Joseph G. Grzywacz

Family science lacks a shared ontological account of its central referent: what kind of thing F-A-M-I-L-Y is remains unclear. This gap undermines theoretical coherence, inhibits cumulative knowledge-building, and weakens the field’s policy relevance. The essay traces how family science inherited distinct frames from parent disciplines at founding, without consolidating a shared ontological account. Drawing on the metaphysics of organized and feature social groups and the philosophy of deliberate care, the essay applies systematic ontological analysis to F-A-M-I-L-Y as a candidate distinct social kind. Comparison across six metaphysical dimensions reveals that F-A-M-I-L-Y shares features with organized groups but diverges in structural-functional organization, collective intentionality, member volition, and the source of these shared features. These are not definitional failures; they are a coherent ontological pattern. The paper suggests that F-A-M-I-L-Y is a care-constituted relational nexus: a structured web of care-bonds among particular persons, constituted by deliberate care oriented toward the adequate viability of those persons through the real conditions of their existence. This framework resolves apparent tensions between embattled conceptions of F-A-M-I-L-Y, accommodates technological complexity in reproduction, and provides actionable methodological guidance for researchers. Ontological precision and genuine inclusiveness are not competing goods; the care-constitution framework demonstrates they are mutually reinforcing.

Objectives: This scoping review characterizes the scope, methods, and framing of empirical research evaluating the Field Sanitation Standard (FSS) and Worker Protection Standard (WPS) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Labor respectively. Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we identified empirical studies (1990–2024) assessing elements of either the FSS or WPS. Two reviewers screened and extracted study characteristics, designs, populations, and regulatory elements. Framing analysis of 1226 segments, identified using a large language model, from the studies' abstracts and introductions examined how authors conceptualized farmworkers' need for protection. Results: Forty studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies concentrated in the Atlantic Southeast, and the vast majority (> 80%) used cross‐sectional designs. Most (75%) focused on the WPS, primarily pesticide‐safety training, while the FSS was less studied. Ten frames emerged; the most common were behavioral intervention (83%), regulatory inadequacy (75%), and structural vulnerability (65%). Conclusions: Evaluation of WPS and FSS effectiveness is fragmented: geographically concentrated, episodically timed, and predominantly descriptive. These limitations hinder impact assessment. The 2018 EPA Office of Inspector General recommendation for systematic WPS evaluation remains unmet. Sustained federal investment in rigorous, longitudinal evaluation, covering both the WPS and FSS, is needed to ensure the policies' objectives, the protection of farmworker health, are met.

Using a pattern-centered approach, this investigation sought to identify latent subgroups of family functioning and evaluate their associations with health outcomes. A latent profile analysis was conducted using data from the National Study of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS). The sample comprised 5923 married adults between 25 and 74 years old who responded to items measuring family support, family strain, spousal support, spousal strain, and spousal agreement. These aspects of family functioning were used to identify four latent classes: Low Functioning (5.0%), Moderate Support with Elevated Strain (31.7%), High Support with Elevated Strain (13.7%), and High Functioning (49.6%). Compared to the other classes, individuals in the High Functioning class had greater psychological well-being and were less likely to have a chronic physical condition. The findings of this study highlight the importance of the systemic context of families in understanding the role of close relationships in health.

While cortisol production has been studied in parent-child dyads, research has not specifically examined cortisol production of US-born adolescents and their undocumented immigrant Latino parents, despite the elevated stress associated with mixed status. The purpose of the small study was to 1) assess the cortisol production of undocumented immigrant parent-US-born adolescent dyads and 2) examine the cortisol production of the dyads identified as being at heightened risk for immigrant and economic stress. A community-based strategy was used to locate and recruit self-identifying undocumented immigrant, Latino parents and their US-born adolescents (12-16 years) in the Houston-area (September 2019-January 2020). Each participant within the dyad self-reported on immigration and economic stress, socio-demographic characteristics, and parents self-reported on their immigration documentation status. Each participant within the dyad also provided four saliva samples collected at-home during designated time points within the same day. Paired t-test were conducted to compare cortisol production at each of the four time-points among undocumented parent-US-born adolescent dyads and among mixed-status dyads whose parents reported elevated immigration and economic stress. Nineteen mixed-status dyads participated (adolescents: 63% male; average age 13.68 years; parents: 96% female; average age 41.95 years; primarily from Mexico). Cortisol production comparisons within mixed-status dyads did not differ at any of the four time points (i.e. cortisol production appeared to be the same) [t1(18)=1.54, p=0.14; t2(18)=-1.32, p=0.20; t3(18)=-0.43, p=0.67; t4(18)=-1.65, p=0.12]. Among mixed-status dyads whose parents reported elevated immigrant-related stress [t1(10)=1.15, p=0.28; t2(10)=-0.85, p=0.42; t3(10)=-1.31, p=0.22; t4(10)=-1.46, p=0.18] and economic stress [t1(10)=0.17, p=0.87; t2(10)=0.12, p=0.91; t3(10)=-0.25, p=0.80; t4(10)=-0.19, p=0.85], cortisol production did not differ at any of the four time points. The shared environment among mixed-status families appears to be co-activating adolescent-parent physiology, contributing to similar cortisol production. The constant level of stress may shape all members of the family similarly, regardless of documentation status.

Family Sciences is founded on the conviction that the study of families must reflect the full richness, complexity, and cultural variability of family life around the world

There is a paucity of research on the work and family dynamics of immigrants who arrive in the U.S. on visas. Work–family conflict among immigrants is a sustainability issue because it affects social cohesion, economic vitality, and the overall wellbeing of communities. This study examined work–family conflicts and work–life support among married immigrants (n = 182) born abroad but currently holding permanent resident status (also known as ‘green card holders’) in the U.S. Specifically, we examined how work variables (job intensity and work–life support) may either lead to or reduce job burnout, how burnout may be related to work–family conflict, and how these variables influence marital agreement, marital happiness, and job satisfaction. The results suggested that, in general, job factors had direct as well as indirect impacts through burnout, on both work and family outcomes. Job burnout moderated the relationship between work interfering with family and marital agreement. Martial agreement was significantly predicted by multiple variables. Suggestions for future research on this understudied population are offered along with practical and theoretical contributions related to the sustainability of immigrants, their families, and society.

Interdisciplinary research posits that work is a social determinant of health contributing to racial inequalities in death, disease, and well-being amongst Black individuals in the United States. This study aims to advance research by integrating two theoretical frameworks (Warr’s Vitamin Model and Assari’s “differential exposure” and “differential gain” mechanisms) to investigate the role of work in eudemonic well-being. We included a nationally representative sample of adults who participated in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Refresher and Milwaukee Refresher projects in 2011–2014, alongside corresponding occupational information (O*NET 17.0). The results of this study indicated that three of nine studied job characteristics systematically differ by race. We found evidence of differential gain by race on psychological well-being. Job characteristics had either benign or negative associations with well-being among Black individuals but consistently positive associations with well-being among non-Black individuals. In contrast to Warr’s Vitamin Model, we found little evidence of curvilinear health effects of job characteristics (only 5.5% were statistically significant). Finally, it was found that advanced educational attainment benefited multiple dimensions of well-being among Black individuals but had benign or negative implications for non-Black individuals, after controlling for demographics. Overall, the results highlight racial inequalities in eudemonic well-being because Black individuals face challenges in obtaining jobs that are beneficial to well-being. Collectively, the results reinforce the idea that work is a social determinant of health.