ABSTRACT

Any agenda for family research in the 1990s must take seriously a contextual approach to the study of family relationships. The editors and contributors to this volume believe that the richness in family studies over the next decade will come from considering the diversity of family forms -- different ethnic groups and cultures, different stages of family life, as well as different historical cohorts. Their goal is to make more explicit how we think about families in order to study them and understand them. To illustrate the need for diversity in family studies, examples are presented from new and old families, majority and minority families, American and Japanese families, and intact and divorcing families. This variety is intended to push the limits of current thinking, not only for researchers but also for all who are struggling to live with and work with families in a time when family life is valued but fragmented and relatively unsupported by society's institutions. Students and researchers interested in family development from the viewpoint of any of the social sciences will find this book of value.

part I|162 pages

Rethinking Our Conceptual Models

chapter 1|39 pages

Bringing the Institution Back In

chapter 2|26 pages

Changes of Heart

Family Dynamics in Historical Perspective

chapter 3|34 pages

The Child in Family and School

Agency and the Workings of Time

chapter 4|11 pages

Conscripting Kin

Reflections on Family, Generation, and Culture

chapter 5|28 pages

A Cross–Cultural Perspective

The Japanese Family as a Unit in Moral Socialization

chapter 6|9 pages

Perspectives on family Theory

Families in History and Beyond

chapter 7|10 pages

Perspectives on Family Theory

New Myths From Old

part II|130 pages

Rethinking Research on Nuclear Families

chapter 8|31 pages

Mothers, Fathers, Sons, and Daughters

Gender Differences in Family Formation and Parenting Style

chapter 9|38 pages

Family Transitions and Children's Functioning

The Case of Parental Conflict and Divorce *

chapter 10|29 pages

The Structuring of Family Decision-Making

Personal and Societal Sources and Some Consequences for Children

chapter 11|22 pages

Work and Family Dynamics

chapter 12|6 pages

Perspectives on Research in the Early Years of family Life

Costs and Benefits of Nontraditional Variations

part III|68 pages

Rethinking Research on Family Networks in Middle and Old Age

chapter 14|14 pages

The Prolongation of Life and the Extension of Family Relationships

The Families of the Oldest Old

chapter 15|21 pages

The Importance of Family in Advanced Old Age

The Family is “Forever”

chapter 16|8 pages

Perspective on Research With Older Families

Contributions of Older Adults to Families and to Family Theory

part IV|102 pages

Case Studies

chapter 17|22 pages

Developmental Process

Mother-Child and Father-Child Interaction During the Second Year of Life *

chapter 18|31 pages

Continuity and Change in the Transition to Parenthood

A Tale of Two Families

chapter 20|10 pages

Perspectives on the Use of Case Studies

All it Takes is One

part V|20 pages

Toward a New Agenda for Family Research