[The family at the end of the century in Colombia]. / La familia de finales de siglo en Colombia.

PIP: Events related to the family, especially those involving children, are of extreme importance in the study of demographic evolution. A varied typology of families coexist in Colombia in addition to the traditional family based on a married couple. Colombia, like many Western countries, is undergoing a process of change in the patterns of family composition and structure. In the past 2 decades, nonmarital cohabitation has replaced marriage and traditional consensual union as the most accepted form of union among young people. Separation and divorce have led to one-parent families and successive unions, with children of different unions living together. Data from the 1995 National Survey of Demography and Health revealed that the proportions of nuclear and compound families have declined, while incomplete families headed by women, one-parent households, and nuclear households of childless couples have increased. The great majority of households still contain related persons. Consensual unions have increased and are predominant among women under age 30. 58% of families were nuclear, 30% were extended, 5.5% were compound, and 6.5% were one-person households. The proportion of households headed by women increased from 20% in 1978 to 25% in 1995. 64% of minors lived with both parents, 23% lived with the mother, and 2.4% lived with the father. 20% of children born during 1990-95 were conceived outside of a stable union. 58% of minors lived in poverty, with 35% living in extreme poverty. Households with minor children were poorer on average than households without minor children.^ieng

[Mexican families in their homeland and in exile]. / Familles mexicaines du pays et de l'exil.

"The present study takes advantage of the Mexican and American census simultaneity in Spring 1990 to compare the Mexican populations according to their migratory status. The analysis of their composition by age and by sex is completed by an estimation of the undercount of migrants omitted by these statistics.... The fertility of the Mexican immigrants is compared to that of the country of origin and to that of Mexican Americans so as to specify changes induced by the exile. But one of the most interesting mutations deals with the recomposition of the migrant's family in the U.S.: units of residence gain in complexity by the extended integration of relatives or individuals that do not belong to the nuclear family." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND SPA)

[Family or families? The individualization of women and the evolution of the family as an institution]. / Familia ou familias? Individuacao das mulheres e evolucao da familia como instituicao.

PIP: This special issue contains a section on the family in Brazil with two articles. The first, by Ana M. Goldani, examines how family characteristics in Brazil have changed since 1981 in response to the economic crises that have affected the country. The author uses census and survey data to analyze the relations between demographic trends and family characteristics. Particular attention is given to the growth of non-nuclear families, such as one-parent families. The second, by Dominique Fougeyrollas-Schwebel, also looks at changes in the family in Brazil, with particular reference to changes in women's work both within the family and in the work force.^ieng

[The Cuban family: principal sociodemographic features that have characterized its development and dynamics]. / La familia cubana: principales rasgos sociodemograficos que han caracterizado su desarrollo y dinamica.

"This study deals with the principal sociodemographic features which have characterized the development and dynamics of the Cuban family during the last decade. It also describes the way in which sociocultural changes taking place in Cuba have influenced the family. The article includes an analysis of average age at first marriage or union, types of marriage, changes in fertility rates (and how women contribute to these changes depending on their age), and the dissolution of the family unit." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

[Migration and socioeconomic changes in the community of Zoogocho, Oaxaca]. / Migracion y cambios socioeconomicos en la comunidad de Zoogocho, Oaxaca.

"This study of migration and the socioeconomic dynamics of the community of Zoogocho in the state of Oaxaca [Mexico] is an example of what happens in rural areas when Indian-campesinos establish contacts with foreign parts. The penetration of alien socioeconomic and cultural values alters both family and communal structures to such an extent that available resources prove insufficient in competing with the colliding external society. This leads to increasingly more complex movements of the population, the manifestations, causes and consequences of which vary through time not only in the places of origin but also in destinations." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

[The family in the twenty-first century: a demographic review]. / A familia no seculo XXI: um enfoque demografico.

PIP: The future of the family in Brazil is examined in the context of convergence theory concerning family transformation. In particular, the author considers whether industrialization and urbanization will affect the family in different societies in the same way. Factors considered include declining fertility, increased life expectancy, increased female labor force participation, sexual liberation, the fragility of conjugal relationships, and growing individualism. (SUMMARY IN ENG)^ieng

Migration and the transformation of employment and household structures.

Data collected in Colombia and Thailand in 1977 are used to "compare the employment and household characteristics of migrants before and after the move in order to assess the degree of change which accompanies migration. Moreover, these comparisons [are] made for migration streams between places at different levels in the urban hierarchy with the intention of determining within which streams the greatest transformations occur."

Abandoning the retentionist model: family and marriage change among the East Indians in rural Trinidad.

East Indian family life in rural Trinidad is usually analyzed within the framework of the retentionist model, which holds that the East Indians have successfully retained the basic institutions of their home culture. A restudy of Felicity village demonstrates that the model underestimates the impact of social and economic developments on family and marriage life in this community because it focuses mainly on ideal patterns of culture.