Study examines family formations in young adulthood

Public release date: 5-Dec-2011
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Contact: Jen Sobolewski
jsobole@bgsu.edu
419-372-8582
Bowling Green State University

BOWLING GREEN, O. -- For many, an important marker of adulthood is forming a family, whether it's having a child, getting married or cohabiting with a romantic partner. Researchers at Bowling Green State University's National Center for Family and Marriage Research's (NCFMR) say a majority (61 percent) of young adults have formed a family by age 25.

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, researchers looked at the different pathways to family formation. The results are the latest in a five part series from the NCFMR, "On the Road to Adulthood," which looks at the experiences of young adults through age 25.

According to the research, over two-thirds of women (69 percent) have formed a family in early adulthood compared to just over half of men (53 percent). Education also plays an integral part in how a family is formed, in sometimes unexpected ways. Family formation in early adulthood was most prevalent among young adults with a GED diploma, at 81 percent. Those with at least a bachelor's degree were least likely to form a family before age 25 (44 percent).

"Increasingly, young adults are spending more time in school as they pursue college and advanced degrees," said Dr. Susan Brown, co-director of the NCFMR and a professor of sociology. "This tends to delay family formationwhether childbearing, cohabitation, or marriageas most people aim to achieve financial security prior to starting a family."

Marriage in Early Adulthood

Researchers found over a quarter of young adults married prior to their 25th birthday. Over a third of them followed a direct or "traditional" pathway into marriage, meaning they did not live with their partner or have a child before getting married. Men were more likely than women to follow this "traditional" pathway, and it was more prevalent among Hispanics and less so among African-Americans. Only 26 percent of African-Americans who married in early adulthood did not live with their partner or have a child before getting married.

Young adults with at least a bachelor's degree were most likely to follow a "traditional" marriage path at 55 percent, while those with a GED or without a high school diploma were more likely to cohabit or have a child before marriage.

According to Sociologist Dr. Wendy Manning, co-director of the NCFMR, these patterns showcase the educational divide in family patterns in the United States. "Young adults with the lowest economic prospects are least likely to follow the traditional family patterns."

Cohabitation in Early Adulthood

Researchers found the most common family formation experience was cohabitation, but with considerable variation. Thirty-seven percent of young adults with cohabitation experience have only lived with their significant other. One-half have cohabited and had a child, 36 percent have lived together and married, and nearly a quarter have experienced parenthood, marriage and cohabitation. Of those who cohabited and had a child, the majority first lived together, then became parents.

It turns out living together is a strong pathway to marriage. Among young adults who got married, over three-fifths cohabited before tying the knot. Women are also more likely than men to live with someone before marriage (63 percent versus 57 percent).

"Today, most marriages are preceded by cohabitation," Brown said. "It's really become a stage in the courtship process. It's unusual for couples to marry without first cohabiting."

Cohabitation before marriage is more prevalent among whites than African-Americans or Hispanics. Factoring in education, those with a GED most often lived together before marriage while those with at least a bachelor's degree were least likely to.

Parenthood in Early Adulthood

The NCFMR found one-third of young adults have had a child and over one in three of them did so before cohabitation or marriage. One-third of African-Americans have a child before entering a union a rate that is over twice that of Hispanics and almost five times that of whites.

At only 2 percent, it's rare for young adults with at least a bachelor's degree to have a child pre-union. In contrast, about one-fifth of young adults without a diploma or degree or with a GED have had a pre-union birth before age 25. One in seven young adults who had a child went from cohabitation to marriage and then parenthood by age 25.

###

This project was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. For additional details about the study, visit http://ncfmr.bgsu.edu/pdf/family_profiles/file102409.pdf.

The NCFMR is the only federally supported family and marriage research center in the nation. It is a university-based, multidisciplinary, nonpartisan center whose mission is to conduct policy-relevant research on American families with the goal of improving our understanding of how families affect the health and well-being of children, adults, and communities; train and mentor the next generation of family researchers, and disseminate research findings to broad, national audiences, including policymakers and practitioners.

