Beyond the nuclear family: The increasing importance of multigenerational bonds

Family relationships across several generations are becoming increasingly i mportant in American society. They are also increasingly diverse in structu re and in functions. In reply to the widely debated "family decline" hypoth esis, which assumes a nuclear family model of 2 biological parents and chil dren, I suggest that family multigenerational relations will be more import ant in the 21st century for 3 reasons: (a) the demographic changes of popul ation aging, resulting in "longer years of shared lives" between generation s; (b) the increasing importance of grandparents and other kilt in fulfilli ng family functions; (c) the strength and resilience of intergenerational s olidarity over time. I also indicate that family multigenerational relation s are increasingly diverse because of (a) changes in family structure, invo lving divorce and step-family relationships; (b) the increased longevity of kin; (c) the diversity of intergenerational relationship "types." Drawing on the family research legacy of Ernest W. Burgess, I frame my arguments in terms of historical family transitions and hypotheses. Research from the L ongitudinal Study of Generations is presented to demonstrate the strengths of multigenerational ties over time and why it is necessary to look beyond the nuclear family when asking whether families are still functional.