Children's influence in family decision-making: Examining the impact of the changing American family

Abstract

Over the past thirty years, the structure of the traditional American family has changed markedly. Significant trends include older parents, delayed marriages, postponed childbearing, single-parent families, and stepfamilies. These profound social changes have had a significant impact on the lives of children and have conspired to change the child influence patterns often cited in the family decision-making literature. Results from two contemporary samples of 1463 families suggest that consideration should be given to the changing structure of the family and the type of product when identifying the characteristics which moderate children's influence.