Abstract
Although the family continues to be a critical unit in demographic and social analysis, perceptions of what constitutes the “family” vary across groups and societies. The standard definition of the family used in U.S. censuses and surveys (persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption, and living in the same residence) may limit description and analysis of family structure. Yet, it is what determines official data on the family. Because information on alternative family definitions is not available for the U.S., we use data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study to assess the effect of three definitions on dimensions of the family. We find significant differences across the three definitions and by stages of the life cycle, and we discuss implications for our understanding of family structure and functions in the U.S. and elsewhere, and some policy and programmatic consequences.
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Notes
Same-sex marriage was legalized in the Netherlands in 2001. Recent statistics indicate that approximately 1,100–1,200 same-sex couples are now married each year (Statistics Netherlands 2006).
A Dutch province represents the administrative layer in between the national government and the local municipalities, having the responsibility for matters of subnational or regional importance. There are currently 12 provinces, ranging in size from approximately 520 square miles to 1900 square miles. All provinces of the Netherlands are further divided into municipalities, administrative local areas, of which there are 458 (Overheid.nl 2006; World Gazetteer 2006).
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Acknowledgments
This paper is based on data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (NKPS). We are grateful to the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI), Pearl Dykstra, and the NKPS research team for providing us with access to the data and offering their valuable assistance and advice. We would also like to thank Karin L. Brewster and Suzanne M. Bianchi for their helpful comments on previous drafts of this paper.
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Tillman, K.H., Nam, C.B. Family Structure Outcomes of Alternative Family Definitions. Popul Res Policy Rev 27, 367–384 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-007-9067-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-007-9067-0