Theoretical models of family formation have assumed sexual coupling as the foundation of family life. This article proposes instead a model of family formation predicated on the processes of taking care of one another, eating together, and sharing life together. The interpersonal dynamics that distinguish a family from other close relationships…

Using data from Waves I and III of Add Health, this study examines early family formation among 6,144 White, Black, and Mexican American women. Drawing on cultural and structural perspectives, models of the first and second family transitions (cohabitation, marriage, or childbearing) are estimated using discrete-time multinomial logistic…

A theoretical model of seven antecedents of marital satisfaction was developed and tested using path analysis. The reported ease of the most recent familial role transition and the frequency of companionate activities both had positive direct effects on marital satisfaction. (Author)

Policies governing divorce and parenting, such as child support orders and enforcement, child custody regulations, and marital dissolution requirements, can have a large impact on the welfare of parents and children. Recent research has produced evidence on the responses of divorce rates to unilateral divorce laws and child support enforcement. In…

Examined effects of household structure on labor force status of female heads of families with minor children using the March 1985 Current Population Survey. Results suggest that models of labor force behavior are misspecified if female heads of families are not analyzed separately by race and marital status. (Author/ABL)

A typology of crises is developed to be used with critical aspects of the social system to predict both crisis and postcrisis period role changes. The crisis framework is then applied to macro-changes in family structure in response to an archetypal crisis, World War II. Census data generally support the hypotheses. (Author)

Suggests a new perspective to more validly describe currently emerging family-type empirical realities, drawing on cross-disciplinary focus on close or primary relationships. Considers issues such as rights, duties, obligations, freedom, and expectations in marriage and the family versus intimacy, companionship, sharing, communication, and…

The hypothesis that education affects attitudes toward family size, not directly but through the crucial intervening variables of attitude toward type of conjugal family and attitude toward type of marital relationship, is supported by the data. (Author)

This is a description of a workshop focusing on the couple in the remarried family, and stressing the development of a balanced, effectively working family system. The workshop content, which functions through didactic presentations, leader-led exercises, group interactions and homework, addresses the following topics: (1) communication…

Outlines a developmental perspective for understanding the dynamics of remarried families. Uses case examples to illustrate the importance of adding to the current family situation both a view of critical points in a family's history, and expectation for its future paths. (RC)

Presents a model for an alternative family form which extends ideological and structural features of open marriage to include children. Open families are characterized by enhanced permeability of internal/external boundaries and a single standard of behavior. A reply is given by Vladimir De Lissovoy with concluding responses by Constantine.…

This paper outlines a family systems model for treating incestuous families and discusses strategies for working effectively with families who remain intact after disclosure or who attempt to reunite after a separation. This systems model suggests that incest results not from intrapsychic problems of the victim or the offender, but from a pattern…

This paper explores radical critical theory, which questions the most fundamental assumptions of traditional family sociology by posing alternative ways of uncovering the realities of marriage. The first section provides a background in radical-critical theory, while the second section attempts to locate the radical-critical perspective within the…

Includes 14 articles that represent new conceptualizations of various aspects of stepfamily life, in-depth critiques of the literature, and reports of findings from recent research projects. Conveys awareness of the complexities of the research involving remarriage and stepparenting and supplies recommendations for guiding future investigative…

This paper presents a review of commonly used family models which illustrate the wide range of differences in definition of the American family. Its purpose is to help assure that national family policy is based on a definition of family made in the broadest possible context. The major part of the paper discusses five commonly used models. The…