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Public release date: 5-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jen Sobolewski
jsobole@bgsu.edu
419-372-8582
Bowling Green State University

BOWLING GREEN, O. -- For many, an important marker of adulthood is forming a family, whether it's having a child, getting married or cohabiting with a romantic partner. Researchers at Bowling Green State University's National Center for Family and Marriage Research's (NCFMR) say a majority (61 percent) of young adults have formed a family by age 25.

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, researchers looked at the different pathways to family formation. The results are the latest in a five part series from the NCFMR, "On the Road to Adulthood," which looks at the experiences of young adults through age 25.

According to the research, over two-thirds of women (69 percent) have formed a family in early adulthood compared to just over half of men (53 percent). Education also plays an integral part in how a family is formed, in sometimes unexpected ways. Family formation in early adulthood was most prevalent among young adults with a GED diploma, at 81 percent. Those with at least a bachelor's degree were least likely to form a family before age 25 (44 percent).

"Increasingly, young adults are spending more time in school as they pursue college and advanced degrees," said Dr. Susan Brown, co-director of the NCFMR and a professor of sociology. "This tends to delay family formationwhether childbearing, cohabitation, or marriageas most people aim to achieve financial security prior to starting a family."

Marriage in Early Adulthood

Researchers found over a quarter of young adults married prior to their 25th birthday. Over a third of them followed a direct or "traditional" pathway into marriage, meaning they did not live with their partner or have a child before getting married. Men were more likely than women to follow this "traditional" pathway, and it was more prevalent among Hispanics and less so among African-Americans. Only 26 percent of African-Americans who married in early adulthood did not live with their partner or have a child before getting married.

Young adults with at least a bachelor's degree were most likely to follow a "traditional" marriage path at 55 percent, while those with a GED or without a high school diploma were more likely to cohabit or have a child before marriage.

According to Sociologist Dr. Wendy Manning, co-director of the NCFMR, these patterns showcase the educational divide in family patterns in the United States. "Young adults with the lowest economic prospects are least likely to follow the traditional family patterns."

Cohabitation in Early Adulthood

Researchers found the most common family formation experience was cohabitation, but with considerable variation. Thirty-seven percent of young adults with cohabitation experience have only lived with their significant other. One-half have cohabited and had a child, 36 percent have lived together and married, and nearly a quarter have experienced parenthood, marriage and cohabitation. Of those who cohabited and had a child, the majority first lived together, then became parents.

It turns out living together is a strong pathway to marriage. Among young adults who got married, over three-fifths cohabited before tying the knot. Women are also more likely than men to live with someone before marriage (63 percent versus 57 percent).

"Today, most marriages are preceded by cohabitation," Brown said. "It's really become a stage in the courtship process. It's unusual for couples to marry without first cohabiting."

Cohabitation before marriage is more prevalent among whites than African-Americans or Hispanics. Factoring in education, those with a GED most often lived together before marriage while those with at least a bachelor's degree were least likely to.

Parenthood in Early Adulthood

The NCFMR found one-third of young adults have had a child and over one in three of them did so before cohabitation or marriage. One-third of African-Americans have a child before entering a union a rate that is over twice that of Hispanics and almost five times that of whites.

At only 2 percent, it's rare for young adults with at least a bachelor's degree to have a child pre-union. In contrast, about one-fifth of young adults without a diploma or degree or with a GED have had a pre-union birth before age 25. One in seven young adults who had a child went from cohabitation to marriage and then parenthood by age 25.

###

This project was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. For additional details about the study, visit http://ncfmr.bgsu.edu/pdf/family_profiles/file102409.pdf.

The NCFMR is the only federally supported family and marriage research center in the nation. It is a university-based, multidisciplinary, nonpartisan center whose mission is to conduct policy-relevant research on American families with the goal of improving our understanding of how families affect the health and well-being of children, adults, and communities; train and mentor the next generation of family researchers, and disseminate research findings to broad, national audiences, including policymakers and practitioners.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/bgsu-sef120511.php

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Power in Numbers: China Aims for High-Tech Primacy

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China?s booming economy and growing technological infrastructure may thrust it to the forefront of the next generation of computing, many American experts say.

