A Biosocial Perspective on Parenting

Current research on, & advocacy of, "variant" marriage & family forms neglects some of the fundamental human characteristics rooted in biological continuity. An attempt is made here to link the concepts of a "sexual script" & a "parenting script" to innate physiological factors. The social sciences have been hostile toward biology as a source of understanding social behavior & organization, however, recent developments in endocrinology have lent new insights into biosocial science--particularly with regard to sex roles, parenting, & parent-child relations. Still to be provided is definitive evidence of all that is involved in the relationship between hormone-producing glands, brain chemistry, & behavior. For social scientists researching gender-influenced behavior differences, one area of potential significance deals with androgens & estrogens, & the organizational impact of gonadal hormones during fetal development. Contemporary literature on variant marriage & family forms concerns three main issues: (1) it neglects the study of parenting or children, focusing mainly on adult relationships, (2) expanded freedom of private sexual pleasure is widening the circle of sexual partners, & (3) the ramifications of ego indulgence & immediate gratification for parenthood. Also examined are obstetric management of childbirth, & the interrelations between child-rearing & employment. J. Shiffer.