interrelationship between theory and research
There is an interrelationship between theory and research where theory informs research by providing a framework on how the variables and concepts relate to each other. In family research, theory explains family dynamics, and research studies examine those dynamics. Park, Unützer & Grembowski (2014) based their study on the psychosocial theory of depression to investigate ethnic and gender variations in the association between family cohesion, family conflict, and depression in older adults from Latino and Asian communities. According to the psychosocial theory of depression, later-life depression is a result of interactions among physical, psychological, social, and environmental factors and that a wide range of factors mediates the impact of negative life events on later-life depression. The results of the study showed that greater family cohesion decreases the risk for depression among older adults and that the associations vary by gender, with men being more sensitive to family conflict and family cohesion than women (Park, Unützer & Grembowski, 2014). The findings also show that the quality of family relationships strongly associates with later-life depression.
Part 2: Changes in Concept of Family
The concept of family has changed from the traditional idea of a heterosexual, married couple with children. In recent decades, the number of same-sex families has been on the rise. The number of lesbian and gay parents in the United States is between 800,000 and 7 million, raising between 1 and 9 million children (Baiocco et al., 2015). The change in family dynamics has its implications. Due to the stigma attached to nonheterosexual identities, same-sex families face additional difficulties in family formation. On the positive side, research shows that same-sex parent families tend to have more equality in decision-making practices, housework and childcare, and show effective parenting compared to heterosexual families. Furthermore, gay and lesbian relationships tend to have more creativity and flexibility when it comes to dyadic functioning and childcare.
The presence of transgender family members has altered the ways families view gender development. As a result, there is a constant questioning of the heteronormative family theory (McGuire et al., 2016). Traditionally, the cisnormativity belief system dominated family systems where bodies define gender and consequently, gender-based roles within families and society. The existence of transgender individuals (including an array of individuals who feel that their assigned sex at birth misaligns with their sense of gender identity and those who do not conform to social gender norms) challenges gender conventions. It may push family members to stretch and expand their thinking concerning sexuality, gender, and family.