Conceptions of Parentage and Kinship Among Children of Divorce

Abstract

Profound changes are taking place in American families because of the high rates of divorce and remarriage. The kin- ship systems resulting from these marital changes have no parallels in modern so- cieties. Although they have been likened to the complex kinship forms found cross- culturally (Bohannon 1971), they have not been studied by anthropologists, so they remain culturally uncharted (John- son 1988).Thepurposeofthisreportisto address this gap in the literature through an analysis of one portion of a longitudinal study ofdivorcing families. This analysis focuses on children’s conceptualiza- tion of their kinship systems following their parents’ divorces and remarriages. Striking differences were found in these children’s conceptions of their relationships with their mothers and fathers, diferences that were inconsistent with our data from their parents. It is apparent that the children perceive their fathers, irrespective of their actual status and involvement, as more distant and less available to them than their mothers. These contradictions in conceptions of parent- age raise issues on the determinants of gender roles. Since these issues are now under debate in anthropology, it is worthwhile to analyze the findings in that context