Public and Private Families: An Introduction

by Cherlin, Andrew

• ISBN13: 9780073404356
• ISBN10: 0073404357
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-11-30
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages

Summary

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

Introduction

Public and Private Families

The History of the Family

Gender, Class, and Race-Ethnicity

Gender and Families

Social Class and Families

Race, Ethnicity, and Families

Sexuality, Partnership, and Marriage

Sexualities

Cohabitation and Marriage

Work and Families

Links Across the Generations

Children and Parents

The Elderly and Their Families

Conflict, Disruption, and Reconstitution

Domestic Violence

Divorce

Remarriage and Stepfamilies

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