Examined United States survey data from the 1950s through the 1980s for changes in family life norms and values. Found in 1960s and 1970s data a weakening of imperative to marry and remain married, stay monogamous, have children, and maintain gender role separation. Observed flattening of trends during early 1980s. Links family life trends to…

Data from a longitudinal study of women and their children indicate that: (1) concepts of women's roles have become more egalitarian; (2) youth, labor force experience, and educational attainment positively influence egalitarian attitudes; (3) church attendance and identification with fundamentalist religions predict traditional outlooks; and (4)…

This report summarizes the current status and trends in nonmarital childbearing in the United States, and presents a series of supplemental papers by experts from social science disciplines. "Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States" (Kristin A. Moore) introduces the topic, indicating that nearly a third of all births in the country…

This book contains 17 papers devoted to the following four aspects of the transition to adulthood: effects of alterations in the structure of opportunity; effects of prior experiences in the family; effects of prior experience in the workplace; and career development and marriage formation during a period of rising inequality. The following papers…