Encyclopedia of Sociology

AMERICAN FAMILIES

Piliavin, Jane A., John F. Dovidio, Samuel Gaertner, and
Russell D. Clark 1981 Emergency Intervention. New
York: Academic.

Piliavin, Jane A., and Rhoda Kesler Unger 1985 ‘‘The
Helpful but Helpless Female: Myth or Reality?’’ In
Virginia E. O’Leary, Rhoda K. Unger, and Barbara S.
Wallston, eds., Women, Gender, and Social Psychology.
Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.

Rushton, J. Philippe 1998 ‘‘Genetic Similarity Theory
and the Roots of Ethnic Conflict.’’ The Journal of
Social, Political, and Economic Studies 23:477–486.

Schroeder, David A., Louis A. Penner, John F. Dovidio,
and Jane Allyn Piliavin 1995 The Psychology of Helping
and Altruism: Problems and Puzzles. New York: Mc-
Graw-Hill.

Schwartz, Shalom H. 1977 ‘‘Normative Influences on
Altruism.’’ In L. Berkowitz, ed., Advances in Experi-
mental Social Psychology, vol. 10. New York: Academ-
ic Press.

———, and Judith A. Howard 1981 ‘‘A Normative
Decision-Making Model of Altruism.’’ In J. P. Rushton
and R. M. Sorrentino, eds., Altruism and Helping
Behavior: Social, Personality, and Developmental Perspec-
tives. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.

Sober, Elliott, and David S. Wilson 1998 Unto Others: The
Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior. Cam-
bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Sorokin, Pitirim A. 1950 Altruistic Love: A Study of Ameri-
can ‘Good Neighbors’ and Christian Saints. Boston: The
Beacon Press.

——— (ed.) 1970 [1950] Explorations in Altruistic Love
and Behavior: A Symposium. New York: Kraus Reprint
Co. [Boston: The Beacon Press]

Ting, Jen-Chieh, and Jane A. Piliavin forthcoming ‘‘Al-
truism in Comparative International Perspective.’’
In James Phillips, ed., Charities: Between State and
Market. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Wilson, John P. 1976 ‘‘Motivation, Modeling, and Altru-
ism: A Person X Situation Analysis.’’ Journal of Person-
ality and Social Psychology 34:1078–1086.

Wilson, John, and Marc A. Musick 1997 ‘‘Who Cares?
Toward and Integrated Theory of Volunteer Work.’’
American Sociological Review 62:694–713.

JUDITH A. HOWARD

JANE ALLYN PILIAVIN

AMERICAN FAMILIES

Many long-standing assumptions about American
families have been challenged by family scholars.

Among these assumptions is the belief that in

colonial times the American family was extended

in its structure, with three generations living to-

gether under one roof. It has been commonly

believed that the nuclear family came about as a

result of industrialization, with smaller families

better able to meet the demands of an industrial-

ized economy. However, historical data show that

the extended family was not typical in the colonial

era and that the earliest families arriving from

Great Britain and other western European coun-

tries were already nuclear in structure (Demos

1970; Laslett and Wall 1972).

Some commonly held views about contempo-

rary families also have been debunked in the re-

search literature. For example, it has been com-

monly thought that American families neglect their

elder members and are quick to place them in

nursing homes. However, research shows that most

older Americans have frequent contact with one

or more members of their family, and that families

typically provide extensive, long-term care to older

persons when such care is needed. In most cases,

families turn to placement in a nursing home as a

last resort rather than a first option when elder

members grow ill or frail.

More generally, family scholars have success-

fully challenged the notion of ‘‘the American fami-

ly.’’ As Howe (1972, p. 11) puts it, ‘‘the first thing

to remember about the American family is that it

doesn’t exist. Families exist. All kinds of families in

all kinds of economic and marital situations.’’ This

review will show the great diversity of family pat-

terns that characterize the United States of the

past, the present, and the foreseeable future.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

It is unfortunate that textbooks intended for courses

on the family rarely include a discussion of Native

Americans, for a historical examination of these

groups shows a striking range of variation in family

patterns. In fact, virtually all the variations in

marriage customs, residence patterns, and family

structures found the world over could be found in

North America alone (Driver 1969). Though some

of these traditional family patterns have survived

to the present day, others have been disrupted

over the course of U.S. history. It is important to