudinal study was originally designed to look at how families influence adolescent substance use, 29 of the families divorced over the study period. Thus, we had a sample of 48 adolescents whose parents divorced (average age at separation was 15). We had information about the teens 12 months before the separation and 6 months after the divorce. We compared them to the remaining sample of adolescents whose parents continued in intact first marriages during the study.

Questionnaires completed by the adolescents asked about: a) psychological adjustment (psychological well-being, self-esteem, mastery, strain with parents, strain with school), and b) substance use. We compared the changes in the divorce group and the continuously married group, and looked at differences between the adolescent boys and girls.

The Results

The chief finding of the study related to gender difference. One year prior to separation, girls in the divorced group were worse off than girls in the continuously married group. Six months after divorce, these girls showed no further decline. Boys in the divorce group, on the other hand, were not different from those in the married group before the separation, but declined after the divorce. Psychological adjustment after the divorce was similar for both boys and girls, but boys experienced a proportionally greater increase in substance use.

To summarize, the "damage" from divorce for adolescent girls was already evident a year before their parents separated, whereas at the same time, boys were not showing signs of distress. Six months after the divorce, boys were in more difficulty than they were before and girls had stabilized.

We interpreted these findings as follows: If divorce is viewed as a process that begins with marital decline, adolescent girls may be particularly vulnerable during the pre-separation period of marital distress, perhaps because they are more sensitive to their interpersonal environment. Boys may buffer themselves more from the marital distress, until after the separation when they cannot mistake the marital crisis and when they often lose the everyday company of both parents.

Some Caveats and Future Directions

As with any study, there are important limitations to keep in mind. These were white, middle class families; the results may not apply to children of other age groups; the data were self-report (there is the chance that subjects have not been completely honest); and the follow-up period was only 6 months after divorce.

A prior study of the parents in this sample found the same gender difference: wives showed distress both before and after the separation, and husbands only after the divorce. The next step with this research will be to examine children's changes during the divorce process in light of their parents ' changes while going through the divorce.

Still Available from CEED: Questions About Kids, a set of 8 informational pamphlets for parents. Titles in the set are: Can I Make My Baby Smarter?, Is My Child Ready for Kindergarten?, Am I Spoiling My Baby?, Why are the Two's So Terrible ?, Thoughts on Diapering, What Can I Do About Sibling Rivalry ?, How Can I Get My Baby to Sleep Through the Night?, How Can I Guide My Child's TV Viewing?

Farm Women -- Work and Family

By Sharon Danes, Ph.D.

Farm women were often the glue that held families together during the tough times in agriculture in the 1980 's. As a result, many are experiencing role overload and the isolation that often accompanies prolonged periods of heavy burdens. Roles farm women typically hold are: wife, mother, employee, chauffeur, confidante, tutor, business partner, nurse, farm laborer, volunteer, and social secretary for the family.

The Work of Farm Women

A survey was sent to Minnesota farm women in the spring of 1988. The questionnaire asked about their work on and off the farm. Results indicated that farm women are highly involved in both farm management decisions and farm labor.

Almost half of Minnesota farm women are employed off the farm. It is significant that 42 % of those surveyed said that providing basic family necessities influenced their decision to work "a great deal;" 23% worked to meet basic farm expenses. For most, involvement with the farm after taking other employment did not decrease.

Child Care

Forty-four percent of farm women working off the farm used child care and 31% paid for that care (64% of full-time workers paid for care). The average cost of child care was $37.57/ week; the highest cost was $100/ week.

On average, farm women spent 20% of off-farm income on child care. This was calculated based on gross off farm income, so the actual cost of child care was higher. Those who paid for child care had three basic concerns: it was expensive, difficult to find, and often not compatible with their own child rearing values.

An often overlooked concern of farm women is finding suitable child care when their labor is required on the farm for harvesting, other field work, animal care, etc.

Time Adjustments Accompanying Off-farm Work The farm women who worked off the farm were asked whether they subsequently spent more or less time on other activities. Significantly, only decreases were reported. The greatest decrease was in amount of time spent with spouses, followed by community and volunteer activities and farm labor; 40% also reduced time spent with their children. Few farm women indicated a decrease in doing book work for the farm, highlighting the finding that over 50% did not decrease work on the farm after starting to work off the farm.

Satisfaction Levels

The two primary areas of dissatisfaction among Minnesota farm women were lack of leisure time and their financial situation. While farm women generally have a high level of satisfaction with their family lives, they had many concerns about role overload, provision of community services, job opportunities, job benefits and day care facilities for both children and the elderly.

Ways to Help

Professionals can help farm women with role overload on three levels: individual, family, and community. When designing and presenting services for rural families, professionals should consider the unique characteristics of farm families -- pride, self-sufficiency, and a concern to not become part of the gossip mill. For example, services directed at farm families should be presented as available to all rural people -- programs aimed at "farm women in need" will be viewed as stigmatizing and be less utilized.

When working with individual farm women, professionals can help them assign priorities to roles and tasks and help change thinking about what others in their families can do. Children may be ready for more responsibility; husbands may be able to take on tasks considered nontraditional for men. Also, farm women can change their standards about household chores. When her child or husband does something, she can accept the standard of that person and not redo the task to her own standards.

On the family and community levels, professionals can serve in a "mobilizer" role to work with groups or communities to combine resources. For example, professionals might create an option for the high need for child or elder care in their rural area by combining that need with the need for employment, and organize a cooperative care center. An agency might also serve as a clearinghouse to connect persons seeking and offering child care or elder care services in order that their mutual needs are satisfied. In addition to utilizing the information resources of the community, they can solicit interagency coordination or use the resources of the community's social organizations, churches, and businesses.

Kids in Farm Families

By Paul Rosenblatt, Ph.D.

In response to the serious economic difficulties now encountered by many farm families, adults in 24 farm families were interviewed.
The result is a book called Farming Is in Our Blood (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1990). The book deals with economic, legal, and policy issues in farming, emotional processes, and community and family relationships.

Economic Problems

In the interviews, parents of younger children talked about the many ways in which their children were victims of the parents' economic difficulties. Children were distanced by parents who were preoccupied with economic concerns, who were depressed, angry, anxious, and perhaps struggling to save a marital relationship rocked by the economic difficulty.

These quotes are illustrative:
"On the days I have been so down and so out, especially at the beginning, these kids managed for themselves.... I mean if we got clothes washed or a meal made, that was the day. "

"Your nerves are very much on edge at first, and you're probably harder on [your children] than you should be." (This father was one of four parents who, on a checklist, reported hitting his children while in the midst of economic difficulties.)

Some parents who tried to "protect" children from knowledge of the family's difficulty came to realize that the children knew, and in some cases had known earlier and more clearly than their parents, what was going on. Young children, as they grasped that the basic problem was economic, often touched their parents deeply with their naive proposals to deal with economic difficulty:

"[My wife] and I both came in after one of our meetings with lenders, and we were feeling beat down. [One of my young sons] came up and said, 'I don't use all of my toys. You can sell some of my toys if that will help. ' Then I cried."

Wife: "The kids have seen me cry a lot. Of course, they question. The kids know that mommy and daddy are having money troubles. We've told them that... It breaks your heart. They have their money that they've saved and they're willing to give it to Mom and Dad. "

Husband: "They'll tell you, 'I've got a lot of money, ' And to them it is. "

Children as a Source of Support

Many parents with children still at home talked about how their children provided crucial support and solace. A child might stand with parents on the courthouse steps as their farm was auctioned off, do well at studies or athletics in a way that parents could feel pride over, or simply exist and in their existence give parents a sense that children are far more important than a farm.

There is something particularly poignant in hearing people in farming talk about their children during a crisis that threatens the family's ability to continue in farming . Parent-child relationships are crucial in farming. Few people enter farming without family assistance, many people in farming go through a phase of multi-generational farming, and many people in farming consider that the opportunity to pass the family farm on to one of their adult offspring is an important, almost a sacred aspect of farming. Consequently, the threatened or actual loss of the family farm awoke in many respondents a sense of having let down their own parents and of having robbed their children of a birthright. As parents talked about their feelings of grief and shame, their desperate struggles to remain in farming, and their plans and concerns about the future, much of what they said could be traced to values linked to parent-child relationships.

Long Term Health Care

By Marlene Stum, Ph.D.

