How Families Still Matter : A Longitudinal Study of Youth in Two Generations

Are family influences on youth declining in importance? Are parents less important in shaping the life orientations and achievements of youth than they were a generation ago? What about the consequences of divorce? How Families Still Matter casts doubt on the conventional wisdom about family decline during the last decades of the twentieth century. The authors draw from the longest-running longitudinal study of families in the world--the Longitudinal Study of Generations, conducted at the University of Southern California--to discover whether parents are really less critical in shaping the life choices and achievements of their children than they were a generation ago. They compare the influence of parents on the Baby Boomer generation with that of Baby Boomer parents on their own Generation-X children--and their findings are surprising. Vern Bengtson holds the AARP/University Chair in Gerontology and is Professor of Sociology at the University of Southern California. Bengtson has received the Reuben Hill Award from the National Council of Family Relations (1980 and 1986); the Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Sociological Association's section on aging (1995); the Robert W. Kleemeier Award from the Gerontological Society of America (1996); and the Ernest W. Burgess Award from the National Council on Family Relation (1998). Timothy J. Biblarz is Associate Professor and Graduate Director in the Sociology Department at the University of Southern California. His papers have appeared in the American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Journal of Marriage and the Family, Social Forces, and other journals. Robert E.L. Roberts is Professor of Sociology at California State University, San Marcos. His articles have appeared in Social Psychology Quarterly, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, Journal of Marriage and Family, and Sociological Quarterly.

"...an outstanding book. Based on excellent data and sound theory, the authors address the family decline thesis--the central debate in family sociology. This book provides critical new evidence that helps us to understand how the American family is changing and what these changes mean for the next generation of young adults. How Families Still Matter is the best scholarly book that I have read in a long time!"
Paul R. Amato, Pennsylvania State University

"Using the best data ever assembled, Bengtson and colleagues convincingly demonstrate that Gen-X youth are doing as well as their parents were at the same age. How Families Still Matter is a must read, particularly for those seeking clarification of current debates about the strength or decline of the American family."
David M. Klein, University of Notre Dame

"Finally, a definitive book on the state of the American family based on a sound longitudinal study of three generations. This is essential reading for academics, journalists, policy maker, politicians, moral leaders and yes, contemporary parents, who need some good news about how they're doing."
Pauline Boss, University of Minnesota

"Optimism and hope confront those who speculate about the decline of the American family and paint a grim portrait of what this means for future generations. Using nearly three decades of data on four generations, the authors debunk many of these fears."
Alan Acock, Oregon State University

"In How Families Still Matter solid longitudinal data are presented to counter the alarmist position that generation X is a generation at risk. Parents in all types of families continue to play a central role in shaping offspring's, attainments, values, well-being and self-esteem."
E. Mavis Hetherington, Author of For Better or For Worse: Divorce Reconsidered.