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=976d67e61879cf0d5354b8c346d2df7e

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Belgium's government to be sworn in after 541 days

In this combo photo of Radio personality Koen Fillet is pictured at left with his 327-days-old beard, and at right, after he was shaved, at the national TV and radio broadcaster VRT, in Brussels, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. Top negotiator Elio Di Rupo can fill all the ministerial posts Monday, the Belgian governmental crisis will stop at 540 days, an unofficial world record. In anticipation, radio presenter Koen Fillet had his famous protest beard that was grown for almost a year to highlight the length of negotiations ceremoniously cut in anticipation of a possible full government agreement later Monday.(AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

In this combo photo of Radio personality Koen Fillet is pictured at left with his 327-days-old beard, and at right, after he was shaved, at the national TV and radio broadcaster VRT, in Brussels, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. Top negotiator Elio Di Rupo can fill all the ministerial posts Monday, the Belgian governmental crisis will stop at 540 days, an unofficial world record. In anticipation, radio presenter Koen Fillet had his famous protest beard that was grown for almost a year to highlight the length of negotiations ceremoniously cut in anticipation of a possible full government agreement later Monday.(AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

FILE - In this Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011 file photo, Belgium's chief government negotiator Elio Di Rupo speaks during a media conference at the Belgian Federal Parliament in Brussels. Belgium's top negotiator Elio Di Rupo on Monday, Dec. 5, 2011 broke a 540 day deadlock and filled all ministerial positions to form a government . A grand coalition of Socialists, Christian Democrats and Liberals, each split in Dutch- and French-speaking parties, is expected to name Di Rupo as the first Francophone prime minister in almost 40 years. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

FILE - In this Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011 file photo, Belgium's chief government negotiator Elio Di Rupo speaks during a media conference at the Belgian Federal Parliament in Brussels. Belgium's top negotiator Elio Di Rupo on Monday, Dec. 5, 2011 broke a 540 day deadlock and filled all ministerial positions to form a government . A grand coalition of Socialists, Christian Democrats and Liberals, each split in Dutch- and French-speaking parties, is expected to name Di Rupo as the first Francophone prime minister in almost 40 years. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

FILE - In this Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011 file photo, Belgium's chief government negotiator Elio Di Rupo speaks during a media conference at the Belgian Federal Parliament in Brussels. Belgium's top negotiator Elio Di Rupo on Monday, Dec. 5, 2011 broke a 540 day deadlock and filled all ministerial positions to form a government . A grand coalition of Socialists, Christian Democrats and Liberals, each split in Dutch- and French-speaking parties, is expected to name Di Rupo as the first Francophone prime minister in almost 40 years. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

A barber cuts the 327-days-old beard of Radio personality Koen Fillet, right, at the national TV and radio broadcaster VRT, in Brussels, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. If top negotiator Elio Di Rupo can fill all the ministerial posts Monday, the Belgian governmental crisis will stop at 540 days, an unofficial world record. In anticipation, radio presenter Koen Fillet had his famous protest beard that was grown for almost a year to highlight the length of negotiations ceremoniously cut in anticipation of a possible full government agreement later Monday.(AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

BRUSSELS (AP) ? King Albert II named Elio Di Rupo as the first French-speaking prime minister in nearly 40 years late Monday in one of the final steps before his team formally ends the record 541 days the country has gone without a government.

The swearing-in on Tuesday will be a long-awaited relief to the entire nation of 6.5 million Dutch speakers and 4.5 million French speakers who long ago grew frustrated with the deadlock between politicians over linguistic differences.

One radio presenter finally shaved off the beard he has grown for almost a year to protest the drawn-out coalition negotiations, an unofficial world record.

"I won't do it again, never again," Koen Fillet said after he was soaped, shaved and splashed with after-shave in a show webcast live.

A royal statement late Monday said "the King received Elio Di Rupo at Belvedere castle and named him prime minister."

The 60-year-old son of Italian immigrants thus completed a remarkable journey from childhood poverty to become the Belgium leader. He will lead a grand coalition of Socialists, Christian Democrats and Liberals, each split in Dutch- and French-speaking parties.

Among his leading ministers, outgoing finance minister Francophone liberal Didier Reynders became foreign minister and Dutch-speaking Christian Democrat Steven Vanackere made the reverse move.

