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The signs that Australia is again heading into a period of rising interest rates raises old questions about the impact on families wanting to buy their own home. If interest rates and house prices increase in the way they did in the 1980s, and incomes remain steady or fall in real terms, would we expect to see a sharp fall in rates of home ownership. Despite such conditions in the past, the proportion of families who are owner-occupiers remains remarkably high. Part of the explanation for continuing high rates of home ownership is that families, and the housing market, are not static and passive, they adjust and interact to meet changing economic and social opportunities and problems. This article describes three of the adjustment processes by which families pursue their ownership ambitions and confound forecasters of falling rates of home ownership. Here, the three factors are called substitution, postponement and market adjustment. (Introduction edited)
Eriksen, J. Day care and the integration of
disabled children in Norway.
More than 40 per cent of all children in Norway under seven years of age participate in formal day care. The priority right of disabled children to place in mainstream care is enshrined in the Norwegian Child Day Care Centre Act of 1975, and applies to a wide range of disabilities including physical, intellectual, learning and behavioural. This article discussed the experience in Norway of integrating disabled children into mainstream day care. It is based on a Norwegian study which looked at factors conditioning admission of disabled children to mainstream day care centres, with particular attention to the role of the mandatory right of disabled children to day care centres. (Introduction)
Harrison, M. News from the Family
Court.
This article begins by discussing two recent decisions of the Family Court regarding the costs of children for child maintenance involving parents who separated prior to October 1989. The Family Court referred to calculations of the costs of children by Lovering and Lee as well as the Stage Two child support formula. Next the author discusses amendments to the Family Law Act relating to children and dispute resolution which strengthen the approach of resolving disputes by means other than litigation. Conciliation and mediation are now referred to as primary procedures. Other reforms introduced in the amending legislation are the removal of the terms 'custody' and 'access' and the replacement of the terminology and concept of parental guardianship with that of parental responsibility.
Hartley, R. Young adults and
friendship.
'Friends, in contrast to kin, are chosen. The sense of self we develop in childhood, and the identifications we make, are crucial in our later choice of friends. At the same time, friends may have a powerful effect on the development of a satisfactory sense of self, yet only in fairly recent times has the role of friendship in our lives been the subject of detailed enquiry'. This article reports on findings from the Becoming Adult Study a study of 138, 23 year olds conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Issues addressed by the study include: men and their friends, women and their friends, cross-sex friendships and calling on friends for help.
This article briefly reports on a number of positive outcomes emerging from the International Year of the Family 1994. These include: the high profile the International Year has received in the media, the focus of attention at all levels of government on family well being, recognition of the cultural, ethnic and structural diversity of Australia's families, the contribution of families to society through unpaid work and recognition of the dilemmas of people trying to balance their family responsibilities with their work.
Mills, E. Telephone interviewing at the
Institute.
This article reports on the Australian Institute of Family Studies use of a computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) to conduct survey research. The author explains the benefits of CATI over traditional survey methods, the Institute Studies CATI has been used in, and the advantages of telephone interviewing over face-to-face interviews.
Millward, C. Intergenerational family
support.
This article discusses a recently published book by David de Vaus, entitled, Letting Go, which examines the dynamics of adult child - parent relationships. The book queries whether close involvement with family necessarily assists in mutual support and exchange. De Vaus classifies adult parent - child relationships into four types: parent centred; child centred; remote; and attached. The first two types of relationships are one sided, being manipulated by either the parent or adult child. The remote relationship does not involve support or assistance. It is only in the attached relationship where both sides respect each other's privacy and yet maintain a caring relationship, that the relationship can be said to be a supportive and functional one.
Rezac, S J. Role of parental divorce in
American patterns of intergenerational helping.
This article reports on an American study which explored the effects of parental divorce and remarriage on the extent to which young adults believed they could ask for assistance, the amount of assistance parents provided, and whether offspring helped parents. To examine these questions the author drew on a twelve year longitudinal study titles Study of Marital Instability Over the Lifecourse that included interviews with an American sample of parents and their young adult offspring. The authors of the study were Sandra Rezac, Paul Amato and Alan Booth. The study found that offspring from both intact and divorced families appear to be getting the same amount of parental assistance. Offspring of single mothers, however, gave more and received less than offspring of mothers in first marriages and remarriages.
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