Changes in Family Life in Middletown, 1924–77

Characteristics of family life described by Middletown high school students in 1924 and reported in Robert and Helen Lynd's Middletown are contrasted with data from students interviewed in 1977. Comparisons of students' responses suggest that there has been an attenuation of certain family functions and an enhancement of others. The 1977 students were more likely to earn their own spending money and less likely to receive their sex education from their parents; and females were more likely to spend evenings away from home. There were changes in definitions of women's roles, and the range of desirable parental characteristics had narrowed to focus on direct parent-child relationships of an emotional or expressive nature. Analysis of reported topics of disagreement suggest that the generation gap in 1977 is no wider than it was in 1924.