Chapter Overview

Couples continue to be affected by and have relationships with their parents as well as in-laws during marriage. Both positive and negative parental identification can influence the marital relationship as can parental rejection, mother-daughter and mother-son relationships, and problems created by parental disapproval of mate choice. Couples can try various strategies to resolve problems associated with parental disapproval of mate choice. If left unresolved, they can bring about problems in the marriage. Current research findings indicate families serve as a major source of help for their elderly family members. In-law disagreements are most common in the early years of marriage, although about one-fourth of all couples have positive relationships with their in-laws. Both the in-laws and the couples can contribute to difficulties in the relationships. Although most young couples do not want to live with their parents after marriage, there has been an upswing in the number of young people who accept the idea of sharing a home with an elderly person, although this acceptance is not shared by elders themselves, who value their independence. It has become more common in the United States for middle-aged adults to live in an extended family at some point, typically to help either old or younger generations with housing needs. Demographic trends have resulted in an increase in living grandparents and fewer grandchildren per grandparent. Today's grandparents are healthier, live longer, and are more active than those in the past. Parents, grandparents, and grandchildren can help one another in various ways, including grandparents fulfilling the parental role for their grandchildren.