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Contemporary Family Patterns and Relationships

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Handbook of Marriage and the Family

Abstract

When Americans refer to traditional family values and dynamics, they commonly extol the virtues of lifelong marriage with children. Tradition in our culture holds that (1) being married is better than being single; (2) being married is better than living together; (3) having children is better than not having children; (4) two parents are better than one; (5) blood is thicker than water (i.e., especially when applied to distinctions between biological parents and stepparents); and (6) a mother at home is better than a mother at work, which is father’s domain.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Nebraska, 68583-0801, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

    John DeFrain

  2. Department of Family Social Sciences, University of Minnesota, 55108, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

    David H. Olson

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  1. John DeFrain
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  2. David H. Olson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Union Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Marvin B. Sussman

  2. Department of Sociology, Indiana University — Purdue University at Indianapolis, 46236, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

    Suzanne K. Steinmetz

  3. Department of Sociology, Arizona State University, 85287-2502, Tempe, Arizona, USA

    Gary W. Peterson

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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DeFrain, J., Olson, D.H. (1999). Contemporary Family Patterns and Relationships. In: Sussman, M.B., Steinmetz, S.K., Peterson, G.W. (eds) Handbook of Marriage and the Family. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5367-7_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5367-7_13

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-5367-7

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