Table of Contents

Preface vi

Acknowledgments ix

About the Author xi

1 Challenges to the Ideal Family Form 1

2 Changing Parental Roles: The Sharing and Redistribution of Family Responsibility in Contemporary Families 25

3 Further Assaults on the “Ideal” Family Form: Divorce, Remarriage, Single Parenthood, and Cohabitation 55

4 Same-Gender Families: Are Two Mothers or Fathers Good Enough? 84

5 How Many “Parents” Are Too Many? Insights from the Assisted Reproductive Technologies Front 111

6 Many Mothers, Many Fathers, Many Others: Insights from Other Cultures 141

7 All about Relatives and Fictive Relatives: Insights from Diverse Ethnic Groups in Our Own Culture (Past and Present) 160

8 Multiple Caregivers: Harmful or Helpful for Caregivers Themselves 191

9 In Support of Alternative Family Forms: Overcoming the Barriers to Change 209

References 243

Index 292

About the Author

Ross D. Parke is Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, and past Director of the Center for Family Studies at the University of California, Riverside. He has authored or co-authored several books on the field, including Fathers and Fatherhood, Throwaway Dads, Child Psychology: A Contemporary Perspective, and Social Development.

Reviews

Link to review in Issuu.com- Winter 2014 The book is best thought of as a stimulus to new conversations about our conception of families and anexploration of the implications of changing family forms forchildren s development. ( Society for Researchin Child Development , 1 January 2014)