All in the Family
A UCLA research team shows that where family
formation is concerned, context — not ideology — is everything
 Patterns of family
formation have changed significantly over recent decades. Some researchers
have attempted to understand phenomena such as extramarital births, postponement
of marriage and rising divorce rates by looking at individual values and
beliefs; others have focused on the impact of societal variables such as
poverty.
Two UCLA researchers — one a social psychologist, the other an anthropologist
— are conducting a first of its kind study to examine how such decisions
are affected by the context of the decision makers’ lives. M. Belinda
Tucker, professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences, and Claudia
Mitchell Kernan, vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor
of anthropology, are in the final stages of data analysis for their three
year, 21 city telephone survey, which is funded by the National Institute
of Mental Health. The project team includes sociologists William Mason
and Saskia Subramanian of UCLA and Angela James of USC, and UCLA graduate
student in psychology Pamela Taylor and undergraduates Billy Pieratt and
Cheryl Twu.
“We live in a complex society composed of economies, historical social
structures and groups within which there exist various internal dynamics
or values,” says Mitchell Kernan. “When you witness the kind of profound
changes we’ve seen in marriage and family patterns in the United States,
you have to ask what’s behind them.”
Both researchers hope that by detailing the context in which people
make personal decisions about family and relationships -- without focusing
exclusively on morality -- they will contribute to a better informed public
debate. The study’s dependent variables include measures of depression,
life satisfaction, relationship satisfaction and attitudes about marriage
and children. Among the independent variables the researchers are examining,
aside from family formation related data, are ethnicity, religious affiliation
and commitment, social support, self esteem and a host of economic factors.
While their final report is still pending, the researchers have reached
the conclusion that context — especially the economic environment — is
key. Both women and men who live in cities where male unemployment is high
tend to be more depressed, regardless of whether or not they themselves
have jobs. Economic issues also affect personal relationships. “Perhaps
our most significant finding,” Tucker reports, “is that across all income
levels, for both men and women, one of the strongest predictors of relationship
satisfaction is whether or not you believe your partner is making an appropriate
economic contribution.”
“This represents a very important change in American culture,” adds
Mitchell Kernan. “Men no longer expect to be the sole breadwinners. Our
findings reflect how important two incomes have become for sustaining a
household and a viable partnership in contemporary society.”
To ensure that issues of environmental context could be measured, the
researchers carefully chose the 21 cities for the survey. “We wanted geographically
diverse cities that would give us variations in measures such as population,
ethnic and gender ratios, economic conditions and divorce rates,” Tucker
explains.
The main study has been unusual not only for the way it has approached
family formation issues, but also for how the survey (conducted out of
the University of Michigan’s Survey Research Center) was handled. The researchers
benefited from a new procedure in which telephone interviewers based in
locations throughout the nation used laptop computers for direct entry
of responses.
The new methodology offers several advantages. For the most part, survey
takers were calling people in their own region, so the process did not
seem remote to the persons being surveyed. Specially designed software
led interviewers through the questioning process, minimizing potential
human error. And because data were input and sent to the contracting facility
immediately, the UCLA researchers could do analyses of mini data sets as
they went along. “This was a huge time saver,” says Tucker.
Another important aspect has been the involvement of both undergraduate
and graduate students at every stage of the study. Through UCLA’s Student
Research Program, two to three undergraduates volunteered for a minimum
of six hours per week each quarter. One student participant, Sajeed Kabir,
wrote a successful research proposal and received funding to augment the
project.
Perhaps the strongest indicator of the salience of context in family
formation decisions is the extent to which people from all groups continue
to value marriage. “The fact that people are postponing marriage or getting
divorced doesn’t mean they value the institution any less,” says Tucker.
“We can’t always attach moral judgments to what seem to be personal decisions.
These are personal decisions, but they’re made within a wider context.”
— D.G.
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