1 Boston, Massachusetts
More than 60% of the marriages contracted in the current year are expected to come to divorce or separation. Not only marriage but also parenthood is in a state of uncertainty; many young people are looking at the families they have known and wondering if the rewards of being parents outweigh the distress they believe they see. There is a growing body of social science literature that points to the isolated mother-father-child familyexpecting to meet all of their needs behind the closed doors of their homes, and with responsibilities sharply divided between wage earner and housekeeperas a family system that puts maximum stress on minimum strength.