This article traces the development of changes internal to households since the late 1960s. The discussion is set in the context of two competing theories—constructionism and functionalism, old and new. The notion of varieties of families is distinguished from household diversity. Variety refers simply to what are known as family variants or alternative lifestyles. Diversity is indicated by a structural and spatial situation in which there is both parity of and linkages among households.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Acock, A. , & Demo, D. (1994). Family diversity and well being. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
2.
Alexander, J. C. (1988). The new theoretical movement. In N. J. Smelser (Ed.), Handbook of sociology (pp. 77-102). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
3.
Berger, B. , Hackett, B., & Millar, M. (1973). Child-rearing practices of the communal family. In R. Kanter (Ed.), Communes: Creating and managing the collective life (pp. 356-364). New York: Harper & Row.
4.
Berger, B. M. (1981). The survival of a counterculture: Ideological work and everyday life among rural communards. Berkeley: University of California Press.
5.
Billingsley, A. (1968). Black families in White America. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
6.
Blumenthal, S. (1996, August 30). A doll's house. The New Yorker, pp. 30-33.
7.
Boyd, B. R. , & Friedlander, S. (1997). Exploring the ideology of cohousing. Journal of Cohousing, 9, 12-14.
8.
Bruner, J. (1999). The myth of the first three years. New York: Free Press.
9.
Buckley, W. (1967). Sociology and modern systems theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
10.
Buunk, B. P. , & van Driel, B. (1989). Marriage, family, and variant lifestyles. In B. P. Buunk & B. van Driel (Eds.), Variant lifestyles and relationships (pp. 9-21). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
11.
Cazenave, N. A. (1980). Alternate intimacy, marriage, and family lifestyles among low-income Black Americans. Alternate Lifestyles, 4, 425-444.
12.
Cherlin, A. (1983). Family policy: The conservative challenge and the progressive response. Journal of Family Issues, 4, 427-438.
13.
Chilman, C. S. (1983). Prologue: The 1970s and American families (A comitragedy). In E. D. Macklin & R. H. Rubin (Eds.), Contemporary families and alternative lifestyles (pp. 15-26). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
14.
Chilman, C. S. , Nunnally, E. W., & Cox, F.M. (Eds.). (1988). Variant family forms. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
15.
Clawson, D. (1997). War on the poor. Contemporary Sociology, 26, vii.
16.
Cogswell, B. E. , & Sussman, M. B. (1972). Changing family and marriage forms: Complications for human services systems. In M. B. Sussman (Ed.), Non-traditional family forms in the 1970s (pp. 137-148). Minneapolis, MN: National Council on Family Relations.
17.
Corsaro, W. A. (1997). The sociology of childhood. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
18.
Cowan, P. , & Cowan, C. P. (1998). New families: Modern couples as new pioneers. In M. A. Mason, A. Skolnick, & S. D. Sugarman (Eds.), All our families: New policies for a new century (pp. 169-192). New York: Oxford University Press.
19.
Cuber, J. (1970). Alternate models from the perspective of sociology. In H. A. Otto (Ed.), The family in search of a future (pp. 11-24). Norwalk, CT: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
20.
Cuber, J. , & Harroff, P. (1965). The significant Americans: A study of sexual behavior among the affluent. Norwalk, CT: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
21.
Dizard, J.E. , & Gadlin, H. (1990). The minimal family. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.
22.
Doherty, W. J. (1999). Postmodernism and family theory. In M. B. Sussman, S. K. Steinmetz, & G. W. Peterson (Eds.), Handbook of marriage and the family (2nd ed., pp. 205-218). New York: Plenum.
23.
Furstenberg, F. (1999). Children and family change: Discourse between social scientists and the media. Contemporary Sociology, 28, 10-17.
24.
Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of constructionism. Berkeley: University of California Press.
25.
Giddens, A. (1994). Beyond left and right: The future of radical politics. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
26.
Glassner, B. (2000). Where meanings get constructed. Contemporary Sociology, 29, 590-594.
27.
Goode, W.J. (1963). World revolution and family patterns. New York: Free Press.
28.
Greenwood, D.J. , & Levin, M. (1998). Introduction to action research: Social research for social change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
29.
Harris, J. R. (1998). The nurture assumption. New York: Free Press.
30.
