stitution itself, as indicated by the fairly high rate of
remarriage. At the end of the 1980’s, approximately
half of all marriages were remarriages for at least
one of the participants. This figure was a bit lower
than it had been at the beginning of the decade, but
it seemed to indicate that most Americans—even
those without that personal experience—believed
that marriages could work.
Impact American ambivalence about traditional
marriage and family status, as well as about emerg-
ing alternatives, was accentuated during the 1980’s.
This ambivalence was focused in large part on work-
ing women, single mothers, and other people living
“nontraditional” lifestyles. It therefore both reflected
and played a part in the growing “culture wars” in
U.S. society.
Further Reading
Amato, Paul, et al. “Continuity and Change in Mari-
tal Quality Between 1980 and 2000.”Journal of
Marriage and the Family65 (2003): 1-22. A longitu-
dinal survey study by some prominent family re-
searchers on the factors that influence marital
quality and how these changed during the 1980’s.
Binstock, Georgina, and Arland Thornton. “Separa-
tions, Reconciliations, and Living Apart in Co-
habiting and Marital Unions.”Journal of Marriage
and the Family65 (2003): 432-443. Panel study that
tracks the timing of, and contributions to, the for-
mation and dissolution of marriage and like ar-
rangements.
Coontz, Stephanie.The Way We Never Were: American
Families and the Nostalgia Trap.New York: Basic
Books, 1992. A prominent historian debunks
popular misconceptions of families of the past.
___.The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms with
America’s Changing Families.New York: Basic
Books, 1997. In this follow-up to her initial offer-
ing, Coontz clarifies the contemporary circum-
stances of U.S. families.
Porter, Eduardo, and Michelle O’Donnell. “More
Singles, and Mostly Men.”Star Tribune, Paper of the
Twin Cities, August 6, 2006, p. A4. TwoNew York
Timesjournalists use census data from 1980 and
twenty-first century interviews to document in-
creases in singlehood.
Saluter, Arlene F. “Marital Status and Living Ar-
rangements, March, 1992.”Current Population Re-
ports. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Bureau of the Cen-
sus, 1992. Comparative census statistics on U.S.
family and two-unrelated-adult households from
1980 to 1992.
Schoen, Robert, and Vladimir Canudas-Romo.
“Timing Effects on Divorce: Twentieth Century
Experience in the United States.”Journal of Mar-
riage and the Family68 (2006): 749-758. Critique of
conventional methods for calculating the proba-
bility of divorce and use of divorce data from
throughout the twentieth century to provide more
accurate estimates.
Thornton, Arland, and Linda Young-Demarco.
“Four Decades of Trends in Attitudes Toward
Family Issues in the United States.”Journal of Mar-
riage and the Family63 (2001): 1009-1037. Histori-
cal analysis of opinion research relevant to family
issues such as marriage and divorce.
Wahdhera, Surinder, and Jill Strachan. “Demo-
graphic Trends of Marriages in Canada, 1921-
1990.”Health Reports4, no. 4 (March, 1992): 403-- Charts changes in the propensity to marry,
the age at first marriage, and the tendency toward
remarriage of previously divorced persons in
Canada.
Zinn, Maxine Baca, and D. Stanley Eitzen.Diversity in
Families.Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2002. Two
prominent social-conflict theorists detail changes
in function and structure that characterize racial
and ethnic minority families in the United States.
Scott Magnuson-Martinson
See also Dallas; Demographics of Canada; Demo-
graphics of the United States;Dynasty; Falwell, Jerry;
Family Ties;Fatal Attraction; Ferraro, Geraldine; Ho-
mosexuality and gay rights; Just Say No campaign;
Reagan, Ronald;sex, lies, and videotape;thirtysomething;
When Harr y Met Sally...; Women in the workforce.Married... with Children
Identification Television comedy series
Date Aired from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997
As the first FOX network prime-time sitcom,Married...
with Childrenmarketed itself as an anti-sitcom. Instead
of featuring a wholesome, likable family and gentle humor,
the show employed dark, raunchy humor to depict a less san-
itized version of the American family.
The working name for the sitcomMarried...with
Childrenwas appropriatelyNot the Cosbys, because it622 Married... with Children The Eighties in America