NCJ Number
170589
Journal
Substance Use and Misuse Volume: 33 Issue: 3 Dated: (1998) Pages: 751-764
Date Published
1998
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Data from a 1985 national survey of social mobility in Italy were used to study the role of the spouse's occupation as a resource for mobile individuals, based on the perspective that social positions are held by families rather than by individuals.
Abstract
The analysis considered three groups: men whose spouses did not have paid jobs, men whose spouses had paid jobs, and women whose spouses had paid jobs. The research focused on the social origins and destinations of the three groups, the social position corresponding to the participant's first job, the cultural background with respect to the educational achievement of the participant's father and mother, the participant's education, and the spouse's social position. Data were analyzed by means of discriminant analysis and back propagation neural networks. Results of both techniques revealed a clear distinction between the group of men whose spouses did not have paid jobs and the other two groups, which were distinguished mainly on the basis of the spouse's occupation. The spouse's occupation contributed to the social positioning of women more than men; mobility via marriage was typical of women, though men experienced it as well. In addition, Artificial Neural Networks provided a more precise estimate of group membership than did discriminant analysis. Tables, figures, footnotes, author biographies and photographs, and 17 references (Author abstract modified)