Hasell, M. J. , & Scanzoni, J. (2000). Cohousing in HUD housing: Prospects and problems. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 17, 133-145.
31.
Heclo, H. (1995). The social question. In K. McFate, R. Lawson, & W.J. Wilson (Eds.), Poverty, inequality, and the future of social policy (pp. 665-692). New York: Russell Sage.
32.
Kagan, J. (1999). Three seductive ideas. New York: Oxford University Press.
33.
Kanter, R. M. (1972). Commitment and community: Communes and utopias in sociological perspective. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
34.
Kanter, R. M. (Ed.). (1973). Communes: Creating and managing the collective life. New York: Harper & Row.
35.
Kingsbury, N. , & Scanzoni, J. (1993). Structural-functionalism. In P. Boss, W. Doherty, R. LaRossa, W. Schumm, & S. K. Steinmetz (Eds.), Sourcebook of family theories and methods (pp. 195-217). New York: Plenum.
36.
Levine, D.N. , Carter, E. B., & Miller, E. (1976). Simmel's influence on American sociology—I. American Journal of Sociology, 81, 813-845.
37.
Macklin, E. D. , & Rubin, R. H. (Eds.). (1983). Contemporary families and alternative lifestyles. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
38.
Maines, D. R. (2000). The social construction of meaning. Contemporary Sociology, 29, 577-584.
39.
Marciano, T.D. (1975). Variant family forms in a world perspective. Family Coordinator, 24, 407-420.
40.
Marriage in America. (1995). The council on families in America. New York: Institute for American Values.
41.
Mason, M.A. , Skolnick, A., & Sugarman, S.D. (Eds.). (1998). All our families: New policies for a new century. New York: Oxford University Press.
42.
Matthews, D. G. , & De Hart, J. S. (1990). Sex, gender, and the politics of ERA. New York: Oxford University Press.
43.
Mead, M. (1967). The life cycle and its variations: The division of roles. Daedalus, 96, 871-875.
44.
Meltzer, G. (2000). Cohousing: Verifying the importance of community in the application of environmentalism. Journal of Architecture and Planning Research, 17, 110-132.
45.
Nisbet, R. A. (1953). The quest for community: A study in the ethics of order and freedom. New York: Oxford University Press.
46.
Olson, D. (1972). Marriage of the future: Revolutionary or evolutionary change? In M. B. Sussman (Ed.), Non-traditional family forms in the 1970s (pp. 15-26). Minneapolis, MN: National Council on Family Relations.
47.
Otto, H. A. (1970a). Introduction. In H. A. Otto (Ed.), The family in search of a future (pp. 1-10). Norwalk, CT: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
48.
Otto, H. (1970b). The new marriage: Marriage as a framework for developing personal potential. In H. A. Otto (Ed.), The family in search of a future (pp. 111-118). Norwalk, CT: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
49.
Parsons, T. (1955). The American family: Its relations to personality and to the social structure. In T. Parsons & R. F. Bales (Eds.), Family, socialization and interaction process (pp. 3-33). New York: Free Press.
50.
Parsons, T. (1965). The normal American family. In S. M. Farber, P. Mustacchi, & R.H.L. Wilson (Eds.), Man and civilization: The family's search for survival (pp. 31-50). New York: McGraw-Hill.
51.
Pitts, J. R. (1964). The structural-functional approach. In H. T. Christensen (Ed.), Handbook of marriage and the family (pp. 51-124). Chicago: Rand McNally.
52.
Popenoe, D. (1996). Modern marriage: Revising the cultural script. In D. Popenoe, J. B. Elshtain, & D. Blankenhorn (Eds.), Promises to keep: Decline and renewal of marriage in America (pp. 247-270). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
53.
Rainwater, L. , Coleman, R. P., & Handel, G. (1959). Workingman's wife: Her personality, world and lifestyle. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana.
54.
Reason, P. , & Bradbury, H. (Eds.). (2001). Handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
55.
Risman, B. (1998). Gender vertigo: American families in transition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
56.
Scanzoni, J. (1983). Shaping tomorrow's family: Theory and policy for the 21st century. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
57.
Scanzoni, J. (1989). Alternative images for public policy: Family structure versus families struggling. Policy Studies Review, 8, 599-609.
58.
