Framework for Interpreting Long-Term Trends in Values and Beliefs Concerning Single-Parent Families

One of the most important trends of the last half of the 20th century was the dramatic rise in singleparent families through increases in divorce and nonmarital childbearing. There were also shifts during this period in values and beliefs about divorce and childbearing. Single parenthood was also increasing during the first part of the century, and it is likely that these behavioral changes were accompaniedbychanges inpublic opinion.Unfortunately, whereas comparable repeated surveys have permitted changes in values and beliefs to be documented for recent decades, such data resources, tomy knowledge, do not exist for the first half of the 20th century. This has left an important gap in our understanding of long-term trends in values and beliefs. The interesting paper by Margaret Usdansky (2009) provides an important contribution toward filling this gap. The author conducted a content analysis of the American social science and popular literatures of almost the entire 20th century— from 1900 to 1998. The results show a substantial decline in negative depictions of divorce. There was no increase in favorable depictions of divorce but an almost complete disappearance of normative discussion, leading Usdansky to suggest that ambivalencehadbecome thepredominant viewof Americans toward divorce. However, this trend toward ambivalent acceptance of divorce did not extend to increased acceptance of nonmarital childbearing. I congratulate Usdansky for her important contributions to our knowledge. Like much important research, Usdansky’s research not only provides valuable answers, but raises important new questions. One question concerns the reasons for the differential trends in depictions of divorce and nonmarital childbearing in the popular and scholarly literature across the 20th century. A second question concerns the trends in values and beliefs concerning divorce and nonmarital childbearing prior to 1900. We know that divorce was increasing during the 19th century, but what about public opinion and public depictions concerning divorce and nonmarital childbearing? A third question asks about the forces behind the trends in public opinion before and after 1900. In this paper I discuss these interrelated questions, provide some hypotheses, and suggest additional research. I begin with a discussion of family life in Western societies (defined here as Western Europe and its overseas diaspora) several hundred years ago, with an emphasis onmarriage, divorce, and childbearing. I then discuss important ideational forces changing values and beliefs concerning these behaviors. Because of the scope of my discussion relative to the allotted space, my discussion must be general and gloss over the details of individual populations. I also provide only limited citations to the literature and invite interested readers to consult my two recent books for additional documentation (Thornton, 2005; Thornton,Axinn,&Xie, 2007). Population Studies Center, Survey Research Center, and Department of Sociology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 ([email protected]).