The Next Generation: Jewish Children and Adolescents

173 Pages·2000·15.75 MB·English

by  Ariela Keysar

THE NEXT GENERATION
SUNY Series in American Jewish Society in the 1990s
Barry A. Kosmin and Sidney Goldstein, editors
THE NEXT GENERATION
Jewish Children and Adolescents
Ariela Keysar, Barry A. Kosmin,
and Jeffrey Scheckner
State University of New York Press
Cover photograph courtesy
of Rocky Raco
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
©2000 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including
electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, address State University of New York Press
State University Plaza, Albany, New York 12246
Production by Dana Foote
Marketing by Dana E. Yanulavich
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Keysar, Ariela, 1955-
The next generation: Jewish children and adolescents I Ariela Keysar, Barry A.
Kosmin, and Jeffrey Scheckner.
p. cm. - (SUNY series in American Jewish society in the 1990s)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-4543-7 (alk. paper) - ISBN 0-7914-4544-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Jewish children-United States--Social conditions-20th century---Statistics.
2. Jewish teenagers-United States--Social conditions-20th century---Statistics.
3. Jews--Socialization-United States--Statistics. 4. 1990 National Jewish Population
Survey. I. Kosmin, Barry A. (Barry Alexander) II. Scheckner, Jeffrey, 1953- III. Tide.
IV. Series.
E184.36.S65 K49 2000
305.23--dc21 00-024953
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For our children:
Ethan
Peta-Doris, Guy, and Jessica
Joshua and Harlan

CONTENTS
Tables and Figures XI
Foreword xv
Acknowledgments XVll
Introduction and Plan for Analysis XIX
CHAPTER ONE
Theory and Methodology
Religious Socialization / 1
Socialization ofC hildren / 2
Adolescent Development / 4
Socialization into a Subculture / 8
The 1990 NJPS Survey Methodology / 10
Definitions and QualifYing Points / 11
CHAPTER Two
The Demography of the Jewish Child Population 13
Introduction / 13
Age Distribution / 14
Demographic Profile by Category ofJ ewish ness / 14
Age Distribution by Category ofJ ewish ness / 16
Age Distribution oft he Core Jewish Child Population in
Comparison with the White us. Child Population / 17
Sex Ratios ofC ore Jewish Children / 18
Geographic Distribution and Category ofJ ewish ness by Census
Region / 19
Demographic Trends oft he Jewish Child Population / 22
Summary /24
CHAPTER THREE
The Impact of Home Background on the Socialization of Children 25
Introduction /25
Household Structure: Comparative Data oft he Jewish and US.
White Child Populations / 26
Jewish Single-Parent Household Patterns / 27
Parental Marriage Patterns and Custody Arrangements /29
Non-Normative Household Patterns /31
VII
VtlZ Contents
Household Composition and Per Capita Income /31
Working Mothers and Household Composition /34
Education oft he Parents /36
Private versus Public Schoolingfor Children /37
Patterns ofJ ewish Education oft he Children /38
Household Composition andJewish Characteristics oft he Family /41
Summary / 44
CHAPTER FOUR
Parental Decision Making Regarding Children's Religious Socialization 47
Introduction / 47
The Jewish Child Population in Interfaith Families-the Data / 48
Theoretical Framework / 49
The Theory in Its Social Context / 50
Data /51
Hypotheses / 53
Methodology / 53
Findings / 54
FlowchartAnalysis ofCHAID Results /55
Multivariate Analysis / 58
Beyond Religious Identity / 58
Summary / 62
CHAPTER FIVE
Living in a Unique Jewish Environment: The Children of New York 65
Introduction / 65
The Demographic Characteristics oft he Children ofN ew York / 68
The Religious and Social Jewish Environment ofC hildren in
New York and the United States / 68
Summary / 77
CHAPTERSrx
It Takes a Whole Community to Raise Jewish Children 79
Introduction / 79
Day-Care and After-School Programs under Jewish and Non-Jewish
Auspices / 79
Adoptive Families / 82
Participation in Jewish Camping / 86
Participation in Jewish Youth Groups / 87
Summary / 88