Researchers recently have shown an increased interest in the impact of societal views on relationships in stepfamilies. This increased interest is due to a growing recognition that cultural beliefs about family life exert a strong influence on the ways in which people conduct themselves, evaluate their own situations, and expect to be regarded by others. There are two general perspectives regarding how societies view step-families. One perspective views stepfamilies as generally ignored by societies. Stepfamilies tend to be excluded from legal and social policy considerations, and they are often disregarded by social institutions such as schools and religious systems. The second general way that societies view stepfamilies is to see them as less functional and more problematic than nuclear families. In the United States a great deal of nostalgia has been expressed for an imagined past in which families were better than they are now, and consequently, life was richer.

Stepfamily

10.4324/9781315809816-6

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Citations (3)

Valentine's Day

The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia (2014)

Marilyn J.Coleman Lawrence H.Ganong

10.4135/9781452286143.n557

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The Factor Structure of the Romantic Beliefs Scale for African Americans and European Americans

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships (2004)

Shannon E. Weaver Lawrence H.Ganong

The factor structure of Sprecher and Metts’ (1989) Romantic Beliefs Scale (ROMBEL) was investigated with a sample of 254 African-American and 234 European-American college students (342 females and 146 males). Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were used to evaluate the generalizability of the model. Differences in the factor structures between African-American and European-American respondents were found. The factor structure did not replicate for African-American respondents. Because the measure was developed using a predominately white sample, implications for its use in research on more diverse populations are discussed.

Romance

Sample (material)

Exploratory factor analysis

10.1177/0265407504041373

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Effects of Patient Marital Status and Parental Status on Nurses' Cognitions and Behaviors

Journal of Family Nursing (1997)

Lawrence H.Ganong Marilyn Coleman

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of information aboutfemale patients' marital and parental statuses on nurses' (1) initial impression of patients, (2) interpretations of patient characteristics and behavior, (3) data gathering about patients, and (4) oral responses to patients. Nurses employed full-time on inpatient units were given a written description of a patient who was complaining of a vaginal discharge prior to viewing a videotaped interview of the patient by a nurse. Predicted behaviors did not relate to patient's marital/parental status, but judgments and evaluations made about married and remarried women differed from those made about single women. Data gathering was not influenced by marital and parental statuses of the patient, but oral responses were. The marital status of a woman with a vaginal discharge of unknown etiology affected nurses'oral responses to the patient's comments, often in ways that suggested nurses were using the marital status information toform hypotheses about the patient.

Marital status

Marital relationship

Etiology

10.1177/107484079700300102

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Citations (6)

Bronfenbrenner, Urie

The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia (2014)

Marilyn Coleman Lawrence H.Ganong

10.4135/9781452286143.n70

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Research Methods for Aging

Innovation in Aging (2018)

Lawrence H.Ganong Caroline Sanner

Qualitative scholars generally have paid heed to the notion that the boundaries of family membership are socially constructed. This phenomenon has been central to our research with intergenerational stepfamilies, but socially-constructed relationships and family identities create challenges for us as qualitative researchers. In studying post-divorce families and stepfamilies, we have found that kinship is truly “in the eye of the beholder,” and we are aware that researchers’ definitions of family positions and relationships often differ from those held by family members. The ambiguity surrounding family language and labels, particularly in complex families, creates obstacles for recruiting participants and has demanded that our recruitment efforts are clear, yet flexible – precise, but not restrictive. For example, in recruiting individuals who self-identify as stepgrandparents or stepgrandchildren we have learned that these familial labels can be restricting, as some individuals who technically fall into these categories are sometimes resistant to (and even defensive about) labels that suggest to them that the relationship is anything less than fully familial. In other studies of former stepparents and stepchildren, we have been challenged to make it clear what we meant – there are no widely-accepted terms for “ex-step-relationships”! As qualitative gerontology researchers, we want to be respectful of the socially constructed kinship of the family members we study, while also exploring the research questions about families we find compelling. In this presentation, we examine the challenges of conducting qualitative research about ambiguous family relationships and we share our successful, and sometimes less-than-successful, efforts at addressing them.

Stepfamily

Phenomenon

10.1093/geroni/igy023.3197

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Home Health Care

The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia (2014)

Marilyn Coleman Lawrence H.Ganong

10.4135/9781452286143.n287

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Perceptions of Stepparents

Journal of Divorce & Remarriage (1997)

Marilyn Coleman Lawrence H.Ganong Susan M. Cable

Using a vignette approach that incorporates both qualitative and quantitative methodology, these researchers investigated the incomplete institutionalization hypothesis and the social stigma hypothesis as they relate to cultural perceptions of stepparent roles. Two studies were conducted; data were collected from 435 college students. The results neither clearly supported nor refuted the incomplete institutionalization hypothesis, and it was cautiously concluded that the social stigma hypothesis received limited support, and then only for stepmothers.

Vignette

Institutionalisation

Stigma

10.1300/j087v26n01_02

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Citations (27)