614 BOOK REVIEWS are more active in economic activities-90 adopt a life-span developmental perspective percent of the leadership positions in the kib- stressing both social and psychological as- butz are held by men-and women in cultural pects of women's lives.The focus on preven- and social activities.Women nowadays care tion speaks to issues of social policy while the more about looking attractive than their crisis-intervention emphasis lends itself to pioneer mothers and grandmothers apparently applied fields.The authors aim their work at did (or could afford to).And mothers have undergraduate students in sociology,psychol- been behind "bringing the children home"in ogy,and women's studies.The book contains kibbutzim where children sleep at night in the three parts,each preceded by an introduction children's houses. covering the content and thematic linkages. There has been much discussion about the Theoretical issues are the topic of the four "problem of the women'in the kibbutzim; chapters included in part 1.Some of these recently,one of the kibbutz federations articles provide general models that establish passed a number of resolutions to improve the a useful basis for understanding specific situation of women,including having men problems of women.For example,Lucia Gil- comprise 20 percent of the educational staff bert's model concerns achievement among that works with young children.Yet survey women.She posits various social and psy- evidence does not support the view that there chological factors,such as a lack of female is widespread dissatisfaction with sexual role models,cultural sex-role attitudes, equality on the kibbutz.Leviatan,Palgi, women's expectations for success,and self- and Rosner,whose data are the most recent confidence,that affect women's ability to and representative in the book,show that achieve.She concludes that the unequal dis- women are not less satisfied with their work tribution of power associated with sexual ob- than men (although their involvement in and jectification and discriminatory practices are aspirations for work are lower than men's). major barriers to women's achievement. Furthermore,they argue that service work is On the other hand,Dorr and Friedenberg's not less esteemed than production work by model is too specific to increase understand- rank-and-file members in recent years,as the ing of women's social or psychological prob- kibbutz has moved toward a more service/ lems.However,the authors present a clear knowledge-based economy.Their studies also description of object-relations theory in their indicate that men are almost as involved as analysis of mother/child separation.The women in domestic and educational duties chapter by Mulvey and Dohrenwend,in the within the family. last section,presents a general model of the They argue,as Betty Friedan does in the impact of stressful life events on women's preface,that the kibbutz must find a way to mental illness and should have been included honor the family without sacrificing women. among these articles. Kibbutz men must come to value female The focus on social problems in section 2 values and experiences as much as kibbutz will be of particular interest to sociologists. women have been expected to value the world Many of the articles expand some traditional of men.If this comes to pass even partially, topics in this field by discussing situations that we will have much to learn from the kibbutz. have gender-specific implications.For exam- ple,an excellent article by Riger and Gordon suggests that women's fear of rape exacer- bates their general fear of crime.The authors' Social and Psychological Problems of solution is to encourage women to learn active Women:Prevention and Crisis Intervention, strategies of self-protection,thereby decreas- edited by ANNETTE U.RICKEL,MEG GER- ing their sense of vulnerability and overall fear RARD,and IRA ISCOE.Washington,DC: of victimization.Another chapter,by Albino Hemisphere Publishing,1984.322 pp.$27.45 and Tedesco,examines the relationship be- cloth tween low socioeconomic status and in- creasing health risks along with structural JEAN L.BLANCHARD barriers to quality health care for women.The University of California,Santa Barbara authors assess three types of health-care pro- grams currently available to women and rec- This anthology contains sixteen previously ommend health-care policy changes aimed at unpublished articles dealing with unique empowering women. problems faced by women.Most articles Topics in the last section address psycho- Contemporary Sociology,September 1985,Volume 14,Number 5 This content downloaded from 183.195.251.166 on Sat,16 Jan 2016 12:34:00 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions614 BOOK REVIEWS are more active in economic activities-90 percent of the leadership positions in the kib￾butz are held by men-and women in cultural and social activities. Women nowadays care more about looking attractive than their pioneer mothers and grandmothers apparently did (or could afford to). And mothers have been behind "bringing the children home" in kibbutzim where children sleep at night in the children's houses. There has been much discussion about the "problem of the women" in the kibbutzim; recently, one of the kibbutz federations passed a number of resolutions to improve the situation of women, including having men comprise 20 percent of the educational staff that works with young children. Yet survey evidence does not support the view that there is widespread dissatisfaction with sexual equality on the kibbutz. Leviatan, Palgi, and Rosner, whose data are the most recent and representative in the book, show that women are not less satisfied with their work than men (although their involvement in and aspirations for work are lower than men's). Furthermore, they argue that service work is not less esteemed than production work by rank-and-file members in recent years, as the kibbutz has moved toward a more service/ knowledge-based economy. Their studies also indicate that men are almost as involved as women in domestic and educational duties within the family. They argue, as Betty Friedan does in the preface, that the kibbutz must find a way to honor the family without sacrificing women. Kibbutz men must come to value female values and experiences as much as kibbutz women have been expected to value the world of men. If this comes to pass even partially, we will have much to learn from the kibbutz. Social and Psychological Problems of Women: Prevention and Crisis Intervention, edited by ANNETTE U. RICKEL, MEG GER￾RARD, and IRA ISCOE. Washington, DC: Hemisphere Publishing, 1984. 322 pp. $27.45 cloth. JEAN L. BLANCHARD University of California, Santa Barbara This anthology contains sixteen previously unpublished articles dealing with unique problems faced by women. Most articles adopt a life-span developmental perspective stressing both social and psychological as￾pects of women's lives. The focus on preven￾tion speaks to issues of social policy while the crisis-intervention emphasis lends itself to applied fields. The authors aim their work at undergraduate students in sociology, psychol￾ogy, and women's studies. The book contains three parts, each preceded by an introduction covering the content and thematic linkages. Theoretical issues are the topic of the four chapters included in part 1. Some of these articles provide general models that establish a useful basis for understanding specific problems of women. For example, Lucia Gil￾bert's model concerns achievement among women. She posits various social and psy￾chological factors., such as a lack of female role models, cultural sex-role attitudes, women's expectations for success, and self￾confidence, that affect women's ability to achieve. She concludes that the unequal dis￾tribution of power associated with sexual ob￾jectification and discriminatory practices are major barriers to women's achievement. On the other hand, Dorr and Friedenberg's model is too specific to increase understand￾ing of women's social or psychological prob￾lems. However, the authors present a clear description of object-relations theory in their analysis of mother/child separation. The chapter by Mulvey and Dohrenwend, in the last section, presents a general model of the impact of stressful life events on women's mental illness and should have been included among these articles. The focus on social problems in section 2 will be of particular interest to sociologists. Many of the articles expand some traditional topics in this field by discussing situations that have gender-specific implications. For exam￾ple, an excellent article by Riger and Gordon suggests that women's fear of rape exacer￾bates their general fear of crime. The authors' solution is to encourage women to learn active strategies of self-protection, thereby decreas￾ing their sense of vulnerability and overall fear of victimization. Another chapter, by Albino and Tedesco, examines the relationship be￾tween low socioeconomic status and in￾creasing health risks along with structural barriers to quality health care for women. The authors assess three types of health-care pro￾grams currently available to women and rec￾ommend health-care policy changes aimed at empowering women. Topics in the last section address psycho￾Contemporary Sociology, September 1985, Volume 14, Number 5 This content downloaded from 183.195.251.166 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 12:34:00 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions