Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Studying Families: Micro and Macro Perspectives Families, Communities, Society: Interconnections What Is a System? Families as Small Groups The Family as an Institution Ecological Systems Perspective Diversity Among Families Family Structure Sex and Gender Differences Methods for Studying Families Chapter 2: Commitment: To Self, Family, Community The Importance of Commitment Commitment to Self Socialization: The Creation of Identities and the Self Commitment to Family The Big Picture: Commitment to Community Chapter 3: Developing Close Relationships: Making Lifestyle Choices Building Intimate Relationships Social and Behavioral Processes That Bring Couples Together Lifestyle Choices The Big Picture: The Influence of Macrolevel Forces on the Formation of Intimate Relationships Sex, Sexuality, and Gender Roles Chapter 4: Maintaining Intimacy: Marriage and Enduring Unions Marriage Patterns: Historical Trends and Racial and Social Class Differences Transition to Marriage Accompanying Marriage The Internal Dynamics of Marriage The Big Picture Chapter 5: Moving Through the Life Cycle: Family Experiences in Early to Middle Adulthood The Transition to Parenthood Parenting Parenting Changes From Childhood Through Adolescence Sibling Relationships in Childhood Couple Subsystems The Big Picture: Historical Change Affecting Young Families Chapter 6: Moving Through the Life Cycle: Family Experiences in Middle to Late Adulthood Renegotiating Parent-Child Relationships in Late Adolescence and Early Adulthood Adjusting to the Empty Nest Period Parents and Children in Middle to Late Adulthood Aged Parents and Adult Children Marital Relations in Middle to Late Adulthood Adult Sibling Relations Grandparenting Experiencing the Death of Family Members The Big Picture: Societal Influences on Family Relationships Across Adulthood Chapter 7: Balancing Work and Family Labor Force Participation Work-Family Spillover Household Division of Labor Housework in Different Types of Families Cohabitation, Marriage, Remarriage, and Housework Contributions The Fairness Issue Changing Norms: What Has Changed? Children's Work Effects of Unemployment on the Family Retirement The Big Picture: Family and Work in the Larger Society Macrosystem Chapter 8: Family Transitions: Divorce, Single Parenting, Remarriage Divorce Parenting After Divorce Children in Single-Parent Households Remarriage and Stepparenting Death as the Cause of Marital Dissolution The Big Picture: Family Transitions in a Social Context Chapter 9: Distressed Families: The Darker Side of Family Life Partner Violence The Demographics of Partner Violence Marital Rape Violence Among Same-Sex Couples Child Maltreatment Abuse of Siblings and Parents Elder Abuse and Neglect Alcoholism and Substance Addiction Children Who Run Away If They Are Family, Why Are They Mistreated? The Big Picture: The Social and Cultural Context of Violence Chapter 10: Families in a Social Context: The Big Picture Beyond the Family Microsystem Governmental Exosystem and Macro-Level Influences References Author Index Subject Index