Suchergebnisse

AbstractDemographic trends, such as the graying of divorce, have led to increasing numbers of unmarried women in midlife, yet little is known about the meaning of sex and intimacy among this population. This article reviews the nascent literature on single women's sexual experiences at midlife, theoretical frameworks that have been employed, and key findings. Challenging the stereotype that single women in midlife are in sexual decline, research shows that many women embrace their newfound freedom, have increased agency in midlife, and have positive sexual experiences. Others face impediments to finding new partners and engaging in sexual activity, including the lasting effects of abuse from previous relationships and restrictive social norms. For some, sex becomes less important in midlife, often replaced by close relationships with family and friends. Research largely focuses on White, heterosexual women; research on the experiences of racial and sexual minorities and midlife women in the Global South is needed.

This article investigates the relationship among major life events, household characteristics, and migration among adolescents and young adults in contemporary Malawi. Two main questions are investigated: What are the socioeconomic and demographic determinants of migration? and How do schooling, first marriage, and work relate to migration patterns? The study uses panel data collected from a survey designed specifically to explore socioeconomic and demographic aspects of youths' transitions to adulthood. Respondents were tracked when they moved. Moves are not uncommon, and the predominant reasons for moves are noneconomic. Although historically ethnic traditions in this area have held that girls and women usually do not move upon marrying, young women are now more likely to move than young men, with marriage being a main reason for doing so. Closer ties to the head of the household are associated with less movement for both women and men.

We study how considerations of male circumcision as both a favourable practice and as protective against HIV are linked with ethnicity in sub-Saharan Africa, where many ethnic groups do not traditionally circumcise. We focus on Malawi, a country with a high HIV prevalence but low male circumcision prevalence. Survey data from a population-based random sample in rural Malawi (N=3400) was analysed for ethnoregional patterns in attitudes toward male circumcision. We used logit regression models to measure how reported circumcision status, region of residence, and ethnic identity relate to attitudes toward circumcision. Overall, Malawians reported more negative than positive opinions about male circumcision, but attitudes toward circumcision varied by ethnicity and region. The implications for agencies and governments aggressively scaling up the provision of male circumcision are clear: acceptance of circumcision as a tool for HIV prevention could be low in societies divided by ethnoregional identities that also shape the practice of circumcision.

AbstractIn Malawi, Africa, the median age at first marriage is among the lowest on the continent and adolescent fertility rates are among the highest. Using high‐frequency panel data from the country designed to follow single women and men into marriage, we examine the extent to which premarital fertility is associated with the timing of marriage. Two notable findings emerge. First, premarital fertility typically leads to a more rapid transition into marriage, compared to not having had a premarital conception or birth, and this effect is as strong for men as it is for women. Second, among women with premarital fertility, those who are wealthier, and those who have two parents alive, have lower odds ofnotmarrying. Among men with premarital fertility, however, no patterns predict their subsequent marital outcomes. This study contributes to the literature on fertility and marriage in sub‐Saharan Africa by including men in the analysis.

This study investigates the degree to which African‐American households are socially integrated into a multiracial, middle‐class suburban neighborhood near Dallas, Texas. Although U.S. neighborhoods are becoming increasingly heterogeneous in composition, little is known about black households' participation in social and informational networks within multiracial middle‐class neighborhoods. Drawing on theories of the gift and social capital, we view neighborhoods in terms of complex patterns of inter‐household exchanges of material and symbolic goods. We predict that black‐led households will exchange at a lower rate with their neighbors than will other households and test this prediction using survey data collected from 119 households and from follow‐up interviews with eight black heads of household. Our main finding from the survey is that black households exchanged at a significantly lower rate than did other households, ceteris paribus. The follow‐up interviews found little evidence of black racial homophily in neighboring or of racism within the neighborhood. However, the low rate of black inter‐household exchanges may be partly explained by black head of households' personal experiences of racism outside the neighborhood and by a racially constituted disposition against borrowing from neighbors. We discuss implications of our findings for research on racial integration and segregation.

The AIDS epidemic in sub‐Saharan Africa is fertile ground for examining how moral evaluations evolve over time and across different settings. We compare the discourse on AIDS in Malawi as presented in the media with that of everyday conversations. Drawing on two sets of texts, newspaper articles and conversational journals, produced over a ten‐year period from 1999 through 2008, we analyze their moral injunctions, or what individuals should or should not do in response to the AIDS epidemic. The predominant injunctions in the early years in both sources were premarital abstinence and marital fidelity. Following the introduction of HIV testing and treatment, however, the discourses diverged. Discourse in the media turned toward moral injunctions requiring individuals to interact with authoritative institutions; thus the conceptual center of gravity of the struggle against AIDS in the media shifted from collectivities of individuals to collectivities of institutions. Rural Malawians, however, received these moral injunctions with great skepticism and continued to advise each other to prevent death by controlling one's sexual appetites.