Growing Up and Growing Old in Italian-American Families, 1975-1977

Three comparison groups were used to examine how family processes vary across ethnic backgrounds. Participants were either married Italian-Americans (74 wives and 26 husbands), married to Italian-Americans (98 wives and 23 husbands), or part of a Protestant control group (56 wives).

All respondents were in their 40s and 50s and dealing with transitions of their children into adulthood and of their parents into old age. In addition to the three groups of middle-aged respondents, 66 Italians over the age of 65, 28 geographically mobile Italian-American families, and 43 community informants were included in the study to provide a description of Italian family life both in its traditional immigrant form and its contemporary organization.