Handbook of Family Diversity

by Demo, David H.; Allen, Katherine R.; Fine, Mark A.

• ISBN13: 9780195120387
• ISBN10: 0195120388
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-11-11
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The status of the American family has been the topic of considerable debate in recent years. As demographic changes make our country more multicultural and as new types of families continue to form and become more common, it is essential for sociologists, social workers, family researchers, and psychologists to understand the full range of diversity in American families. However, to varying extents, African American families, Latino families, Asian American families, poverty-stricken and near-poor families, lesbian and gay families, single-parent families, and stepfamilies have been marginalized from mainstream scholarship. As a result, students taking courses on families are typically not exposed to the experiences of these groups.The Handbook of Family Diversity fills this gap in scholarship by providing a comprehensive discussion of several key dimensions where families differ: race, socioeconomic status, family structure, sexual orientation, and gender. It is designed to inform and broaden the debate among students, family scholars, practitioners, and policymakers as to what constitutes a family and how families should function. Featuring commissioned chapters by prominent scholars from a variety of fields, The Handbook of Family Diversity discusses different types of families from widely varying social and economic backgrounds. These authoritative yet highly readable essays discuss important public policy issues pertaining to family diversity and describe the everyday realities of family interactions--the tensions and dynamics of intimacy, support, control, communication, and conflict. Multiple disciplinary, theoretical, and methodological perspectives are presented throughout the volume, providing evidence that there is no unified or monolithic perspective on families. Emphasizing the most current and cutting edge knowledge on family diversity, The Handbook of Family Diversity sets a new standard for research in this important and vital area of study.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Kathleen Gerson
Acknowledgments	xv
Contributors	xvii
PART I Introduction	1	(14)
An Overview of Family Diversity: Controversies, Questions, and Values	1	(14)
Katherine R. Allen
Mark A. Fine
David H. Demo
PART II Reflections on Family Diversity: Past and Present	15	(44)
Historical Perspectives on Family Diversity	15	(17)
Stephanie Coontz
Diversity of Family Structure: Economic and Social Influences	32	(27)
Jay D. Teachman
PART III Gender Dynamics in Families	59	(90)
Gender, Marriage, and Diverse Possibilities for Cross-Sex and Same-Sex Pairs	59	(23)
Virginia Rutter
Pepper Schwartz
Gender and Parent-Child Relationships	82	(23)
Gary W. Peterson
Denise Ann Bodman
Kevin R. Bush
Debra Madden-Derdich
Gender and Intergenerational Relationships	105	(23)
Debra Umberson
Ellen Slaten
Kinship and Gender	128	(21)
Colleen L. Johnson
PART IV Family Structure and Family Diversity	149	(83)
Diversity Within Single-Parent Families	149	(24)
Paul R. Amato
Diversity Among Stepfamilies	173	(24)
E. Mavis Hetherington
Margaret Stanley-Hagan
Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Families	197	(19)
Ritch C. Savin-Williams
Kristin G. Esterberg
Older Adults and Their Families	216	(16)
Victoria Hilkevitch Bedford
Rosemary Blieszner
PART V Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Diversitis in Families	232	(61)
Diversity Within African American Families	232	(20)
Ronald L. Taylor
Diversity Within Latino Families: New Lessons for Family Social Science	252	(22)
Maxine Baca Zinn
Barbara Wells
Diversity Within Asian American Families	274	(19)
Masako Ishii-Kuntz
PART VI Class Diversities in Families	293	(45)
Poverty and Economic Hardship in Families	293	(23)
Mark R. Rank
Diversity in Family Structure: Effects on Schooling	316	(22)
Doris R. Entwisle
Karl L. Alexander
PART VII Applications for Working With Families	338	(64)
Culture and Narrative as Central Metaphors for Clinical Practice With Families	338	(21)
Joan Laird
Family Diversity and Family Life Education	359	(21)
Judith A. Myers-Walls
Family Diversity and Family Policy	380	(22)
Richard M. Lerner
Elizabeth E. Sparks
Laurie D. McCubbin
PART VIII Conclusion	402	(47)
Family Diversity and Intersecting Categories: Toward a Richer Approach to Multiple Roles	402	(22)
Stephen R. Marks
Leigh A. Leslie
The Handbook's Tail: Toward Revels or a Requiem for Family Diversity?	424	(16)
Judith Stacey
Family Diversity in the 21st Century: Implications for Research, Theory, and Practice	440	(9)
Mark A. Fine
David H. Demo
Katherine R. Allen
Index	449