Human Intimacy Marriage, the Family, and Its Meaning (with InfoTrac)

by Cox, Frank D.

• ISBN13: 9780534625320
• ISBN10: 0534625320
• Edition: 10th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-06-16
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

This up-to-date, respected, and optimistic view of American families will encourage you to set realistic goals and make positive choices in your own relationships-and intelligently debate topics important to today's families. Interdisciplinary and always interesting, the Tenth Edition of Cox's classic book is a careful blend of applications, theory, and research designed to help you identify the characteristics that lead to successful marriages and families.

Table of Contents

Preface	xix
Human Intimacy in the Brave New World of Family Diversity	1	(27)
Building Successful Relationships	2	(4)
Qualities of Strong and Resilient Families: An Overview	6	(4)
Can We Study Intimacy?	10	(2)
Optimism versus Pessimism	11	(1)
Making Decisions That Lead to a Fulfilling Life	12	(5)
Logic and Emotion in Decision Making	13	(1)
Decision-Making Steps	14	(3)
The Gift of Choosing	17	(1)
Theoretical Approaches to Family Study	17	(4)
Methods of Study	21	(3)
The Experiment	21	(1)
The Survey	22	(1)
The Clinical Method	23	(1)
Natural or Field Observation	23	(1)
Highlight: Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and Delinquency Data	24	(1)
Group versus Individual Data	24	(1)
Strengthening the Family	25	(3)
Human Intimacy, Relationships, Marriage, and the Family	28	(32)
Family: The Basic Unit of Human Organization	30	(3)
Family Functions	31	(2)
The American Family: Many Structures and Much Change	33	(3)
Families Around the World: China: Families and Government Policy	36	(3)
Change within Continuity and Uniqueness within Commonality	39	(2)
Highlight: The Family Riddle	41	(1)
Highlight: Tricky Statistics: Cohabitation and Rejection of Marriage	42	(1)
Family: A Buffer against Mental and Physical Illnesses	42	(3)
The Need for Intimacy	44	(1)
Highlight: Why Do We Avoid Intimacy?	45	(2)
The Family as Interpreter of Society	47	(1)
Unique Characteristics of the American Family	48	(2)
Highlight: What the Research Says	50	(1)
Family: The Consuming Unit of the American Economy	50	(1)
American Families: A Great Diversity of Types	51	(8)
African American Families	54	(1)
Hispanic Families	54	(1)
Asian American Families	55	(1)
The American Indian and Alaska Native Population	56	(3)
Debate the Issues: Should Our Society Recognize Gay Marriages?	59	(1)
American Ways of Love	60	(32)
The American Myth: Romantic Love Should Always Lead to Marriage	62	(2)
Defining Love	63	(1)
Highlight: Love Is . . .	64	(6)
Theories of Love	65	(4)
Romantic Love	69	(1)
Making Decisions: Are You a Romantic or a Realist?	70	(4)
Infatuation	72	(1)
Loving and Liking	72	(1)
The Double Cross	73	(1)
What Research Tells Us: Love and Friendship	74	(4)
Love Is What You Make It	75	(3)
Highlight: Gender Differences in Love	78	(1)
Love in Strong Families: Appreciation and Respect	79	(1)
Learning to Love	80	(4)
Actions and Attitudes	80	(2)
Developmental Stages in Learning to Love	82	(2)
Love over Time: From Passionate to Companionate Love	84	(2)
Highlight: Love and the Loss of One's Self-Identity	86	(1)
Love's Oft-Found Companion: Jealousy	87	(4)
Debate the Issues: Are Love and Marriage Good for You?	91	(1)
Gender Convergence and Role Equity	92	(24)
Male = Masculine and Female = Feminine: Not Necessarily So	93	(2)
Norms and Roles	94	(1)
How Sex and Gender Identity Develop	95	(2)
Biological Contributions	95	(1)
Environmental Contributions	96	(1)
Gender Differences	97	(1)
Highlight: The Xanith of Oman	97	(1)
Role Equity	98	(1)
What Research Tells Us: Stereotypical Sex-Role Differences Compared with Research Findings	99	(2)
Traditional Gender Roles	101	(2)
Changing Male and Female Roles	103	(1)
Women and the Law	103	(1)
Families Around the World: The Dani of Irian Jaya (Indonesian New Guinea)	104	(3)
Highlight: ``Firsts'' for Women in the Past Three Decades	107	(1)
Gender-Role Stereotypes	108	(2)
The Movement toward Gender Equality	110	(1)
Highlight: Men as the Oppressed Sex	111	(4)