Dutch-speaking socialist Johan Vande Lanotte ? experienced in finance and budgetary issues ? was named economics minister.

The final stretch to name the ministers was drawn-out, in keeping with entire process: An all-night negotiating session to decide which party would claim what post ended Monday afternoon.

From now on, the government has a lot of catching up to do, especially when it comes to the economy.

Just ten days ago the credit rating of Belgium was downgraded, when high debt caught up with extended indecision on the government makeup. One day later, Di Rupo and his partners had agreed on a budget meant to meet the demands of the European Union and calm nervous markets.

The EU welcomed the breakthrough and said EU officials would soon review the budget text to see if it meets the recommendations of fiscal rigor and increased competitiveness.

Di Rupo said that next year's budget will have a deficit of 2.8 percent of GDP to remain within the EU target. He called the euro11.3 billion ($14.95 billion) in austerity measures a step toward assuring a balanced budget in 2015 and the toughest measures taken by the nation in some 70 years.

Belgium has had only a caretaker government since June 13, 2010, as a series of negotiators tried and failed to bridge the divide between the country's linguistic groups.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-05-EU-Belgium-Government/id-3826f7e1bedf4297b5e0043f4bbc4668

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Childhood disorder prompts study of infection link to mental illness

Brody Kennedy was a typical sixth-grader who loved to hang out with friends in Castaic and play video games. A strep-throat infection in October caused him to miss a couple of days of school, but he was eager to rejoin his classmates, recalls his mother, Tracy.

Then, a week after Brody became ill, he awoke one morning to find his world was no longer safe. Paranoid about germs and obsessed with cleanliness, he refused to touch things and showered several times a day. His fear prevented him from attending school, and he insisted on wearing nothing but a sheet or demanding that his mother microwave his clothes or heat them in the dryer before dressing.

So began a horrific battle with a sudden-onset mental illness that was diagnosed as pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcus, or PANDAS. The puzzling name describes children who have obsessive-compulsive disorder that occurs suddenly ? and often dramatically ? within days or weeks of a simple infection, such as strep throat.

"He washed his hands over and over and was using hand-sanitizer nonstop," said Tracy Kennedy, who has home-schooled her 11-year-old son since early November. "He had never been like this before. Ever. He just woke up with it."

The bizarre illness, first recognized in the mid-1990s, has been cloaked in controversy. Now, however, studies are reinforcing the belief that some psychiatric illnesses can be triggered by ordinary infections and the body's immune response. While the theory remains unproved, the research raises the possibility that some cases of mental illness might be cured by treating the immune system dysfunction.

"Some people get sick with whatever infection, and they recover and they're fine," says M. Karen Newell Rogers, an immunologist at Texas A&M University School of Medicine in Temple, Texas, who studies such illnesses. "Other people get sick and recover, but they are not the same."

PANDAS is thought to be caused by antibodies generated as a result of an infection, usually strep. Normally, an infection causes the body to generate antibodies that fight the infection and promote healing. But in PANDAS, the antibody response is thought to go awry, attacking brain cells and resulting in OCD symptoms.

A greater understanding of the link between strep and OCD has opened the door to the study of other psychiatric or neurological illnesses that may be linked to improper immune response, including cases of autism, schizophrenia and anorexia.

"The whole area of mental illness caused by infections is being looked at more closely because of PANDAS," says Dr. Michael A. Jenike, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and chairman of the International OCD Foundation's scientific advisory board. "If you can prevent lifelong suffering by using antibiotics or some acute intervention, that would be huge."

Little understood disorder

PANDAS is generally poorly understood in the medical field, said Dr. Margo Thienemann, a Palo Alto child psychiatrist who has treated several cases. There is no test to help doctors diagnose it, although the National Institute of Mental Health says that PANDAS can be identified after two or three episodes of OCD or tics that occur in conjunction with strep infection ? a vague guideline that results in much confusion.

Thienemann says patients tend to fall between the cracks of psychiatry and immunology. But early diagnosis is important.

