Re: various

On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 08:20:57 -0700 Carol or John Burgeson
<burgytwo@juno.com> writes:
> D. F. Siemens, Jr. wrote: "Additionally, a factor in delinquency is
> being
> raised in a single-parent household."
>
> I wonder if this is true -- or just "perceived common sense." The
> recent
> book, FREAKONOMICS, indicates that a child's character isn't much
> affected whether or not he had one parent or two, whether or not he
> was
> sent to day care, whether or not his mother worked, whether he had
> two
> mommies or two daddies or one of each. Reference is made to a 1998
> book
> by Judith Harris called THE NURTURE ASSUMPTION, where these claims
> are
> reinforced. Steven Pinker, in BLANK SLATE, has endorsed the claims.
>
I cannot give a published source, but the information I recall is that
single parent boys in Los Angeles are much more likely to join violent
gangs that those with two parents. The causative factor cited was that
the single parent offspring were looking for a support group, missing
from promiscuous and working single parents. Some single parents do a
remarkable job raising their children, but it is more difficult. And
there are "garbage kids" in intact families. The situation is not simple,
human affairs seldom are, but there is a trend.

The authors you cite indicate that they have an axe to grind. My
sociologist colleagues were clear that it is possible to skew survey
results to achieve desired results.
Dave
Received on Mon Mar 27 14:18:45 2006