Despite the Troubles Life Presents, Families Mostly Manage to Be Happy

We view family as a rock of social stability, as well we might. In so doing, though, we may neglect to notice how eventful and unstable family life can be. A survey conducted for Reader’s Digest offers a reminder of this, even as it documents Americans’ basic satisfaction with their families.

The poll was fielded among adults who live in family households (i.e., those with two or more people related by blood, marriage or adoption). Nearly one-third of respondents (32 percent) said they or other members of their household had gone through a death in the family during the past year.