"In psychiatry, we generally spend our time treating diseases without knowing the reason they happen," she says. "With PANDAS we are able to see the cause of a problem rather than the downstream effects. This is the exciting part."

OCD affects about 1% of people and can feature a fear of contamination by germs or other substances, hoarding, intense anxiety over one's moral behavior, tics, compulsive skin-picking or body dysmorphic disorder (obsession with some perceived bodily imperfection). The disorder tends to run in families and usually appears around the ages of 10 to 12, with a later spike in rates from age 18 to 22.

No one knows what portion of obsessive-compulsive disorder cases may be tied to PANDAS ? or even how prevalent the condition may be, Jenike says.

"I used to think it was exceedingly rare," he says. "Now I think it's exceedingly common."

Recent research has strengthened support for PANDAS. For instance, one study demonstrated that in mice prone to autoimmune disorders (in which the immune system attacks healthy cells), exposure to strep led to OCD-like behavior. The study was published in 2009 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

A 2010 Yale study found that tic symptoms worsened somewhat in children with OCD following a strep infection. That study, published in Biological Psychiatry, suggests some children are vulnerable to flare-ups of OCD symptoms when stressed by infections.

Another paper, published online in August in the Journal of Pediatrics, found that, compared with children with typical OCD, children diagnosed with PANDAS were more likely to have biological evidence of a recent strep infection, a sudden onset of psychiatric symptoms and an easing of those symptoms while taking antibiotics.

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/fIh9wXfadxs/la-he-ocd-strep-20111205,0,6421297.story

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If a fat tax is coming, here's how to make it efficient, effective

Friday, December 2, 2011

A 'sin tax' applied to sweetened goods on store shelves is not the most efficient, effective method of lowering caloric intake from sweet food and would be more disruptive to consumers than necessary, according to Iowa State University research.

With a national debate taking shape about the possibility of a national tax on foods with high sweetener content, ISU economists have examined how such a tax would best be applied.

Rather than assessing a tax on these sugary goods as they are taken through the grocery store checkout lines, the research shows that a better way is to tax the food processers on the amount of caloric sweeteners, such as corn syrup and sugar added in processing before the product hits the shelves.

The economists, John Beghin and Helen Jensen, both professors in the Department of Economics, are quick to point out that they are not advocating for or against any tax, but simply researching how and where a possible sweetener tax would be most effective.

"We are not saying. 'To resolve obesity, here is what you should do,'" said Beghin. "In that sense, we are not advocating anything. We are saying, 'Given that you are considering a panoply of tax instruments, and there is a possibility of a soda tax, is there a better way to use that idea?'"

"This is motivated," added Jensen, "by a lot of ideas out there that say we could tax sweetened products. We wanted to see what the effect of such a tax would be and, alternatively, if you imposed a tax on ingredients, what would be the effect of that."

The research, published in the journal Contemporary Economic Policy, shows that if the goal of a sin tax on sweeteners is to reduce calories consumed, lawmakers should consider taxing the inputs instead of the final product.

Assessing the tax at the processing stage allows food processors to reduce the amount of sweeteners they put into their products. Processors will also have incentives to use more of the lesser-taxed artificial sweeteners, and less of the higher-taxed sweeteners that are heavy in sugary products.

These solutions would also raise the price at the store less than a direct tax on the end product, while reducing the calories attributable to the sweetener, according to the study.

"Taxing the processing ingredients makes more sense when compared with taxing the end product," said Beghin. "You can abate the same number of calories without having consumers face such high prices."

Any new tax on sweeteners, even the tax on food inputs proposed by the study, will cause prices to go up. One drawback of any tax on sweetened goods is the regressive nature of that tax.

In economic terms, regressive taxes are those that impact poorer economic groups more than higher ones.

"Since much of these (sweeter) goods are consumed by poorer economic groups," said Beghin, "you may be increasing the cost of calories for poor people."

The study looks only at calories in food. The research does not make any claims about lowering obesity.

The United States' obesity rate has many factors, and the amount of calories consumed is only one, say the economists.

"We are not looking at health aspects," said Jensen. "Just the consumption of calories from sweetened goods and the disruption to the consumer."

