2019 ASA Conference Family Section Sessions

At the meeting in Philadelphia and through a member survey, we solicited recommended sessions for the annual meeting next year in New York City. Thanks to the members listed below for volunteering to organize our sessions. We will be holding three research paper sessions, with one session in cooperation with the Population Section. We will also have the Roundtables, followed by the Business Meeting. Paper submissions will be accepted starting November 1, 2018 until January 9, 2019.

Our next big task is organizing our reception.  We will be holding it jointly with the Population Section. If you would like to work on this event, please contact me to discuss (sharon.sassler@cornell.edu).
 
Research paper sessions, with organizers for each:
 
Variation in Sexual & Romantic Relationships by Socioeconomic Status
Sarah Halpern-Meekin, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Description: Marital delay, relationship dissolution and churning, and high divorce rates have extended the amount of time adults spend outside of formal marriage. Individuals can select from a veritable smorgasbord of romantic options, including casual, short-term sexual relationships, dating as an end toward finding a long-term partner, cohabitation or living-apart-together, and/or marriage. But intimate relationships can vary in important ways by socioeconomic status, shaped by the financial resources, environments, cultural norms, etc., within which partnering occurs. This session welcomes papers that examine variation and consistencies in sexual and romantic relationships across socioeconomic status.

Caregiving & Intergenerational Relationships
Matthew Wienshenker, Fordham University
Description:  How families provide care to their various members is often complex.  Researchers are increasingly expanding their lens to encompass family caregivers of both genders, grandparent care, and care relationships among siblings and distant and created kin.  Family strategies are as different as shift work, scaling back work hours, and outsourcing household tasks.  Institutional approaches involve various forms of leave, the entitlements to which vary by employer and by state.  This session welcomes papers which utilize social science research on the caregiving side of contemporary family life.
 
Reproduction of Families & Inequality
Christie Sennott, Purdue University
Description:  Reproduction and family life are intimately intertwined in contexts across the globe and often work together in ways that perpetuate existing inequality. This session will explore the relationship between inequality and issues surrounding the reproduction of families, including: decision-making, fertility preferences and intentions, ambivalence, the timing of childbearing, and interactions between partners. The session also invites papers that examine inequality and contextual variation in reproductive processes, such as by relationship or marital status, at the country level, or across the life course. We welcome papers that employ a variety of methods and theoretical perspectives.
 
Social Inequality in Family Formation
(Jointly organized with the Population Section)
Jessica Su, SUNY-Buffalo
Description:  Just as there is no single understanding of what constitutes a family, there is increasing heterogeneity in how families are formed in contemporary society. Much recent research draws on the diverging destinies perspective to examine variation in family processes.  This panel welcomes papers that consider the consequences of social inequality – whether by race/ethnicity, social class, nativity, sexual orientation, or other dimensions – for family formation. 
 
Roundtables
Teresa Swartz, University of Minnesota
 
Please be in touch if you have suggestions about mentoring, activities to do in New York, or are interested in chairing round tables.  Thanks!

Sincerely,
Sharon Sassler
Family Section Chair