The Contemporary American Family; A Dialectical Perspective on Communication and Relationships

by Teresa Chandler Sabourin

• ISBN13: 9780761924456
• ISBN10: 0761924450
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-04-07
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc

Summary

The Contemporary American Family: A Dialectical Perspective on Communication and Relationships recognizes that families are both close and distant, stable and changing, amenable and uncontrollable. Teresa Chandler Sabourin employs a dialectical approach, acknowledging that a family's contradictions and relational tensions may be the determining factor in its interaction. Writing in a direct and simple style, Sabourin uses this innovative theoretical position to address four types of family diversity: structural, cultural, developmental, and functional.Designed as a supplemental text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in Family Communication, The Contemporary American Family is also an invaluable resource for students in Family Studies and Women's Studies courses.

Author Biography

Teresa Chandler Sabourin is Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Cincinnati.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Preface

Chapter 1: A Dialectical Approach to Family

Conceptual tools

Basic concepts

Dialectical management patterns

Interface of culture patterns

Dialectical classifications

Chapter 2: Defining the Contemporary Family

Defining family

Criteria for defining family

Chapter 3: Structural Diversity

Contemporary family structures

Nuclear family

Single parent family

Blended family

Chapter 4: Cultural Diversity

Cultural diversity in the family

Religion and family culture

Diversity in sexual orientation

Racial and ethnic diversity

Chapter 5: Developmental Diversity

Approaches to development

The family life cycle approach

The learning approach

A dialectical approach

Chapter 6: Functional Diversity

Functional diversity and the family

The impact of alcoholism on the family

Domestic violence

The dark side of divorce

Chapter 7: Family Spirituality

Bringing light into darkness

A spiritual approach

12-Step programs

References