This application is to support the investigation of variation in the contexts of child-rearing in contemporary society and the consequences of this variation for the psychological well-being of parents. We seek to examine the structural sources of stress and strains that accompany the parental role and the ways in which parents cope with these and other conditions of life. Funds are sought to support the investigation of the following major issues: (1) the consequences of household living arrangements, including family size, household density and single- vs. two-parent arrangements, for parent-child relationships and parental psychological functioning; (2) the role of aspects of social integration in providing social support resources to parents; (3) the role of individual coping resources strategies in meeting the demands and strains of parenthood; and (4) the differences in adaptive responses across racial/ethnic categories. Data have been gathered, through two separate sample surveys of the Detroit metropolitan area. Information from the first sample was obtained as the subject of the 1982 Detroit Area Study, which focused on parental approaches to child-rearing. The second sample, which includes a systematic over-sampling of black households, was obtained during 1983. All aspects of the fieldwork, coding of data, and computer file construction have been completed. Both samples are of comparable size--each contains over 500 completed interviews with parents of children between the ages of 2 and 18--and the overall data file consists of interviews with over 400 black and 600 white families. Both samples include measures of parental attitudes and values, child- rearing practices, perceptions of strain in parenting, and a wide range of parental characteristics. The 1983 study also contains a variety of measures of psychological distress and well-being, social support, coping resources and adaptation to parenting. The present proposal seeks funds to carry out an analysis of these data sets with regard to the issues outlined here over a period of 24 months, from September 1, 1985 to August 31, 1987.
