Abstract

Any review of the literature on variant, nontraditional, or alternative family forms must begin with a discussion of the meaning of these terms. Variant suggests variation on the norm, but what is the norm? The ideal to which most aspire or the manner in which most persons actually live? To define nontraditional, one must first determine what is traditional, recognizing that traditions change. What period of time shall be held as the tradition for the present? Even the word alternative creates problems; some authors reserve the word for those instances when the lifestyle is chosen freely as a result of ideology and personal preference, using alternate when the lifestyle develops out of necessity or personal circumstance (e.g., Cazenave, 1980).

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