"The Marriage-Go-Round", by Andrew J. Cherlin

In his book, The Marriage-Go-Round, Andrew Cherlin discusses the state of Marriage and the Family in America today. His focus lays primarily on the instability of American relationships in contrast to other similar countries. With the instability of American families, based on Cherlin's observations, he comments on the place of children within the situation. Even if parents are to separate, Cherlin is of the opinion that the addition of a step-parent, even though it is an addition of a second parent, would actually create instability for the children. His explanations of his reasoning includes the tension that a step-parent would involuntarily create with the separated parent. This tension would create instability for the children. The basis for Cherlin's examination of the American Family revolves around the contradictory nature of America's prestiges views of Marriage and the strong cultural emphasis on Individualism. These two strong views are contradictory in nature. While Marriage is a value for the family, the individualism makes it difficult to place sufficient focus on the family. American's attempt at balancing these two cultural poles is what Cherlin finds so interesting.