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The adult children of divorce

Pure relationships and family values?

School of Communication, Culture and Languages, Victoria University, Katie.Hughes{at}vu.edu.au

Giddens and Beck-Gernsheim argue that there has been a shift from stable family formations to relationships that are inherently fragile and temporary. Both propose that intimate relationships in late modernity have been marked by reflexivity and contingency. Although these are not new propositions, little empirical work has been done on the contours of such relationships and the meanings that they have for individuals. This article explores Giddens’ and Beck-Gernsheim’s contentions through looking at the perceptions of relationships, and the family values, of members of Generation X whose parents divorced and who subsequently grew up in a single-parent, step-, or blended family. In particular it discusses the suggestion that we are moving into an era in which ‘the normalisation of fragility’ will become central to people’s intimate relationships.

Key Words: adult children of divorce • divorce • families • intimacy • reflexivity • relationships

Journal of Sociology, Vol. 41, No. 1, 69-86 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1440783305050964


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