Masako Ishii-Kuntz’s research while affiliated with University of California, Riverside and other places

The goals of this symposium were to present interdisciplinary perspectives concerning family strategy in this era of economic recession, aging, and declining birthrates. Charles Yuji Horioka's paper, entitled “An International Comparison of Intra-Family Mutual Assistance during Recessions and Old Age,” and Masako Maeda's paper, entitled “How do we support isolated people?” discussed economic and social welfare aspects concerning family or family-like strategy. Rokuro Tabuchi's paper, entitled “Families and Intergenerational Relationships in an Era of Intergenerational Ambivalence: Approaches from a Family Strategy Perspective,” argued the effectiveness of a family-strategy approach in explaining generational ambivalence. The commentators, Kimiko Kimoto and Masahiro Yamada, discussed the limitations and possibilities of the family strategy approach, among others. Masako Ishii-Kuntz and Michiko Miyamoto chaired the symposium.

抄録 本論文では米国の家族に注目して，その変容と現状および多様性について述べる．米国の家族の多様性を生み出してきたのは，人種間の文化や慣習の違い，社会階層および地域格差である．よって，これらの社会的な背景を最初に述べ，次に主な家族の変化（離婚率の増加，晩婚化，法律婚世帯の減少，シングルペアレントの増加）と現状を U.S. Census などのデータを基に明らかにする．また，これらの多様性と変化に対応した家族の定義を提唱する．米国の家族社会学研究からは特に父親と家族，ゲイ・レズビアンの家族に焦点をあてて，主な結果をレビューする．最後に，家族社会学研究と密接に関係しているジェンダー視点について述べる．

Abstract Previous studies on fatherhood have focused primarily on the extent of paternal involvement from fathers' point of view and the impact of such involvement on children. These studies report that the level of paternal involvement varies depending on such factors as the fathers' ages, and the mothers' employment hours and income, and that the active participation by fathers has a positive impact on children's emotional and cognitive development. The current study not only focuses on paternal involvement but also on questions rarely addressed in the previous studies. How do children perceive the extent of fathers' involvement with them? Are their perceptions highly correlated with the report made by fathers? Further, how does paternal involvement influence children's affection toward fathers? In this paper, these questions are examined using a cross-national data collected in Japan and the United States. The major findings of the survey indicate that the levels of paternal involvement perceived by children and fathers are not as strongly correlated as were expected both in Japan and the United States. In both countries, children who spend more time with their fathers and who are younger and girls express more affection toward fathers. A cross-national difference was found with respect to the impact of social network on children's affection toward fathers.

We examine how relative resources, time availability, gender ideology, living arrangement, child-care demand, and job satisfaction are associated with the levels of younger Japanese fathers’ involvement in child care for preschoolers. A theoretical model that includes these factors is tested using 1994 data collected from Japanese fathers and mothers with preschool children (N = 442 couples). We find that practical considerations such as fathers’ shorter work hours, mothers’ full-time employment, fewer adults and more children in households, and younger ages of children are associated with higher levels of paternal involvement. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of attention to ways to encourage Japanese men's sharing of child-care responsibilities with their wives.

In a study on family and social networks, Elizabeth Bott argued that conjugal role performance is primarily a function of the configuration of friends and relatives associated with each spouse. For over three decades, this relationship has been repeatedly tested with unresolved findings due, in part, to different research techniques and the ambiguity in Bott's theory itself. To cast light on this intriguing issue, we transported Bott's ideas to Japan and applied them to a sample of 40 husbands and wives. Strong support was found for Bott's core hypothesis: Japanese couples who are each embedded in a high-density social network have segregated role relations; couples who are embedded in a low-density network have joint role relations. We then offer a causal model of Bott's theory to help illuminate what we see as a trend in role sharing among Japanese couples.

Studies focusing on interface between work and family life have increased over the past decade. Many of these studies advanced our understanding on the intricate work/family relationships that exist in the United States. This year, 1994, is the United Nation's International Year of the Family. In observance of this special year, this article discusses dominant perspectives on work and family in the United States and suggests the ways to refine our views by reviewing comparative research and studies conducted in other countries on work and family life. I offer recommendations for further international and comparative research and encourage family scholars to expand their views on work and family by considering more global perspectives.

This research explores the social networks among the growing numbers of men and women who have never married. We use a representative sample of 193 never-married men and 217 never-married women, of whom 73% of the men and 60% women of the were white and 16% of the men and 20% of the women were black. We hypothesize that single women have a more extensive social network than do men. Second, we investigate the impact of gender roles and norms of filial responsibility and selected sociodemographic variables upon social interaction by gender. Our findings indicate that gender differences are not as anticipated: (1) while never-married women interact more frequently with relatives than do never-married men, no differences were noted among friendship or neighborhood networks; (2) time spent in social interaction was more likely to differ by marital status than it was by gender; (3) compared to married persons, the never-married are overrepresented in the extreme categories of interaction, both isolated and very active; (4) gender role ideology and filial responsibility did not significantly predict social interaction for either men or women, with the exception that, among never-married men, those with lower expectations of filial responsibility spent more time with friends.

Using a representative sample of Japanese and American fathers and their adolescent children, this cross-national study examines the extent of paternal involvement and fathers' and children's perception toward their relationships. Consistent with the media image of involved fathers, we found that American fathers spend more time with their children than their Japanese counterparts. However, although American children's perception toward their fathers is associated with such interaction, Japanese children's views toward their fathers are not strongly related to the quantity of father-child interaction. Concerning fathers' evaluations, both American and Japanese men consider themselves understanding and feel closer to their children when they interact more frequently with their offspring. We conclude that a cross-national comparison of paternal involvement and perception toward fathers' roles must take into account different types of activities rather than aggregate time of father-child interaction. Several explanations for the observed findings are discussed and suggestions for future cross-national research on fatherhood are offered.