Journal of Family Issues

Donor-shared sibling families have recently emerged. Families who conceived using the same anonymous donor are locating one another through websites designed to match children with their biogenetic half-siblings. Based on a survey of 587 parents with donor-conceived children, we discovered that a growing number of unrelated parents whose children are genetically related are organizing into durable groups. These groups mainly exist on the Internet where members can choose their level of participation. A smaller group has met offline, but most select one or two families they especially connect with. Overall, these families illustrate that genetics cannot be ignored. Whereas some respondents view donor-siblings as a latent affiliation—an insurance policy for future questions by their children—others have used the Internet as a social arena to connect and form relationships. In this new world, the Internet is altering how kinship is discovered and formed.

To identify perspectives on the roles of extended family and fictive kin, the authors conducted a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 45 older adults diverse in gender, race, and class. Five strategies of kin reinterpretation were found. Kin promotion defined a distant blood relative as a closer blood relative. Kin exchange reclassified a parent–child tie as a sibling tie or vice versa. Nonkin conversion created fictive kin by turning friends and colleagues into family-like members. Kin retention kept an ex-in-law in the extended family network following divorce. Kin loss identified the meaning of losing physical or psychological contact with a once-valued kin member. The findings reveal that older adults from both mainstream and marginalized families expanded kin reinterpretation practices as a means of adapting to impermanence in family ties. These alterations helped ensure closeness and mutual reliance, thus providing a bridge to connect the old and new social landscape.

The authors use data from the National Survey of Families and Households to examine a range of sociability behaviors for adults who grew up with and without siblings. Compared with adults who grew up with siblings, adults who grew up without siblings have less frequent social activities with relatives, and the difference is greater among those who did not live with both parents growing up. Differences in engaging in certain social events between adults who grew up without and with siblings vary by age. Differences in participation in sports-, youth-, or school-related group activities for those who grew up without and with siblings vary by gender. Thus, there are some differences in adult sociability behaviors between those who grew up with and without siblings; however, the pattern of findings in this study suggests that these differences are not large or pervasive across a range of sociability behaviors and may grow smaller with age.

With whom do parents discuss medical and behavioral child-rearing questions? In a telephone survey of 167 parents (49 fathers and 118 mothers) in the southern United States, the authors found that mothers express a clear preference for their own mother’s advice as opposed to that of their mother-in-law. Fathers are less likely to consult any relative and show little preference for their own mothers in seeking parenting advice. Directions for further research are discussed.

This study examines parents’ and children’s reaction to the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation to limit children’s television (TV) viewing to 2 hours a day or less. To better understand the challenges faced by parents who would seek to adhere to the guidelines, we conducted qualitative small group interviews with 60 parent/child dyads from each of the following three age groups: 6 to 7, 9 to 10, and 12 to 13 years (N = 180 children and 180 parents). Parents and children were interviewed separately and transcripts were thematically analyzed using Atlas.ti. Results indicate three salient challenges: (a) limiting children’s TV time will cause conflict in the home because of children’s anger at parents’ rules and increased bickering between siblings; (b) replacing TV as an entertainer takes time away from parents and requires monetary and community resources that are not available; and (c) TV is seen as a beneficial presence in the home, offering entertainment, free babysitting, and educational opportunities.

This study investigated various roles played by host, homeland, and global media in the lives of immigrant families from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, former USSR) to Israel and Germany, as well as the place of different media in family conflicts, consolidation, and parenting strategies. The study was based on focus group interviews with 60 families of Russian-speaking immigrants in Israel and Germany and 73 semistructured, in-depth interviews with immigrant youngsters. The findings of this study demonstrate that the mass media fulfill diverse roles for immigrant families, assisting them face two main relocation challenges: integration “inward” (i.e., cultural transmission and family consolidation) and “outward” integration into their new surroundings.