The traditional family structure, which consisted of a married couple and children, declined after World War II. American families took diverse families, from single parents, stepparents, unmarried partners to same-sex partners and multi-generations. While for Japanese Americans, kinship’s patriarchal pattern changed to a stem pattern of shared responsibility within the partners and inheritance for both sons and daughters. The gender structure of the Philippines, in contrast to that of Japan, Korea, and China, became more egalitarian while kinship became bilateral. The older men from Southeast Asian countries lost their elderly traditional roles by which they were responsible for making important decisions, solve problems, and adjudicate quarrels, etc. Moreover, fathers’ status reduced, as children started being more responsible and started earning. On the other hand, women learned more about their rights and protection from abuse and discovered that they could also provide income to the family by selling their intricate needlework. The concept of extended families prevailed in the Japanese and Chinese cultures, while that of joint families prevailed in Asian-Indian culture. (Asian American Families, n.d.)

The historical causes for this structural change trace back to World War II when the war uncertainty brought many young couples into the circle of marriage, and that too in a rush. When they returned from the war, they started families immediately. As compared to the previous generations, women relatively bore more children and in quicker succession. this turned out to be the single largest generation in the US history, famously known as the ‘baby boom generation.’ Moreover, the couples who had rushed into marriage during the wartime went their separate ways, and the divorce rates considerably inclined during the post-war era (the 1950s to 1960s).

The family breakups forced&nbsp.the children (of the divorced couples) to go through bitter challenges, who grew up questioning the marriage’s worth, which eventually led to the launch of a sexual revolution.