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.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|162 pages
Rethinking Our Conceptual Models
part II|130 pages
Rethinking Research on Nuclear Families
chapter 8|31 pages
Mothers, Fathers, Sons, and Daughters
chapter 9|38 pages
Family Transitions and Children's Functioning
chapter 10|29 pages
The Structuring of Family Decision-Making
chapter 12|6 pages
Perspectives on Research in the Early Years of family Life
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
chapter 16|8 pages
Perspective on Research With Older Families
part IV|102 pages
Case Studies
chapter 17|22 pages
Developmental Process
part V|20 pages
Toward a New Agenda for Family Research