A half-century of change in family structure is likely to slow in the 1990s, but there is no likelihood America will return to the ”Ozzie and Harriet” model of yesteryear, says a new government study.
”Valuing the family should not be confused with valuing a particular family form,” said the report by the Population Reference Bureau.
”Social legislation, or `pro-family` policies, narrowly designed to reinforce only one model of the American family is likely to be shortsighted and have the unintended consequence of weakening, rather than strengthening, family ties,” the report said.
About 36 percent of all American families are married couples with children, but a growing number of those are ”blended” stepfamilies. One in three Americans is a member of a stepfamily and that is expected to rise to nearly one in two by the turn of the century, the report said.
