Family Transitions

Toward Conceptual Clarity: Defining and Operationalizing Family Structure

Our journal, Family Transitions, faces two critical scholarly challenges: a) how to theoretically define constructs related to family structure and/or transitions, and b) how to measure these constructs. In terms of scholarly definitions, most work in this area has focused on changes in how many adults assume parenting roles in the family, the addition or removal of romantic partners involved with the parenting figures, the addition or removal of stepsiblings when romantic partners enter and/or leave the family, and whether the family includes multiple generations, such as grandparents. Typically, family structure is not thought to include how family members interact with each other or how family members decide to implement their roles (i.e., family processes). Nevertheless, there are still many variables that are relevant in defining family structure or transitions and there exist numerous studies that have provided a wide range of often contrasting or inconsistent definitions. Ideally, more theoretical work is needed to reach greater scholarly clarity on how these constructs are defined, which will also spur on the development of more psychometrically sound measures.

Reliance on outdated conceptualizations that are not reflective of current family life have limited how scholars and practitioners can compare and generalize results across studies and understand modern family life. Further, the field would benefit from measures that are logically, intentionally, and consistently connected to definitions of the construct. For example, if one hypothesizes that children’s outcomes are primarily influenced by the number of parenting figures in the home (or outside the home), measures need to be developed that place a central emphasis on changes over time in the number of parenting figures living in the family. Without this level of correspondence between definitions and measures, there are substantial limitations in how far we can advance our understanding of how changes in family structure affect the adjustment of family members, particularly middle-aged children.

Purpose of this Special Issue

In this special issue of Family Transitions, we invite family scholars to submit manuscripts that review the literatures on how family structure and/or transitions have been defined and measured in the past and how we could improve the effectiveness of these processes in the future. Examples of papers appropriate for the special include those that focus on:

• Reviews of the literature on how concepts related to family structure and/or transitions have been defined and/or measured in past research;
• Theoretical or measurement development that will more effectively reflect experiences of multiple family transitions in future studies;
• Proposals for how researchers can be more deliberate in concurrently addressing both theory and measurement, because there is much less value in making contributions in only one, but not both, of these activities;
• Presentations of qualitative, quantitative, or mixed method studies that illustrate new empirical ways to better understand and measure family transitions.