Stabilität der Familie oder Stabilität des Wandels? Zur Dynamik der Familienentwicklung

Zusammenfassung

Der amerikanische Familienforscher Andrew J. Cherlin veröffentlichte 1981 ein Buch mit dem Titel „Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage“. Im Vorwort zur 1992 erschienenen Neuauflage schreibt Cherlin, um den in der Zwischenzeit erfolgten Wandel der Beziehungs- und Lebensformen abzubilden, müsse der Titel nun eigentlich lauten „Cohabitation, Marriage, Divorce, More Cohabitation, and Probably Remarriage“ (S. VII). Da ein solcher Titel offensichtlich zu lang und unhandlich sei, bleibe es beim alten. Aber um die zunehmende Vielfalt der Beziehungsformen anschaulich vor Augen zu führen, beginnt Cherlin mit einer hypothetischen Lebensgeschichte:

„When Bill was ten, his parents separated and divorced. He lived with his mother and saw his father every Saturday. Four years later, his mother remarried, and Bill added a stepfather to his family. At eighteen, Bill left home to attend college, and after graduation he and his girlfriend moved in together. A year and a half later they married, and soon afterward they had a child. After several years, however, the marriage began to turn sour. Bill and his wife eventually divorced, with Bill’s wife retaining custody of the child. Three years later Bill married a woman who had a child from a previous marriage, and together they had another child. Bill’s second marriage lasted thirty-five years, until his death“ (1992, S. 1).