Scanzoni, J. (1991). Balancing the policy interests of children and adults. In E. Anderson & R. C. Hula (Eds.), The reconstruction of family policy (pp. 11-22). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
59.
Scanzoni, J. (2000). Designing families: The search for self and community in the information age. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
60.
Scanzoni, J. (2001). Reconnecting household and community: An alternative strategy for theory and policy. Journal of Family Issues, 22, 243-264.
61.
Scanzoni, J. (in press). A personal and intellectual journey. Marriage and Family Review.
62.
Scanzoni, J. , & Godwin, D. D. (1990). Negotiation effectiveness and acceptable outcomes. Social Psychology Quarterly, 53, 239-251.
63.
Scanzoni, J. , Polonko, K., Teachman, J., & Thompson, L. (1989). The sexual bond: Rethinking families and close relationships. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
64.
Scanzoni, J. , & Szinovacz, M. (1980). Family decision-making. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
65.
Seeley, J. , Sim, A., & Loosley, E. (1956). Crestwood heights. New York: Basic Books.
66.
Selznick, P. (1961). Review article: The social theories of Talcott Parsons. American Sociological Review, 26, 930-952.
67.
Selznick, P. (1992). The moral commonwealth: Social theory and the promise of community. Berkeley: University of California Press.
68.
Skolnick, A. (1998). Solomon's children: The new biologism, psychological parenthood, attachment theory, and the best interests standard. In M. A. Mason, A. Skolnick, & S. D. Sugarman (Eds.), All our families: New policies for a new century (pp. 236-255). New York: Oxford University Press.
69.
Small, S. A. (1995). Action-oriented research: Models and methods. Journal of Marriage and Family, 57, 941-955.
70.
Stacey, J. (1999). Virtual truth with a vengeance. Contemporary Sociology, 28, 18-22.
71.
Steiner, G. Y. (1981). The futility of family policy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
72.
Stoller, F. H. (1970). The intimate network of families as a new structure. In H. A. Otto (Ed.), The family in search of a future (pp. 145-160). Norwalk, CT: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
73.
Stone, L. (1979). The family, sex, and marriage in England 1500-1800 (Abridged ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
74.
Sugarman, S.D. (1998). Single-parent families. In M.A. Mason, A. Skolnick, & S.D. Sugarman (Eds.), All our families: New policies for a new century (pp. 13-38). New York: Oxford University Press.
75.
Sussman, M. B. (1972). Preface. In M.B. Sussman (Ed.), Non-traditional family forms in the 1970s (pp. 3-4). Minneapolis, MN: National Council on Family Relations.
76.
Sussman, M. B. , & Cogswell, B. E. (1972). The meaning of variant and experimental marriage styles and family forms. In M. B. Sussman (Ed.), Non-traditional family forms in the 1970s (pp. 7-14). Minneapolis, MN: National Council on Family Relations.
77.
Taubin, S. B. , & Mudd, E. H. (1983). Contemporary traditional families: The undefined majority. In E. D. Macklin & R. H. Rubin (Eds.), Contemporary families and alternative lifestyles (pp. 256-270). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
78.
Thompson, E. H. , & Gongla, P. A. (1983). Single parent families: In the mainstream of American society. In E. D. Macklin & R. H. Rubin (Eds.), Contemporary families and alternative lifestyles (pp. 97-124). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
79.
Vargus, B. S. (1999). Classical social theory and family studies: The triumph of reactionary thought in contemporary family studies. In M. B. Sussman, S. K. Steinmetz, & G. W. Peterson (Eds.), Handbook of marriage and the family (2nd ed., pp. 190-204). New York: Plenum.
80.
Waite, L. , & Gallagher, M. (1999). The case for marriage. New York: Doubleday.
81.
Whitehurst, R. N. (1972). Some comparisons of conventional and counterculture families. In M. B. Sussman (Ed.), Non-traditional family forms in the 1970s (pp. 27-34). Minneapolis, MN: National Council on Family Relations.
82.
Whyte, W. F. , Davydd, J., & Greenwood, P. L. (1991). Participatory action research: Through practice to science in social research. In W.F. Whyte (Ed.), Participatory action research (pp. 19-55). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
83.
Zablocki, B. (1980). Alienation and charisma. A study of contemporary American communes. New York: Free Press.
