Many long-standing assumptions about American families have been challenged by family scholars. Among these assumptions is the belief that in colonial times the American family was extended in its structure, with three generations living together under one roof. It has been commonly believed that the nuclear family came about as a result of industrialization, with smaller families better able to meet the demands of an industrialized economy. However, historical data show that the extended family was not typical in the colonial era and that the earliest families arriving from Great Britain and other western European countries were already nuclear in structure (Demos 1970; Laslett and Wall 1972).

Some commonly held views about contemporary families also have been debunked in the research literature. For example, it has been commonly thought that American families neglect their elder members and are quick to place them in nursing homes. However, research shows...