Toward a General Framework of Family Structure: A Review of Theory-Based Empirical Research

For slightly more than a century, psychologists, sociologists, demographers, and others have been studying family structure. The enterprise has been repeatedly characterized as having strong empirical roots, but little theory to nurture it and help it develop. Recently, articles have been published...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Population and environment 1985-10, Vol.8 (3/4), p.143-172
Main Authors: Rodgers, Joseph Lee, Thompson, Vaida D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Birth order
Childbirth
Children
Demography
Family size
Family Structure
Parents
Psychological research
Siblings
Social psychology
Theoretical Problems
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Summary:For slightly more than a century, psychologists, sociologists, demographers, and others have been studying family structure. The enterprise has been repeatedly characterized as having strong empirical roots, but little theory to nurture it and help it develop. Recently, articles have been published calling for the formalization of family demography, which we define as the discipline devoted to the study of family structure. This paper has the following purposes: (1) To develop a general taxonomy of family structure that unites researchers from several disciplines under one framework; (2) To review important methodological and measurement problems involved in the study of family structure; and (3) To review the recent theory-based empirical literature. We conclude with an assessment of the state-of-the-enterprise.
ISSN:0199-0039
1573-7810
DOI:10.1007/BF01263072