Introduction to the Volume: Toward an Understanding of Disability and the Changing Contexts of Family and Personal Relationships

The past 50 years have witnessed a transformation in the structure and function of personal and family relationships (Cherlin, 2010; Martin, 2006). The social and demographic catalysts for these changes – including but not limited to delayed marriage, the legalization of same-sex marriage, women's increased labor force participation, and declines in fertility and mortality – have further impacted norms governing our relationships and the ways in which we carry out formal and informal family and social roles (Cherlin, 1983, 2010; Risman, 1998). Despite these radical shifts, the general consensus of social science research and the population at large is that relationships remain desired and beneficial as well as challenging and constraining (McLaughlin, 2019; Risman, 1998). Within and beyond the context of disability, relationships often represent a complex balance between our aspirations and mundane tasks, our professional and personal lives, and our embodied desires and demands. How do we, as disability researchers, balance both the strains and resources conferred through relationships, much less the cultural ideals, economic constraints, political divides, and social policies with which they are intertwined?