Family researchers have made extensive use of household survey data that predefine the boundaries of the family system and focus on a small number of family dyads. The complexity of contemporary family contexts that have emerged as a result of divorce and remarriage might not be well served by those techniques. This article shows that social network methods can improve existing methods used to study families.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Acock, A., and J. S. Hurlbert. 1990. Social network analysis: A structural perspective for family studies. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships7:245–264.
2.
Acock, A., and J. S. Hurlbert. 1993. Social networks, marital status, and well-being. Social Networks15:309–334.
3.
Bernard, H. R., and P. Killworth. 1977. Informant accuracy in social network data II. Human Communication Research4:3–18.
4.
Bernard, H. R., P. Killworth, and L. Sailer. 1979. Informant accuracy in social network data IV: A comparison of clique-level structure in behavioral and cognitive network data. Social Networks2:191–218.
5.
Bien, W., J. Marbach, and F. Neyer. 1991. Using ego-centered networks in survey research: A methodological preview on an application of social network analysis in the area of family research. Social Networks13 (1): 75–90.
6.
Borgatti, S., M. G. Everett, and L. C. Freeman. 1999. UCINET 5 for Windows: Software for Social Network Analysis. Natick, MA: Analytic Technologies.
7.
Bott, E.1956. Urban families: Conjugal roles and social networks. Human Relations9:325–341.
8.
Bott, E.1957. Family and social network. London: Tavistock.
9.
Broderick, C. B.1993. Understanding family process. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
10.
Burger, E., and R. M. Milardo. 1995. Marital interdependence and social networks. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships12:403–415.
11.
Burt, R. S.1984. Network items and the general social survey. Social Networks6:293–334.
12.
Cartwright, D., and F. Harary. 1956. Structural balance: A generalization of Heider's theory. Psychological Review63:277–292.
13.
Cherlin, A. J., and F. F. Furstenberg. 1994. Stepfamilies in the U.S.: A reconsideration. Annual Review of Sociology20:359–381.
14.
Coleman, M., and L. H. Ganong. 1990. Remarriage and stepfamily research in the 1980s: Increased interest in an old family form. Journal of Marriage and the Family52:925–940.
15.
D'Andrade, R.1995. The development of cognitive anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
16.
De Soto, C., and F. Albrecht. 1968. Cognition and social orderings. In Theories of cognitive consistency: A sourcebook, edited by R. P. Abelson, 531–539. Chicago: Rand McNally.
17.
Festinger, L.1957. A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
18.
Fischer, L. R.1983. Mothers and mothers-in-law. Journal of Marriage and the Family45:187–192.
19.
Fisher, C. S.1982. To dwell among friends: Personal networks in town and city. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
20.
Freeman, L. C.1992. Filling the blanks: A theory of cognitive categories and the structure of affiliation. Social Psychology Quarterly55:118–127.
21.
Freeman, L. C., and A. K. Romney. 1987. Cognitive structure and informant accuracy. American Anthropology89:310–325.
22.
Furstenberg, F. F.1987. The new extended family: The experience of parents and children after remarriage. In Remarriage and stepparenting: Current research and theory, edited by K. Pasley and M. Ihinger-Tallman, 42–61. New York: Guilford Press.
23.
Harris, C. C.1990. Kinship. Buckingham: Open University Press.
24.
Heider, F.1946. Attitudes and cognitive organization. Journal of Psychology21:107–112.
25.
Heider, F.1958. The psychology of interpersonal relations. New York: John Wiley.
26.
Hubert, L., and J. Schultz. 1976. Quadratic assignment as a general data analysis strategy. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology29:190–241.
27.
Johnson, M. P., and L. Leslie. 1982. Couple involvement and network structure: A test of the dyadic withdrawal hypothesis. Social Psychology Quarterly45 (1): 34–43.
28.
Krackhardt, D.1987. Cognitive social structures. Social Networks9:109–134.
29.
Kumbassar, E.1996. Methods for analyzing three-way cognitive network data. Journal of Quantitative Anthropology6 (1–2): 15–34.
30.
Kumbassar, E., A. K. Romney, and W. H. Batchelder. 1994. Systematic biases in social perception. American Journal of Sociology100:477–505.
31.
Marsden, P. V.1987. Core discussion networks of Americans. American Sociological Review52:122–131.
32.
Marsden, P. V.1988. Homogeneity in confiding relations. Social Networks10:57–76.
33.
Milardo, R. M., ed. 1988. Families and social networks: An overview of theory and methodology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
34.
Murdock, G. P.1960. Social structure. New York: Macmillan.
35.
Newcomb, T. M.1961. The acquaintance process. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
36.
Olson, D. H., and H. L. McCubbin. 1983. Families: What makes them work. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
37.
Parks, M. R., and L. L. Eggert. 1991. The role of social context in the dynamics of personal relationships. In Advances in personal relationships, vol. 2., edited by W. H. Jones and D. Perlman. London: Jessica Kingsley.
38.
Pasley, K.1987. Family boundary ambiguity: Perceptions of adult stepfamily family members. In Remarriage and stepparenting: Current research and theory, edited by K. Pasley and M. Ihinger-Tallman, 206–225. New York: Guilford Press.
39.
Reiss, D.1981. The family's construction of reality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
40.
Sarason, B. R., G. R. Pierce, E. N. Shearin, I. Sarason, and J. A. Waltz. 1991. Perceived social support and working models of self and actual others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology60:273–287.
41.
Scanzoni, J., K. Polonko, J. Teachman, and L. Thompson. 1989. The sexual bond. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
42.
Stack, C. B.1974. All our kin: Strategies for survival in a black community. New York: Harper Torchbook.
43.
Stein, C. H., E. G. Bush, R. R. Ross, and M. Ward. 1992. Mine, yours and ours: A configural analysis of the networks of married couples in relation to marital satisfaction and individual well-being. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships9:365–383.
44.
van Tilburg, T.1998. Losing and gaining in old age: Changes in personal network size and social support in a four-year longitudinal study. Journals of Gerontology. Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences53B:313–323.
45.
Walker, M. E., and S. Wasserman. 1987. Triads: A computer program of triadic analyses. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
46.
Wasserman, S., and K. Faust. 1994. Social network analysis: Methods and applications. New York: Cambridge University Press.
47.
Wellman, B.1990. The place of kinfolk in personal community networks. Marriage & Family Review15 (1–2): 195–228.
48.
Wellman, B., and S. Wortley. 1989. Brothers' keepers: Situating kinship relations in broader networks of social support. Sociological Perspectives32:273–306.
49.
Weston, K.1997. Families we choose: Lesbian, gays, kinship. New York: Columbia University Press.
50.
Widmer, E. D.1997. Families as cognitive networks: Theoretical and methodological propositions. Paper presented at the 59th Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, 7–10 November, Arlington, Virginia.
51.
Widmer, E. D.1999. Family contexts as cognitive networks: A structural approach of family relationships. Personal Relationships6:487–503.
52.
Wilson, P., and R. Pahl. 1988. The changing sociological construct of the family. Sociological Review36:233–266.
53.
Wish, M., M. Deutsch, and S. Kaplan. 1976. Perceived dimensions of interpersonal relations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology33:409–420.
