Fathers’ Time Off Work After the Birth of a Child and Relationship Dissolution among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged U.S. Families

Relationship dissolution is common among socioeconomically disadvantaged parents. This study utilizes longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) to assess whether fathers’ time off work after the birth of a child reduces the likelihood of parents dissolving their relationship. We also consider whether the association between fathers’ time off work and relationship dissolution is mediated by fathers’ support of mothers and moderated by union type. Results indicate that the risk of relationship dissolution is lower when fathers take time off work after the birth of a child. Results also suggest that longer periods of time off work (i.e., two or more weeks) are associated with a lower risk of relationship dissolution among married couples, although overall evidence for variations by union type are mixed. Additionally, there is evidence that the association between fathers’ time off work and relationship dissolution is at least partially explained by higher levels of relationship support among fathers who took time off work after the birth of a child. Overall, findings suggest that providing fathers with opportunities to take time off for the birth of a child may help to promote relationship stability among socioeconomically disadvantaged couples in the U.S.

Daily Marital Strain and Sleep in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Couples

Marital strain has consistently been linked to many indicators of daily health and well-being, including sleep. Prior studies show that, on days when marital strain is higher, women in different-sex couples experience poorer sleep outcomes. However, this work has not yet considered whether and how these relationships differ for men and women in same-sex couples. Using 10 days of dyadic diary data from 756 midlife U.S. men and women in 378 gay, lesbian, and heterosexual marriages, we examine the associations of daily marital strain with sleep quality and duration and consider whether these relationships differ across union type. Results suggest that increased marital strain is associated with poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration, but only for women married to men. These findings underscore the importance of including same-sex couples when exploring linkages between marital dynamics and health, especially when considering how gender impacts these processes.

A case of cervical myelopathy following chronic hypertrophic non-union type 2 odontoid fracture managed with posterior C1 decompression and C1-3 instrumentation: Case report and brief review of literature

Background: Type 2 odontoid fractures are the most common type of fracture of the axis. In rare cases, nonunion of a type 2 odontoid fracture can be hypertrophic resulting in myelopathy due to cervical cord compression. Case Description: A 48-year-old male presented with hypertrophic nonunion of a chronic type 2 odontoid fracture resulting in cord compression/myelopathy. This was adequately treated utilizing a C1 decompression and C1-3 instrumented fusion; no anterior procedure was necessary. Conclusion: Here, we successfully treated a patient with a hypertrophic nonunion of a chronic type 2 odontoid fracture utilizing a posterior only approach consisting of a C1 laminectomy with C1-C3 fusion.

Contribution of the Rise in Cohabiting Parenthood to Family Instability: Cohort Change in Italy, Great Britain, and Scandinavia

In this study, we investigate through microsimulation the link between cohabiting parenthood and family instability. We identify mechanisms through which increases in cohabiting parenthood may contribute to overall increases in separation among parents, linking micro-level processes to macro-level outcomes. Analyses are based on representative surveys in Italy, Great Britain, and Scandinavia (represented by Norway and Sweden), with full histories of women’s unions and births. We first generate parameters for the risk of first and higher-order birth and union events by woman’s birth cohort and country. The estimated parameters are used to generate country- and cohort-specific populations of women with stochastically predicted family life courses. We use the hypothetical populations to decompose changes in the percentage of mothers who separate/divorce across maternal birth cohorts (1940s to 1950s, 1950s to 1960s, 1960s to 1970s), identifying how much of the change can be attributed to shifts in union status at first birth and how much is due to change in separation rates for each union type. We find that when cohabiting births were uncommon, increases in parents’ separation were driven primarily by increases in divorce among married parents. When cohabiting parenthood became more visible, it also became a larger component, but continued increases in parents’ divorce also contributed to increasing parental separation. When cohabiting births became quite common, the higher separation rates of cohabiting parents began to play a greater role than married parents’ divorce. When most couples had their first birth in cohabitation, those having children in marriage were increasingly selected from the most stable relationships, and their decreasing divorce rates offset the fact that increasing proportions of children were born in somewhat less stable cohabiting unions.

