Study finds more families staying in touch more often

It’s so easy to stay in touch.

And, according to a new study released Tuesday, growing numbers of American families are.

A survey of more than 3,000 adults conducted last fall by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that 42 percent see or talk with a parent every day, up from 32 percent in 1989. Nearly three-quarters of those have daily contact with a relative who lives elsewhere.

“Family ties appear to be as strong as ever,” said Paul Taylor, executive vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based center, which conducts public opinion polling, social science research and forums on issues and trends.

“They are staying in touch with one another more often and more regularly than they had in the past,” he said.

Pew compared its findings with a 1989 Gallup survey. Since then, cell-phone use has exploded (estimates by the wireless industry suggest almost 204 million current subscribers); other technologies such as e-mail and instant messaging are routine.

Marshall Duke, a clinical psychologist at Emory University in Atlanta, suggests that life in the 21st century seems to pull families apart. He says with members going in so many different directions, efforts to stay connected are important.

“The cell phone is the savior here,” Duke said. “It’s possible to be in relative instant communication despite being in different places.”

Taylor suggests greater contact indicates stronger family bonds. But other experts aren’t so sure.

Michael Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University, believes “it’s a stretch” to tie families’ bonds and communication devices.

“What this is saying is that we use our cell phone a lot and we call our families,” he said. “I would encourage them to provide data that show bonds remain strong and families are drawn together.”

The survey of adults ages 18 and over asked how satisfied people are with family life (72 percent are very satisfied); whether they had attended a large family get-together in the past year (76 percent had); and how close they felt to family members (87 percent felt close rather than distant to mom, 74 percent felt close rather than distant to dad and 78 percent felt very close to a sibling). Eighty-one percent of those who maintain daily contact with a parent report being very satisfied with their relationship. The margin of error for the Pew study is plus or minus 2 percentage points.

But the survey didn’t ask for details about the contact itself. It did not ask whether it was positive or negative, or a quick interaction or a lengthy one, which Duke says is needed to get a real sense of the quality of that communication.

Taylor says the study didn’t aim to understand the psychological dimensions of family relationships but rather the contact itself.

“Everybody is living this communication revolution,” he said. “It’s changing the basic patterns of behavior. It’s an effort to look at how we’re living our lives.”