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AbstractThe authors estimated the timing of repartnering among individuals who had experienced a union dissolution at age 45 or older, treating cohabitation and marriage as competing risks. The analysis used retrospective data from the 2007 Canadian General Social Survey and life table analysis and Cox models to examine patterns of repartnering. The study offered three major conclusions. First, age constraints on repartnering are large when union dissolution occurs in midlife or later. This age constraint is particularly strong for women and contributes to a wide gender gap in repartnering. Second, in contrast to repartnering at earlier life stages, cohabitation is not the predominant choice of repartnering for those experiencing union dissolution at age 45 and older. Third, union exit status (divorce, cohabitation separation, and widowhood) is a key repartnering differential. The most disadvantageous routes to repartnering are through the experience of cohabitation separation and widowhood.

Using National Population Health Survey data and the stress process model, this study investigates the relationship between food insufficiency and the risk of depression among Canadian adults. The study presents three principal findings. First, after controlling for conventional socioeconomic and socio-demographic variables, food insufficiency increases the risk of depression and actually predicts this risk better than measures of low income, main source of income, and education. Second, the negative effect of food insufficiency is not attributable to social resources disparities, even though these resources significantly reduce the size of the effect. Third, the effects of food insufficiency on depression are generally stronger for women than for men, but the results also indicate that single fathers from food insufficient households face more depression than other groups, including single mothers.

Using data from the 1995 General Social Survey (N= 2,639), this study examines two competing repartnering choices made by Canadians after first union disruption: marriage or cohabitation. About 42% of women and 54% of men form a second union 5 years after union disruption, with cohabitation being the most prevalent choice. The timing of second union formation is more rapid among former cohabitors than among the divorced. Widowhood is an acute barrier to repartnering. Gender is the most crucial determinant in the repartnering process; men have a higher rate of second union formation than women. The hazard rate of second union formation also varies by age at union disruption, duration of the first union, prior fertility (for men only), education, employment, and religion.

This study investigates the reasons for the gaps in educational attainment between children from married biological parents and alternative families. Socioeconomic resources and parental behaviors are well‐established reasons, but these factors do not explain the entire relationship between family structure and educational outcomes. We argue that these parental‐level factors influence children's academic socialization and thus indirectly contribute to differential educational outcomes. Hence, this study considers whether children's academic characteristics are a complementary explanation for the effect of family structure on education. The logistic regression analysis demonstrates that these characteristics represent an important explanation for the lower educational attainment of children from alternative families. The decomposition analysis shows that academic characteristics are the predominant reason for the gaps in postsecondary educational attainment between children from married biological parents and alternative families. These characteristics account for a relatively higher proportion of these gaps than the combined direct effects of parental socioeconomic status and parental behaviors.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether there are intergenerational differences in the self-perceived integration of immigrants. The analysis disentangles this relationship from the effects of ethno-racial status and other individual-level characteristics. In addition, it examines the effects of neighborhood socio-demographic composition, such as living in an ethnic enclave. The study merges data from the 2001 Canadian Census and the post-censal Ethnic Diversity Survey. The study focuses on two dimensions of self-perceived integration, sense of belonging and feelings of discomfort living in the host society. The core finding is that the relationship between immigrant generation and integration is complex. This relationship is conditional on ethno-racial status and neighborhood of residence. The findings question "straight-line" theories of intergenerational progress and demonstrate the need to use a fine-grained approach for understanding the integration process.

This study examines the relationship between the racial composition of urban Canadian neighborhoods and national belonging and in–group belonging. The study employs multilevel data and an instrumental variable approach to estimate differences in sense of belonging between individuals from racially heterogeneous and racially homogenous neighborhoods. The study demonstrates that residential exposure to racial diversity has an independent effect on belonging, after adjusting for individual– and neighborhood–level variables that could confound this relationship. National belonging is strongest in heterogeneous neighborhoods, although this effect of diversity is nonsignificant for visible minorities. In–group belonging is weakest in heterogeneous neighborhoods, but this effect also reflects the attitudes of whites. The primary conclusions support intergroup contact theory, which suggests that exposure to racial diversity is an important mechanism for reducing intergroup antagonisms and promoting a cosmopolitan sense of belonging.

This article examines the influence of family structure on children's short-term psychosocial behavioral outcomes, including emotional disorder, conduct disorder, and prosocial behavior. The analysis uses five waves of data (1994-2003) from Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth to model how living in a cohabitational household (two biological parents) and how experiencing cohabitation dissolution influence children's behaviors, comparing these effects to outcomes observed in children from married biological-parent households. The findings indicate that growing up in a married biological-parent household does not offer a clear advantage. Most differences in behavioral problems across family structure associate with household demographics, low-income status, family dysfunction, and parental nurturance. As such, this study contributes two important findings. First, the results do not support the hypothesis that nonmarital cohabitation represents an undesirable child-rearing environment. Second, cohabitation dissolution has a nonsignificant effect on children's behaviors, which is surprising considering that divorce has a well-established harmful effect.

SummaryChinese youth represent a high-risk group for sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies, but there is little understanding of their sexual behaviours. Using nationally representative data, this study examines the social and demographic correlates of condom use by Chinese youth at sexual debut. It also examines the relationship context of condom use at sexual debut. The results indicate that condom use at sexual debut is very low in China, confirming that youth are a high-risk group. The results demonstrate that age and educational attainment are the primary indicators of condom use. Early sexual debut associates with a greater risk of unsafe sex at sexual debut and higher educational attainment increases the likelihood of self-protecting behaviours. The likelihood of self-protection also increases when sexual partners plan their sexual debut or discuss contraception beforehand. The results suggest that interventions are needed to provide youth with better knowledge about self-protection.

This study examines the short-term effects of change and stability in family type on the educational adjustment of children aged 10-15 years. Data for study are drawn from five waves of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Our focus is on comparing cohabiting (biological and step) families and marital families. No differences are observed for changes in school engagement based on cohabitation. Perceived achievement shows greater declines for children in stable cohabiting relationships compared to stable marital relationships. Children from families in which a cohabiting relationship dissolved over a two-year period do not differ from children from stable cohabiting families. Children from families in which a marital relationship dissolved report significantly less school engagement and perceived achievement than children from stable married families. The dissolution of a cohabiting relationship has more negative effects on children's education than divorce. These differences remain after accounting for socioeconomic status and family process.