Handbook of Contemporary Families : Considering the Past, Contemplating the Future

'Coleman and Ganong recruited an outstanding group of scholars to contribute to the Handbook of Contemporary Families. Authors represent a wide array of disciplines, and the topics touch on every aspect of family life. The organization of the book is excellent and the writing of high quality. Scholars and students alike will find the book a valuable resource.'--Alan Booth, Penn State University'Marilyn Coleman and Larry Ganong have produced a comprehensive handbook exploring the changes and challenges confronting contemporary families. The chapters, written by some of the most distinguished social scientists studying families, give a balanced research-based analysis of some of the most contentious issues of our time.'--E. Mavis Hetherington, University of Virginia'This useful handbook brings together many of the most important new findings and provocative ideas about America′s diverse and changing families. An excellent resource.'--Stephanie Coontz, author of The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms with America′s Changing Families What has happened to marriage and families? What is the current state of families? Where are families headed? Where is family scholarship headed? As families face challenges today brought on by events that have changed their perception of the world, there is a need for a clear assessment of what has happened to families in the past and an examination of some data-based theories about what is likely to happen in the future. The Handbook of Contemporary Families explores how families have changed in the last 30 years and speculates about future trends. Editors Marilyn Coleman and Lawrence H. Ganong, along with a multidisciplinary group of contributors, critique the approaches used to study relationships and families while suggesting modern approaches for the new millennium. The Handbook looks at how changes within the contemporary family have been reflected in family law, family education, and family therapy. Features of this Handbook: Examines a diverse array of families and relationships in which people live, including chapters on alternative lifestyles, gay and lesbian relationships, economically distressed families, religion and families, racial and ethnic diversity, a feminist vision for families, older families, and the effect of computers and other technology on family relationships Includes both a historical review and future speculation on the subjects covered in each chapter Interdisciplinary contributors representing a variety of fields such as history, family studies, sociology, law, therapy, social work, psychology, nursing, and human developmentThe Handbook of Contemporary Families is an excellent resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, educators, and practitioners who study and work with families in several disciplines, including Family Science, Human Development and Family Studies, Sociology, Marriage & Family Therapy, and Social Work. Household diversity : the starting point for healthy families in the new century / John Scanzoni Alternate lifestyles today : off the family studies screen / Roger H. Rubin The social & cultural construction of American childhood / Steven Mintz Cohabitation and family change / Judith A. Seltzer Variations in marriage over time : an ecological/exchange perspective / Ronald M. Sabatelli, Karen Ripoll Gay men & lesbians : the family context / Lawrence A. Kurdek Ambiguous constructions : development of a childless or child-free life course / Richard Bulcroft, Jay Teachman Intimate relationships in later life : current realities, future prospects / Teresa M. Cooney, Kathleen Dunne Jobs, marriage & parenting : working it out in dual-earner families / Maureen Perry-Jenkins, Elizabeth Turner Gendered family relations : the more things change, the more they stay the same / Lori A. McGraw, Alexis J. Walker Feminist visions for transforming families : desire & equality then & now / Katherine R. Allen Encountering oppositions : a review of scholarship about motherhood / Susan Walzer Fathering : paradoxes, contradictions & dilemmas / Scott Coltrane Pathogenic-conflict families & children : what we know, what we need to know / W. Glenn Clingempeel, Eulalee Brand-Clingempeel Divorce in social & historical context : changing scientific perspectives on children & marital dissolution / Paul R. Amato Single-parent families : risks, resilience & change / Michele T. Martin, Robert E. Emery, Tara S. Peris Britain's changing families / Graham Allan, Sheila Hawker, Graham Crow Stepfamilies : changes & challenges / Kay Pasley, Brad S. Moorfield Continuing research on Latino families : el pasado y el futuro / Linda Citlali Halgunseth Diversity in African American families : trends & projections / M. Belinda Tucker, Saskia K. Subramanian, Angela D. James Asian American families : diverse history, contemporary trends & the future / Masako Ishii-Kuntz A "seven-generation" approach to American Indian families / Walter T. Kawamoto, Tamara C. Cheshire Muslim families in the United States / Bahira Sherif-Trask Families & religious beliefs, practices & communities : linkages in a diverse & dynamic cultural context / David C. Dollahite, Loren D. Marks, Michael A. Goodman Family law for changing families in the new millennium / Mary Ann Mason, Mark A. Fine, Sarah Carnochan Building enduring family policies in the 21st century : the past as prologue? / Karen Bogenschneider, Tom Corbett The disturbing paradox of poverty in American families : what we have learned over the past four decades / Mark R. Rank Brave new families : modern health technologies & family creation / Dianne M. Bartels Understanding the effects of the Internet on family life / Robert Hughes, Jr., Jason D. Hans Family therapy's response to family diversity : looking back, looking forward / Leigh A. Leslie, Goldie Morton Contemporary family life education : thirty years of challenge & progress / Deborah B. Gentry This is a comprehensive guide to the study of the family in society. Chapters represent the full diversity of families today - alternative lifestyles, gay and lesbian relationships religion and families, interdependent marriages and more