Synopses & Reviews
Nationally recognized for its sound scholarship and balanced approach and written by one of the leading authorities in the field, this text examines the family through two lenses: the familiar private family in which we live most of our personal lives, and the public family in which we, as adults, deal with broader societal issues such as the care of the elderly, the increase in divorce, and childbearing outside of marriage. The book looks at intimate personal concerns, such as whether to marry, as well as societal concerns, such as governmental policies that affect families. Distinctive chapters - Chapter 9, "Children and Parents;" Chapter 10, "Older Persons and Their Families;" and Chapter 14, "The Family, the State and Social Policy" - examine issues of great current interest, such as income assistance to poor families, the effects of out-of-home childcare, and the costs of the Social Security and Medicare programs.
Table of Contents
Part I: Introduction Chapter 1: Public and Private Families Chapter 2: The History of the Family Part II: Gender, Class, and Race-Ethnicity Chapter 3: Gender and Families Chapter 4: Social Class and Families Chapter 5: Race, Ethnicity, and Families Part III: Sexuality, Partnership, and Marriage Chapter 6: Sexualities Chapter 7: Cohabitation and Marriage Chapter 8: Work and Families Part IV: Links Across the Generations Chapter 9: Children and Parents Chapter 10: The Elderly and Their Families Part V: Conflict, Disruption, and Reconstitution Chapter 11: Domestic Violence Chapter 12: Divorce Chapter 13: Remarriage and Stepfamilies Part VI: Family and Society Chapter 14: The Family, the State, and Social Policy Chapter 15: Social Change and Families