More families are facing long term health care expenses and problems of elderly members -- the baby boom population is aging and there is an increasing number of "old old" (85+) partly due to falling mortality rates for the aged. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive federal or state policy regarding the delivery or financing of long term care for any individuals, even while more attention is being paid to financial risks faced by families. Many questions remain about the use and depletion of family resources for long term health care.

This study looks at changes in health problems and demands and how they affect the economic "health" of the elderly. Information used is from The National Long Term Care Survey (NLTCS) conducted by the Bureau of the Census and sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services. The NLTCS is the first major national survey to combine chronic health care, economic, and family data, tracked over time. We looked at data for individuals 65 and over, gathered in 1982, on 6,400 Medicare beneficiaries living independently in the community, who had one or more chronic functional limitations (difficulties with eating, transportation, housework, etc.).

Factors Affecting Economic Well-Being

We are trying to understand what factors put chronically ill elderly people most at risk economically. One theory suggests that economic well-being is affected by a combination of changes in demands (functional status), resources (income sources, health care risk protection, living arrangements) and pre-existing characteristics (gender, race, marital status, age).

First we looked at each of these factors separately. Elderly with higher economic well-being were more likely to be married, male, white, younger and have fewer functional limitations. They were also likely to have investment and retirement sources of income, plus family and private risk protection strategies. Further analysis showed that, among all these factors, the most important were having investment and retirement income sources and being married. Smaller, but important, contributions to economic health were made by health care risk protection strategies, functional limitations, and race.

Knowing what factors affect economic well-being will help policy makers, educators, and service providers address issues of economic vulnerability of the elderly and their families. Fortunately, many of the relevant factors can be partially controlled by individuals and society. Having sources of income beyond Social Security, especially investment and retirement income, offer important protection against illness-engendered poverty. Education and job training, availability and quality of private pension plans, overall status of the economy, mobility of the workforce and wage rates all tend to accumulate over time to influence sources of income.

Health Care Risk Policies

In addition to income sources, closing gaps in health care risk protection can help reduce economic vulnerability. Risk protection options available to the elderly will depend on decisions made by state and federal governments. Policy development and educational approaches should recognize changes in family structure and in the resources of the family. Clearly, policies relating to health care, savings, employee benefits, and retirement do not stand alone. All are part of a larger system that directly and indirectly affect family resources and demands, thus influencing economic well-being.

The results discussed here only begin to explain long term care and economic well-being. Longitudinal research will help capture the dynamic interplay of long term care and economic well-being over time. Different groups will have different needs, such as Blacks and Hispanics; young/old (65-75) and old old (85+) and elderly experiencing transitions from institutional to non-institutional care. This project will assist in the theoretical understanding of long term care from a family systems perspective, plus contribute to policy and education decisions at both the societal and individual levels.

Parenting our Parents: Supporting Caregivers and Family of Alzheimer Disease Patients

By Pauline Boss, Ph.D.

Family therapists say that healthy families must have clear boundaries between the generations -- children should not parent their elders. But what happens when parents become dependent on their adult children or spouse as a result of dementia?

We propose that a major cognitive shift is required in the thinking of caregivers if they are to successfully reverse roles. In our research, we examine the process by which spouses and adult children of Alzheimer patients "shift" their perceptions and roles as the disease progresses, requiring more and more time and care.

Current Directions and New Turns

Family gerontologists have looked at how the severity of dementia influences the amount of "burden" reported by caregivers, but they do not appear to be directly linked. If not the severity of illness, what is it that determines who is able to cope? What is the cognitive shift in caregivers that helps them overcome their burden?

Summary of Our Research Findings Thus Far Two issues seem to predict the development of depression in caregivers. Boundary ambiguity refers to whether the dementia patient is seen "psychologically" as a participant in the family system. An orientation toward mastery refers to how well one manages stressful situations, including caring for a dementia patient. We interviewed 70 patients and their caregivers, asking the caregivers how they saw their situations.

Results indicated that both boundary ambiguity and mastery were related to a caregiver's depression level but the severity of dementia was not. In sum, the more a caregiver perceived a mate as psychologically absent, the less masterful and the more depressed she or he was.

