The Groves Conference on Marriage and Family: History and Impact on Family Science

Demography

Demographic shifts have been important to understanding and anticipating marriage and family changes. Paul Glick, Groves Academy member and long-time U.S. Census Bureau family specialist, has shown how families were represented across the life course and developed the first analysis of the rise of cohabitation. He presented at many Groves Conferences and was often a questioner when others presented innovative ideas. At Groves in 1976 he argued that demographic change may come before the ideological change (Settles, Van Name, Cole, Glick, & McCauley, 1976). Marriage, divorce, remarriage, and cohabitation were the topics in that workshop. Also discussed at length were trends in foster care [Barbara Settles & Judith Van Name]; single parenting; the who and when of marriage and no-fault divorce [Paul Glick]; older child, disabled, foster family, single-parent and open adoption [Elizabeth Cole]; and college student cohabitation [Brooke McCauley]. The facts of family change become clear in Groves Conference programs and family literature, but as Dr. Glick had shown in his census analyses, one can often see a shift before the change is realized. Cole reported a revolution in adoption practice and how small changes made big differences in outcomes. Foster care was also undergoing dramatic changes especially in directing more attention to tracking and monitoring the foster child’s placements and finding more permanency—even if it meant termination of parental rights. Cohabitation research moved beyond college students, and Dr. Glick found within the data sets ways to see the trends in other age groups.

Two conferences were especially shaped by the changing demography of American families. The 1996 conference in San Diego “Passing the Torch: The Study of Intergenerational Relations for the 21st Century” identified new aspects of families across the life Page  252course. Judith Fischer, with her doctoral students from Texas Tech University Todd Gomez, Judy Kimberly, Boyd Pidcock, and Anna Tacon, organized the meeting. The purpose of this conference was to expand understanding of intergenerational relations. A poster session was held for young professionals to present their work. A panel of Groves’ parents and their adult children (some of whom were, or became, Groves members themselves) was moderated by Eleanor Macklin and provided an experiential exploration. Vern Bengtson gave a keynote address presenting his longitudinal research on multigenerational families and looking to the future of such relationships. A performance of three short dramas on eldercare by nurse Julie Russell demonstrated issues in caregiving and bioethical decisions that are more common as the population ages.

Among the workshops were Eleanor Macklin, Gypsie Van Antwerp, and Jill Rohbracker on Gay and Lesbian couples who had become parents; Marcia Lasswell on belonging to a “dynasty” family; Carmen Knudson-Martin on individual development and intergenerational relatedness; Marc Baranowski on grandparenting; Mary Jane Van Meter on intergenerational boundary ambiguity; Catherine Chilman on ecological perspective across the lifespan; Davor Jedlicka and Glenn Jennings on intergenerational emotional processes; Nancy Kingsbury on fertility trends; Barbara Settles, Carolyn Grasse-Bachman, and James E. Davis on developing community and peer support for young parents; Randal Day on father involvement; Gordon Barnes, Michael Farrell, David Patton, and Anne George on adolescents and parents over time; Roger Rubin and Carol Werlinich on teaching intergenerational relationships; Beth Norrell on multicultural perspectives; Jo Lynn Cunningham on schools and children; and Margaret Feldman and Catherine Chilman on the world-wide paradigm shift in intergenerational relationships. Eight round tables addressed specific problems in intergenerational relationships. This lifecourse perspective was especially inclusive of members’ own work and the discussions and informal talk was particularly productive.

In 1999 Roma Stovall Hanks and Jean Pearson-Scott organized “Late Life/New Life: Creative Aging in Changing Families and Communities” in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Marvin Sussman spoke Page  253about “Groves Third Age: Moving in Jump Time.” Jill Quadagno, past president of the American Sociological Association, presented an analysis of 21st-century aging research and policy using her work in the Washington, D.C. policy scene as well as her own research. A panel on Florida’s innovative aging research and programming included James Mortimer, William Haley, Gregory Paveza, Sandra Reynolds, and Larry Polivka. Florida has been a magnet for retirement, and the demands on supportive services have produced some interesting strategies while increasing longevity has created some unexpected challenges. One specific example discussed was trailer parks, or manufactured housing (the preferred term). The lifetimes of these homes begins to be precarious by their 20th or 25th anniversary, but compared to conventional housing there is little renovation that can make them livable for the mostly limited-income frail elderly. Charles “Gus” Whalen, president and CEO of the Warren Featherbone Company, spoke on organizational changes and families in an aging society. His work, both in his company and as president of the American Apparel Association, had led him to be concerned and focused on an aging society.

Workshops featured Felix Berardo, Gordon Streib, and Donna Berardo on living in a retirement community; Barbara Settles and Nancy Kingsbury on making plans between generations: Whose best interests?; Karen Goebel, on privacy in medical records; Pam Monroe and James Garand on welfare dependent women in later life; Tom McGloshen on older recent widows; Pauline Boss on ambiguous loss and learning to live with unresolved grief; Donna Dempster-McClain on moving into continuing care retirement communities; Margaret Feldman on aging in place in an urban renewal area; Carmen Knudson-Martin on gender and caregiving; Linda Haas on aging and social policy in Sweden; Anne Rankin Mahoney on decade birthday reflections; Jean Pearson–Scott on family constructions of older adults; Jo Lynn Cunningham, Connie Steele, and Virginia Hayes Sibbison on life after 65; Robert Lewis on marriage and family enrichment through massage; John Curtis and R. Blaine Emerson on storytelling as a function of family preservation; Deborah Gentry on family violence intervention; and Roma Stovall Hanks on connecting the generations and new roles for grandparents. Roundtables were held by Enzo Pastore on the National Committee to Preserve Social Page  254Security and Medicare; Patricia Tanner Nelson on multigenerational rural families; Betsy Garrison and Pamela Monroe on writing across the curriculum; James Peters on writing in retirement; Roger Rubin on parenting in late life; Boyd Pidcock, Larry Forthum, and Judith Fischer on temperament-related risk factors for male adult children of alcoholics; and Todd Gomez and Judith Fischer on evaluation of a substance abuse academic program minor.

The conference ranged from specific programs and practical problems for the aged to process and creative options in aging. This approach reflected new developments in the field of human development and the somewhat awkward approach to seeing the family’s social connections to the aged as anything more than caregivers. Aging as a process, having many facets and transitions and for many people outliving their plans and resources, was beginning to emerge (Hanks & Pearson-Scott, 1999). Aging not only as generativity but also as a well lived and creative part of life was reflected throughout the sessions. As Jessie Bernard said in her books on the female world, people, especially women, have been gifted with a new bagful of years in which to have second chances (Settles & Liprie, 1983a). Quality of life is desired more than sheer quantity of years, but years give options to try different possibilities. The great demographic transitions of the 20th and 21st centuries have set the stage for reexamining the stereotypes and expectations of elders and their connections to younger people in society.