The findings of the study fit generally accepted economic principles that say if you want to change a given behavior or economic decision, you should try to find a policy instrument that is closest to the behavior or decision, according to Beghin.

As part of the study, the two collected data from both government and private sources on industrial food inputs.

"We spent quite a bit of time assembling a data set based on published data on what inputs the food industry uses," said Jensen. "So we know that for all the different food sectors, how much sugar and corn syrup go into that industry group's food processing. You'd be amazed to see how much sweetener goes into food processing."

###

Iowa State University: http://www.iastate.edu

Thanks to Iowa State University for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/115684/If_a_fat_tax_is_coming__here_s_how_to_make_it_efficient__effective

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Flint Mayor Walling's staff slashed in first move by new Emergency Financial Manager

Kevin Usealman

Kevin Usealman is a meteorologist and reporter for NBC25.

Former Flint Mayor Mike Brown unleashed a wave of firings today, many of them in the Mayor's office

Move is likely the first of many

Read?more: Local, News, Politics, Politics, Flint Politics, Emergency Financial Manager, Flint's Emergency Financial Manager, Governor Rick Snyder, Mayor Mike Brown, Mike Brown Financial Manager, Flint Finances, Flint City Hall, Flint City Council, Flint Mayor Dayne Walling

FLINT -- Flint's new state-appointed Emergency Financial Manager isn't wasting any time.? Just days into his new job on Friday he fired four top members of Mayor Dayne Walling's staff.? They are City Administrator Greg Eason, Citizen's Service Director Rhoda Woods, and Director of Human Resources Donna Poplar.? Brown also confirms Eason's assistant has been let go along with Flint Ombudsman Brenda Purifoy and the Flint Civil Service Commission's Ed Parker.

Brown also announced today that the salary and benefits of Mayor Walling and the Flint City Council have been suspended.? Brown added that it was a "tough day".?

In a prepared statement shortly after the firings, Walling praised each departing member of his staff individually, and then collectively saying, "It was an honor for them to choose to serve with me through very difficult times and, on behalf of the Flint community, I thank them for their service."

Flint's Emergency Financial Manager was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder.

Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; they are not reflective of the views or opinions of Barrington Broadcasting, NBC25, its directors or employees. If you believe a comment violates the Barrington Terms of Use, please flag it below.

Source: http://www.minbcnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=693328

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Attacks in northeast Iraq province kill 17 (AP)

BAGHDAD ? Two separate attacks killed 17 people on Thursday in a northeastern Iraqi province that was once an al-Qaida stronghold, Iraqi officials said.

The marketplace car bombing and the assault on the home of an anti-al-Qaida militia leader came on the third day of a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, in advance of the withdrawal of American troops at the end of the year.

A parked car bomb exploded in the town of Khalis as morning shoppers were starting to arrive, killing 10 persons and wounding 22 others, two police officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Khalis, a Shiite enclave 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Baghdad, is surrounded by the largely Sunni province of Diyala. The province was a hotbed of al-Qaida in Iraq during the height of the country's violence in 2004-2007.

Also in Diyala, gunmen stormed the home of an anti-al-Qaida Sunni fighter at dawn and killed seven people, police said. The victims of the attack in the town of Buhriz about 35 miles (60 kilometers) north of Baghdad included the local leader of the pro-government Sahwa or Awakening Councils movement and six members of his family, four of whom were women.

Faris al-Azawi, the spokesman of Diyala's health directorate, confirmed the death tolls in both Khalis and Buhriz.

The attacks came as Biden met with Iraqi officials on a trip designed to chart a new relationship between the two countries ahead of the withdrawal of U.S. forces by the end of this year.

Iraqi security officials maintain that they are fully prepared for the American withdrawal, which is required under a 2008 security pact between the U.S. and Iraq. About 13,000 U.S. troops are still in the country, down from a one-time high of about 170,000. All of those troops will be out of the country by the end of December.

But many Iraqis are concerned that insurgents may use the transition period to launch more attacks in a bid to regain their former prominence and destabilize the country.

At least 56 Iraqis have been killed in separate attacks across the country in the past eight days, a warning that even more violence may be in the offing ahead of the American withdrawal.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111201/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

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