Important to Know: Family & Same Sex Relationships
American Couples Study by Blumstein & Schwartz (1983). Links family & same sex in that families divergent from assumed norm of the 1950s, smaller, social psychological bonds more than biological, may be same sex with children.
Only study to date to investigate these samples :
- Heterosexual married
- Heterosexual cohabiting
- Gay cohabiting
- Lesbian cohabiting
- Number of single parent families in U.S. in late 1990s over 20 million, with 80% led by women, but growing number led by men. Grandparents role in contemporary substantial, especially in helping with children or raising children (millions doing same).
- Despite concerns by Popenoe and colleagues at Rutgers regarding cohesiveness of "blended" or step-families (that make up over 50% of all families in U.S.), best evidence is that they are just as cohesive as non-stepfamilies (if interested in good research, see work of Marilyn Coleman & her husband Lawrence Ganong).
- Stephanie Coontz’s historical family thesis: It’s all relative. "The Way We Never Were" and "The Way We Are"
- Lawrence Kurdek’s research on homosexual couples suggests the relationship processes/issues similar to those of heterosexual couples. Blumstein & Schwartz found that Lesbians most democratic/peer/friendship oriented.
- Family systems theory applied to families usually assume all family members equally responsible for dysfunction. Good book that challenges that view, while still using family systems approaches is Reed Larson & Maryse Richards’ 1994 Divergent Realities, emphasizing the varied world views and assumptions of partners, their children, relatives, and close family friends, and how all these diverse perspectives may be integrated in the family.
1. Fundamental Changes in Nature of Family
2. Sequences of Critical Transitions Generated by Changes in Two-Parent Family
3. Popenoe & Rutgers' Center's Controversial Stands re Family
4. Rejoinders to Popenoe
5. Family Factors Contributing to Child Behavior Problems
6. Wives & Husbands Time Together
7. Role of the Father
8. Future of the Family