A good marriage is associated with lower blood pressure, but a bad marriage is worse than being single, according to a preliminary study forthcoming in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. (USA Today)

Citation: J. Holt-Lunstad, W. Birmingham, & B. Jones. (2008). Is there something unique about marriage? The relative impact of marital status, relationship quality, and network social support on ambulatory blood pressure and mental health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. (Abstract available online)

Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns of First-Time Mothers 1961-2003 (PDF) uses SIPP data to examine employment patterns of mothers who gave birth to a first child between 1961 and 2003. The report is part of the Census Bureau’s Current Population Reports Household Economic Studies series (P70-113).

The PRI Library has received notice of the Council on Contemporary Families Annual Conference - Family Issues in Contention.

A new study reports that men are doing more housework, especially in families with two working parents, but women still do more (San Jose Mercury News). Men who do more housework may also improve their wives’ marital satisfaction and their own sex lives (AFP).

Citation: Oriel Sullivan & Scott Coltrane (2008). Men’s changing contribution to housework and child care (A Discussion Paper on Changing Family Roles prepared for the 11th Annual Conference of the Council on Contemporary Families, April 25-26, 2008, University of Illinois, Chicago).

The PRI Library has received announcement of a summer ICPSR workshop July 21-23, 2008.

The PRI Library has received announcement of a summer program workshop to be held July 24-25, 2008.

The PRI Library has received announcement of a call for papers for the European Science Foundation Conference to be held June 9-13, 2008 in Vadstena, Sweden.

Maternal grandmothers in the US are more likely to travel to visit their grandchildren than paternal grandparents, according to a study published in Evolutionary Psychology (Population Reference Bureau, Take a Number).

Citation:  Thomas V. Pollet, Daniel Nettle, & Mark Nelissen (2007). “Maternal Grandmothers Do Go the Extra Mile: Factoring Distance and Lineage into Differential Contact With Grandchildren.” Evolutionary Psychology 5(4): 832-43. (Available online [PDF]. Evolutionary Psychology is an open access peer-reviewed journal.)

Living Arrangements of Children: 2004 (PDF) is the latest report in the Household Economic Studies series of the Census Bureau’s Current Population Reports (P70-114). It uses SIPP data to examine the variety of living arrangements of US children.

The January 27 Washington Post featured a 3-part series on aging. (Free registration is required to view the WP articles.)

In No Country for Old People? Marc Freedman discusses “encore careers” for baby boomers. Freedman has also written a book, Encore: Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life.

In The New Alone, Elizabeth Marquardt discusses how family configurations (divorce, remarriage, “re-divorce”, single-parent childbearing) affect care in old age. Also see Divorce Foretells Child’s Future Care For Elderly Parent (a news story about Adam Davey’s work) and Marquardt’s book about her work with sociologist Norval Glenn, Between Two Worlds: The Inner Lives of Children of Divorce.

In A Hidden Crime, Marie Therese-Connelly sheds light on elder abuse and our lengthening life spans.