Collaborative Research: Transformation or Continuity in Americans' Definitions of Family

这一合作项目将进行一项具有全国代表性的电话调查，大约有800名来自美国大陆的成年人将接受采访，了解他们对家庭的定义以及他们对家庭的界定。这项调查是2003年和2006年完成的第三波调查。 这些数据是第一次在这个范围内进行的社会学调查，这些调查挖掘了美国人对家庭的定义及其定义背后的基本原理。 这些数据也是独特的，因为它们包含了关于这些主题的封闭式和开放式问题。 前两项调查的比较表明，在2003年至2006年期间，美国人的生活发生了惊人的变化。对家庭的意义有何看法？一个朝着更包容的家庭定义发展的国家。 2010年的数据收集将提供一个机会，以检验美国人的这种观点变化是继续、加速、停滞还是逆转。 这些数据还将使主要调查人员能够探索州同性婚姻合法化对美国人的潜在影响？对同性伴侣的看法。 封闭式问题将采用多元统计分析进行分析，开放式问题将采用最先进的定性分析技术进行探讨。包括开放式问题（例如，为什么他们认为某些生活安排可以或不可以算作家庭）也提供了一个独特的一瞥，了解人们如何解释他们对家庭的看法。更广泛的影响其他人如何定义？家人？有许多公共政策的影响。虽然公众舆论不是推动社会政策的唯一因素，但公共政策的变化在一定程度上是对公众舆论的反应。最近关于同性收养、寄养和婚姻的投票倡议进一步突出了公共定义的潜在影响。美国的转型还是延续？家庭权利和福利的扩大（或限制）是否涉及家庭观点？例如，保险权利、获得医疗保险、医院探视、子女监护和临终决定。 此外，该项目的一个重要特点是在研究过程的多个方面培训了两所大学的一大批年轻科学家（估计有20多名研究生和15名本科生）。 完成数据收集后，还将鼓励学生自己或与主要研究人员合作分析这些数据。最后，这个项目将产生一个关于家庭的数据集，对其他学者也应该有很大的用处。

SES-0961128Brian PowellIndiana UniversitySES-0961189Lala SteelmanUniversity of South CarolinaThis collaborative project will conduct a nationally representative phone survey in which an estimated 800 adults from the continental United States will be interviewed about their definitions of family and the lines that they draw around what they consider to be families. This survey constitutes the third wave of a survey that was completed in 2003 and 2006. These data are the first sociological surveys of this scope that tap into Americans' definitions of family and their rationale behind these definitions. These data also are distinctive in their inclusion of both close-ended and open-ended questions on these topics. A comparison of the first two surveys suggests that between 2003 and 2006 there was a striking change in Americans? views regarding the meaning of family?one that move toward a more inclusive definition of family. The collection of data in 2010 would provide an opportunity to test whether this change in Americans views has continued, accelerated, stalled or reversed. The data also will enable the principal investigators to explore the potential influence of state legalization of same-sex marriage on Americans? views regarding same-sex couples. Closed-ended questions will be analyzed with multivariate statistical analyses, and open-ended questions will be explored with state-of-the-art qualitative analytical techniques. The inclusion of open-ended questions (e.g., why they believe that certain living arrangements do or do not count as family) also offers a unique glimpse into how people explain their views regarding family.Broader ImpactsHow others define ?family? has numerous public policy implications. Although public opinion is not the only factor that drives social policy, changes in public policy are responsive in part to public views. Recent ballot initiatives regarding same-sex adoption, foster care and marriage further accentuate the potential influence of public definitions. Transformation or continuity in Americans? views regarding family may be implicated in the extension of (or restriction of) familial rights and benefits?for example, insurance rights, access to health insurance, hospital visitation, child custody, and end-of-life decisions. In addition, a valuable feature of this project is the training of a large team of young scientists at two universities (estimated at over twenty graduate students and fifteen undergraduates) in the multiple aspects of the research process. Upon completion of the data collection, students also will be encouraged to analyze these data by themselves or in collaboration with the principal investigators. Finally, this project will result in a data set about family that also should be of great use to other scholars.