Group and Multilateral Marriage: Definitional Notes, Glossary, and Annotated Bibliography

The purpose of this note is to define the phenomenon under current study in the Multilateral Relations Study Project and differentiate it from certain other related but different sociological phenomena. Confusion in the area of alternative family structures is all but universal, even among professionals and researchers. While definitions that are overly rigid may reduce the value of study, most research and journalism in this area has been characterized by serious imprecision that has reduced rather than added to understanding.