Designing an Intervention

In order to reduce caregivers' risk for depression, we focused an intervention on 1) working with the whole family system as defined by the caregiver, 2) providing a tailor-made intervention to match the uniqueness of each caregiver and family and, 3) boundary ambiguity and mastery. To test our theories, we worked with eight families with members with moderate to severe dementia. Our general guidelines were:

1. Each family viewed a videotape of their first interview (about three years earlier) which included the patient. We saw how the family operated as a system; their roles, perceptions, strengths. The caregiver and family identified areas to work on in subsequent sessions with two family therapists.
2. We reinforced the caregiver's mastery levels and their family's supportiveness. We explored issues of gender, family roles, family rules, denial of the illness, sibling or parent-child issues, and above all, any tensions that eroded the family's cooperation in problem solving.
3. Families were coached to decrease as much ambiguity as possible, then helped to learn to live with the inevitable remaining ambiguity. They were encouraged to continue family rituals and celebrations.
4. Educational materials were offered and specific information requests were met. For example, information was given to adult children who worried about their chances of getting Alzheimer's Disease and to caregivers who asked about sources of respite care or day care.
5. Family members were encouraged to begin or continue to meet regularly with the caregiver at home, even as their situation got more burdensome.

Preliminary Findings on the Intervention Pilot Caregivers agreed the major help to them was talking together as a family -- often for the first time sharing openly about the illness. Problem solving information was found useful but providing a structure for the family to talk together was the most effective intervention.

What is Left To Do

The old, especially the frail elderly, will not have sufficient care in their waning years. They may have the technical nursing care, but they will lack the human touch of grandchildren and adult children who are too stressed and exhausted to care. With this new research approach we hope to ease this stress.

After further analysis, an intervention manual will be prepared and tested. We will continue to analyze the process of change that takes place in families where elderly parents need to be cared for as they once cared for their own children.

Policy Issues

By Shirley Zimmerman, Ph.D.

The research presented in this issue illustrates some of the kinds of problems that fall within the domain of family policy which require a response from government. While the goal of family policy is to promote individual and family well-being, the extent to which policies do this varies.

Divorce: A Case in Point

Current policies do not adequately support divorcing families. One result is that many of these families end up in poverty. A Census Bureau report from 1991 revealed that the average income of single parent families fell by 37% four months after a breakup, largely because the father left home. The number of children living in poverty increased from 19% at the time of divorce to 36% four months later. Economic problems (such as unemployment) were found to predate divorce and separation, suggesting that economic difficulties may be as much a cause as a consequence of family breakup.

Another source of post-divorce economic hardship is non-payment of child support. Inequities result because child support laws vary between states and counties and differentially affect families. For example, the Family Support Act of 1988 mandates payment of financial support by non-custodial parents only for AFDC families. Non-AFDC families get little help in seeking compliance with court-ordered child support.

The Impact of Government and Lower Levels of Socially Provided Support

 These findings speak to the changes that have occurred in our relationships with government over time. Suggestive of the scope of these changes is a proposal to combat infant mortality in 10 cities by taking money out of health programs that serve low income pregnant women, poor children, and the homeless. Instead of allowing all 50 states to receive Federal money, 10 out of 19 cities will be required to compete for funds needed in all cities. This means that infant mortality is likely to increase in cities not selected.

There is little reason to expect increased governmental support any time soon. The 1990 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act will limit spending for defense, international, and domestic programs in 1992 and 1993. The law does not allow tradeoffs among the three program areas, so even if there are cuts in defense spending, it will not help domestic programs. Restrictions also have been placed on spending for entitlement programs. Funds for new programs or expansion of existing ones must be offset by equal reductions in funding for other programs, or by tax increases.

This state of affairs can be expected to affect the well being of the families of particular concern to Rosenblatt and Danes -- farm families -- and to Boss and Stum --families of older members requiring long term care. Policy makers today often choose to focus dwindling resources on fewer people rather than spreading funds thinly among more people. From this, it may be concluded that things do not auger well for family policy and family well-being in the near future.

Copyright © 2004 by Center for Early Education and Development

These materials may be freely reproduced for education/training or related activities. There is no requirement to obtain special permission for such uses. We do, however, ask that the following citation appear on all reproductions:

Reprinted with permission of the Center for Early Education and Development (CEED), College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, 1954 Buford Avenue, Suite 425, St. Paul, MN, 55108; phone: 612-625-2898; fax: 612-625-6619; e-mail: ceed@umn.edu, web site: http://cehd.umn.edu/ceed.