The Family Legacies project started in the mid-70s with a study of 100 adolescent daughters and families. The primary purpose was to look at the relationship between family systems and the development and functioning of family members, especially the effects of the family on the children growing up in the family.

Research in this 30-year project has focused on the importance of two factors (the family climate and the adolescent's role in the family) on the adolescent's individual development and peer relationships. In addition, cross-cultural studies of marriage and family (Japan and the US) have been conducted, and methodological questions concerning interaction process analyses and cross-cultural research have been addressed. Analyses in this prospective longitudinal study are now focusing on (1) the effects of the adolescent family experience on mid-life well-being, (2) the effects of adolescent relationships on mid-life relationships with elder parents, (3) marriage from mid-life to later life, and (4) intergenerational family patterns.

Macro-analytic, micro-analytic and projective measures have been created to measure multiple aspects of the family system. A primary theoretical focus has been on connection and individuation, support and acknowledgement.

Linda G. Bell is a Professor of Communication Studies and Family Health at Indiana University - Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). David C. Bell is a Professor of Sociology at IUPUI.