title: Communes and changing family norms: marriage and life-style choice among former members of communal groups.
abstract: This article examines attitudes and behaviors regarding marriage, parenting, and lifestyle among former members of communal groups.  A follow-up sample of 635 individuals who lived in a variety of communes in the early 1970s was restudied using personal interviews and self-administered questionnaires.  Excommune members are less likely to have married than others in their age group.  Sizable proportions currently live in multi-adult households.  The vast majority of respondents holds open the possibility of collective living some time in the future.  Attitudes show continunity of ideological criticisms of traditional life styles and a commitment to emotional openness and negotiated role relations within the family.  Findings support a cohort-historical explanation of the commune movement.  Communal experimentation was both a manifestation of and a contributor to the larger process of family change.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Aidala
mesh_terms: D000569:Americas; D001290:Attitude; D001519:Behavior; D019049:Developed Countries; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005195:Family Relations; D008019:Life Style; D008393:Marriage; D009656:North America; D010290:Parents; D011584:Psychology; D014481:United States
keywords: Americas; Attitude; Behavior; Consensual Union; Developed Countries; Family And Household; Family Characteristics; Family Relationships; Households; Life Style; Marriage; North America; Northern America; Nuptiality; Parents; Psychological Factors; United States