Marriage and the Family62, no. 4 (2000): 1288-- Reviews research on stepfamilies during the
1990’s, including demographic trends, remar-
riage relationships, the effects of blended fami-
lies on children, societal attitudes toward step-
families, and legal issues.
Demo, David A., et al. “Families with Young
Children: A Review of Research in the 1990’s.”
Journal of Marriage and the Family62, no. 4 (2000):
876-895. Summarizes studies on the impact of
family and household structure and parenting ar-
rangements on the well-being of children.
Fields, Jason.Children’s Living Arrangements and Char-
acteristics: March 2002.Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Government Printing Office, 2003. An overview
of demographic characteristics of children living
in the United States drawn from 2000 census
data.
Furukawa, Stacy.The Diverse Living Arrangements of
Children: Summer 1991. Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1994. Provides na-
tional-level overview regarding living arrange-
ments of children eighteen years and under in
the United States. Includes detailed analysis of
how each person in a household is related to all
other household members for nuclear families,
extended families, blended families, and adop-
tive families.
Hetherington, E. Mavis, et al. “Diversity Among
Stepfamilies.” InHandbook of Family Diversity,ed-
ited by David Demo, et al. New York: Oxford Uni-
versity Press, 2000. Describes stepfamilies in the
United States, with an emphasis on diverse
stepfamily experiences and adjustment of family
members.
Visher, Emily B., and John S. Visher.How to Win as a
Stepfamily. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1991. In-
cludes both scholarly research and applied infor-
mation about living in stepfamilies.
Barbara E. Johnson
See also Defense of Marriage Act of 1996; Demo-
graphics of the United States; Domestic partner-
ships; Homosexuality and gay rights; Marriage and
divorce.
Bloc Québécois
Identification Canadian political party
The Bloc Québécois, a mainstay of French Canadian na-
tionalism, achieved notoriety as the official opposition
party in Canada’s House of Commons in 1993 and cam-
paigned vigorously in favor of Quebec sovereignty during
the Quebec referendum of 1995.
The Bloc Québécois (“the Bloc,” or BQ) began as an
impromptu alliance of parliamentarians from Que-
bec province in July of 1990. Following the break-
down of the Meech Lake Accord, which would have
granted substantial concessions to the predomi-
nantly francophone province, Federal Minister of
the Environment Lucien Bouchard resigned from
his charge in Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s cabi-
net and joined forces with Benoît Tremblay, Louis
Plamondon, François Gérin, Nic Leblanc, and
Gilbert Chartrand to form a political alliance. The
Bloc became an official party on June 15, 1991, and
promoted, with Bouchard at its helm, the aspira-
tions of Quebec’s sovereignist movement.
In a first display of strength, Bouchard’s Bloc
helped turn public opinion against the Charlotte-
town Accord of 1992. Then, in the October 25, 1993,
federal elections, the party surprised political ob-
servers when it secured fifty-four of Quebec’s sev-
enty-five electoral districts. Surpassed only by the
Liberal Party, its members held the second largest
number of electoral seats in the House of Commons
and, hence, became the Canadian government’s of-
ficial opposition party. Among other things, this au-
thorized the party’s leader to form a shadow cabinet
and speak immediately after the prime minister or
his representative in parliamentary debate.
The Bloc also played a central role in the cam-
paign for the “yes” vote during the Quebec referen-
dum of 1995, which, had it won, would have
prompted negotiations on the secession of Quebec
from the rest of Canada. Ultimately, the path to sov-
ereignty was rejected by a margin of less than one
percent of the popular vote.
Michel Gauthier succeeded Bouchard as leader
of the party in 1996 but achieved disappointing re-
sults in public opinion polls and was replaced one
year later by Gilles Duceppe. The Bloc performed
moderately well in the 1997 federal election, receiv-
ing forty-four out of Quebec’s seventy-five electoral
seats, but not well enough to retain its status as the106 Bloc Québécois The Nineties in America