W167: Family and Work Identities During Times of Transition
Statement of Issues and Justification
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMCommunities and businesses are struggling to adapt to change in the workforce. These recent changes have resulted in individuals carrying more responsibilities both at home and at work. The ability of individuals and families to thrive, or merely to cope, is threatened. This project proposes to investigate how individuals regard themselves in their multiple roles, determining to what extent issues of identity and sense of self are key components of the well-being of individuals and families as they respond to social and economic changes.
JUSTIFICATION
Scope and Significance of Problem . Changing economic, demographic, and family characteristics are affecting individual well-being and workforce participation. The Western United States is an area experiencing a multitude of employment, community, and family transitions. Changing policies, such as welfare reform, farm bills, and increased regulation of natural resources, are affecting families ability to support themselves and individuals ability to obtain well-paying stable jobs, particularly in the rural communities of the West. Family transitions abound in the West. Divorce rates in the 11 Western states average 5.95 as compared to the national average of 4.4 per 1000 adults (U.S. Census Bureau, 1998). Communities in the Western United States experience relocation transitions to a greater extent than communities in other regions of the country, with 8 of the 11 Western states appearing in the list of 10 states with the greatest increases in population change (U.S. Census, 1998). Birth rates are also higher in the West (15.55) than the nation (14.6). This population change is characterized by a good deal of ethnic diversity, including Latinos, Native Americans and Eskimos, and Asian and Pacific Islanders (U.S. Census, 1998). In sum, the demographic profile of the Western United States is a profile of change, marked by family transitions, employment transitions, and community transitions. This shifting context is played out in the work opportunities and challenges of Western communities, and in how individuals and families create and respond to job opportunities. Many problems occur in changing communities; economic, social, political, cultural, and environmental aspects of communities are affected by population change (Cook, 1993). A specific example can be drawn from the experience of rural communities in recent economic downturns. In such cases, public policies are set in place which encourage relocation toward metropolitan areas where jobs exist. Yet, most community members choose not to relocate (Cook, 1993). Their commitments to family, friendship, and work networks take precedence over new and uncertain economic opportunities. Individuals responses to economic downturns and changes, hence, do not match with policies. This mismatch creates problems for communities and individuals.
One reason this mismatch occurs relates to how individuals making such decisions view themselves. Individuals who are strongly motivated to reside in rural communities when jobs have left often report that they stay because they view themselves as family members or friends in a meaningful network or as farmers, fishers, loggers, or other resource-dependent workers (Mederer, 1988). It is very difficult for them to make changes because transitions alter their views of themselves (their identities). Policies which recognize this difficulty could be helpful. A research project that undertakes to examine how individuals in their families construct work and family-based identities would illuminate how employment decisions are made, as well as how individuals manage conflicts in their work and family identities in their daily lives. This project will provide practical, accessible information that families can use to support them in work and family transitions. Professionals who work with families (e.g., employers, community administrators, social service administrators) are also audiences for the information, since they support families as they experience work and family transitions. The results of this project will be useful in planning for population changes as communities adapt to changes due to employment opportunities. Community professionals working with families experiencing structural changes such as working families who are first-time parents or those experiencing divorce could use the information to assist families through the transition. Results will also be useful in terms of establishing programs related to employment which are sensitive to the identities of individuals in their families (Cook, 1993).
Need For Cooperation . The W-167 group is uniquely situated to examine multiple identities within the context of work and family. Historically, this group has collaborated successfully for many years on research related to work and family. We have published together and presented colloquia as a unit at conferences such as the National Council for Family Relations, the American Home Economics Association and most recently at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Our group was represented in special issues of the journals:
Lifestyle:
Family and Economic Issues, The Family and Consumer Science Research Journal, and Family Relations. We have expertise in the field and can build in a cooperative manner on our previous contributions to this arena. Members of the group represent related but different disciplines and research interests. This complementarity is an important advantage to working as a group and brings considerable strength to a broader understanding of the issues that we can then share with our respective communities. Our members include: marriage and family therapists, licensed family and developmental psychologists, rural and family sociologists, family scientists, human developmentalists, specialists in family resource management, family life educators, and extension professionals. Members have research interests in couple relationships, parent-child relationships, married couples, post-divorce non-residential parents, children, adolescents, and single-parent families. This variety provides an opportunity for the W-167 to conduct identity research in relationship to work and family within a broad context of family structures.
Further, the opportunity for comparative study is enhanced with our cooperative interdisciplinary team, that is composed of members from Western states. The West is a region unique in its family, ethnic, and community diversity, so it provides an excellent locale for examining work and family identities within a backdrop of change. Beyond doing comparative studies in the West, we will collaborate with other research scientists from non-land-grant institutions. Scientists from the University of Prince Edward Island and Indiana University of Pennsylvania will be involved in data collection, analysis and dissemination. We also expect to work with Maureen Perry-Jenkins at University of Massachusetts. She is directing an NIMH funded study on the transitions of working class, new parents into paid work. Summary of Benefits . This project will provide practical, accessible information that families can use to support them in work and family transitions. Professionals who work with families (e.g., employers, school administrators, social service administrators, family therapists, extension specialists) are also audiences for the information, because they support families as they experience work and family transitions. Thus, following the tradition of action-oriented research (Settles, 1999), families and the professionals who work with them are viewed as collaborators in the research process.
Action-oriented researchers are urged to study phenomena that are within families abilities to change. This project embarks with a definition and conceptualization of identities as changeable, and thus within families power to change, in order to benefit themselves and their communities (Settles, 1999). Families are resilient and can change to modify their identities and their lives to enable them to experience well-being. Through work with extension professionals and community development professionals, the results of the project that relate to economic opportunities in Western communities will be not only disseminated but actually applied to assist communities and families.
As with previous W-167 projects, extension professionals will serve as facilitators with the researchers in dissemination and application of the research findings. During the 1995-2000 project, a web site was developed. This site contains research results and applications for the general public. This web site is part of the CYFERNET and will be updated under the new project. This website, as an outreach tool, provides coherence to the work of the different stations and provides citizens with awareness and access to the work of this multi-state project throughout the country.
Other forms of dissemination to be utilized include the news media and public lectures. Findings will be shared with academic colleagues through the presentation of papers in professional forums and the publication of articles in scholarly journals.
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