French Canadian Family Relationships in Penetanguishene: A Study of 1990 and a Comparative Update for 2003

Abstract

This study seeks to compare the changing nature of family and its importance for human society. Research completed in 1992 and updated for 2003 explores the ways in which French Canadian families in Penetanguishene have adapted to the changing material conditions in the larger North American culture and to their community. The study examines: husband/wife relationships, parents and children, and extended relatives, and finds that although the French Canadian families in Penetanguishene remain fairly intact and functional until 1990, the dramatic changes over the last decade have impacted significantly upon life in this community leading to the emergence of a new family form which scholars of the family would classify as “situational.”