Relationship Quality Among Older Cohabitors: A Comparison to Remarrieds

Objectives Later life marital patterns have undergone shifts over the past few decades, including a rapid growth of cohabiting unions. Despite the increase in older adult cohabitation, research on this population has been slow to keep up. Intimate relationships are linked to well-being and relationship quality is especially important because high-quality relationships offer a number of benefits for well-being, whereas poor-quality relationships often are detrimental. This study compares cohabiting and remarried individuals on two measures of relationship quality. Method Using data from the 2010 and 2012 Health and Retirement Study, I investigate the positive and negative relationship quality of cohabitors relative to their remarried counterparts and whether the association of union type and relationship quality varies by race. Results Across both positive and negative relationship quality, I found few differences between cohabiting and remarried individuals. Black cohabitors report higher positive relationship quality than remarrieds, whereas White cohabitors and remarrieds do not differ. Discussion These findings suggest that cohabiting unions and remarriages are comparable among White older adults, but that Black cohabitors may gain more in terms of positive relationship quality than their remarried counterparts.

Marital and Cohabiting Union Dissolution in Middle and Later Life

This study examined the timing and risk factors for subsequent union disruption among individuals who were in a marital or cohabiting union at age 45, focusing particularly on the role of prior union history and children. Using retrospective data on union histories from the 2007 Canadian General Social Survey ( n = 17,194), the results of life-table analysis revealed that individuals in cohabiting relationships faced a greater risk of union disruption in middle or later life than those who were married. Cox proportional hazard models showed that both union biography (duration, remarriage/repartnership) and family biography (children born inside/outside union, child age) influenced union dissolution through separation or divorce, but their impact differed depending on union type and gender. These findings suggest that when it comes to marriage and cohabitation, the middle and later years of life are neither a clear continuation nor a complete departure from earlier patterns.

ISSUES OF INTERACTION BETWEEN NATIONAL AUTHORITIES AND AUTHORITIES OF INTEGRATION ASSOCIATION

The article analyzes the problems of strengthening and deepening of interstate cooperation and collaboration, which is expressed in the development of integration associations in various regions of the world, evaluates approaches to the models of management associations (often considered as a separate level of public authority) and their interaction with national authorities. This article reviews current issues of relationship and collaboration of national and intergovernmental bodies considering to various types of integration associations, examines the grounds and forms of their interaction, both in cooperation and in connection with the conflict situations. Also the article is dedicated to the linkages between certain organs within the associations, with particular attention paid to the problems of interaction of the supreme national and inter-state courts. Moreover there are an assessment of trends in the development of integration associations and approaches to their functioning taking into account modern realities. Problems of interaction between national authorities and authorities of integration association in different forms are often studied to bringing the experience of the specific integration associations, differing by scale spread, solidarity linkages within the union, sustainable development, etc. In particular, the article analyzes the example of the functioning of the European Union, which is the most successful supra-national integration union type, which allows to show hierarchical relationships subordinate authorities within the integration association. The author also refers to the experience of the Eurasian Economic Union, which illustrates control and coordination of management type within the union.

Relationship Quality Among Cohabiting Versus Married Couples

Using data from the nationally representative 2010 Married and Cohabiting Couples Survey of different-sex cohabiting and married couples, we compared the relationship quality of today’s cohabitors and marrieds. Consistent with diffusion theory and recent conceptual work on the deinstitutionalization of marriage, we found that the relationship between union type and relationship quality is now bifurcated with direct marrieds reporting the highest relationship quality and cohabitors without marriage plans reporting the lowest marital quality. In the middle were the two largest groups: marrieds who premaritally cohabited and cohabitors with plans to marry. These two groups did not differ in terms of relationship quality. This study adds to the growing literature indicating that the role of cohabitation in the family life course is changing in the contemporary context.