Debate the Issues: Can We Create Gender-Neutral Children?	115	(1)
Communications in Intimate Relationships	116	(35)
Good Communication: A Basic Strength of Successful Families	118	(4)
What Causes Communication Failure?	122	(2)
Aversive Communication	122	(1)
Communication Can Be Used for Good and Bad Purposes	123	(1)
The Foundation Blocks of Successful Communication	124	(2)
Commitment	124	(1)
Growth Orientation	125	(1)
Noncoercive Atmosphere	125	(1)
Developing a Smooth Flow of Communication	126	(2)
Communication Skills	128	(3)
Identifying Problem Ownership	128	(1)
Self-Assertion	129	(2)
Making Decisions: You-, I-, and We-Statements	131	(7)
Empathic Listening	133	(3)
Negotiating	136	(1)
Problem Solving	137	(1)
Men and Women: Do They Speak the Same Language?	138	(2)
Highlight: How Men and Women Can Communicate Better in Intimate Relationships	140	(1)
Communication and Family Conflict	141	(4)
Anger	143	(1)
Over What Topics Do Couples Conflict?	144	(1)
Family Life in the Information Age	145	(4)
Debate the Issues: Is Honesty Always the Best Policy?	149	(2)
Dating, Single Life, and Mate Selection	151	(36)
Premarital American Dating	152	(5)
Why Do We Date?	153	(1)
Premarital Dating Patterns	154	(1)
College Dating: Hanging Out, Hooking Up, Joined at the Hip	155	(2)
Dating and Extended Singleness	157	(1)
What Research Tells Us: Women and Singleness	158	(1)
What Research Tells Us: Singles in America	159	(1)
Changing Sexual Mores	159	(5)
Deciding for Yourself	162	(1)
Freedom of Choice and Sexual Health	163	(1)
Possible Problems Associated with Premarital Sexual Relations	163	(1)
Highlight: Dawn and Nonmarital Pregnancy	164	(1)
Making Decisions: Is My Sexual Behavior Healthy?	165	(1)
Date Rape and Courtship Violence	166	(2)
Cohabitation: Unmarried-Couple Households	168	(5)
The Nature of Cohabiting Relationships	169	(1)
Is the Woman Exploited in Cohabitation?	170	(1)
The Relationship between Cohabitation and Marriage	171	(2)
What Research Tells Us: Children and Cohabitation	173	(2)
Breaking Up	174	(1)
Living Together and the Law	174	(1)
Making Decisions: Questions for Couples Contemplating Living Together	175	(1)
Finding the One and Only: Mate Selection	176	(5)
Background Factors	177	(1)
Individual Traits	178	(1)
Interactional Processes	178	(1)
From First Impressions to Engagement	179	(2)
Engagement	181	(4)
Types of Engagements	182	(1)
Functions of Engagement	182	(3)
Debate the Issues: Does Sex Education Prevent Pregnancy or Encourage Promiscuity?	185	(2)
Marriage, Intimacy, Expectations, and the Fully Functioning Person	187	(36)
Marriage Matters	188	(1)
The Transition from Single to Married Life	189	(2)
Marriage: A Myriad of Interactions	191	(3)
Fulfilling Needs in Marriage	193	(1)
Families Around the World: Marriage in Japan	194	(2)
Defining Marital Success	196	(1)
Strong Relationships and Families	197	(1)
Highlight: A Hectic Schedule	198	(2)
Marital Expectations	200	(1)
Highlight: Carol: The Perpetual Seeker	201	(3)
The Honeymoon Is Over: Too High Expectations	201	(1)
Romantic Love or Marriage?	202	(1)
Differing Expectations	203	(1)
Eighty Percent I Love You; Twenty Percent I Dislike You	203	(1)
Highlight: Carl and Allison: The Perfect Couple	204	(7)
The Expectation of Commitment: A Characteristic of Strong and Successful Families	205	(2)
The Expectation of Primariness: Extramarital Relations	207	(3)
The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy	210	(1)
The Self-Actualized Person in the Fully Functioning Family	211	(4)
Characteristics of Mental Health	211	(1)
Self-Actualization	212	(1)
Living in the Now	213	(1)
The Goals of Intimacy	214	(1)
You and the State: Legal Aspects of Marriage	215	(3)
Writing Your Own Marriage Contract and Prenuptial Agreement	217	(1)
Highlight: Navajo Marital Expectations	218	(1)
Making Decisions: The Couple's Inventory	219	(3)
Debate the Issues: Is Marriage a Dying Institution?	222	(1)
Human Sexuality	223	(31)
Making Decisions: Sex Knowledge Inventory	226	(1)
Human Sexuality in the United States	226	(2)
Highlight: The Sambians of Papua	228	(1)
Changing Sexual Mores	228	(1)
Modifying Sexual Behavior	229	(2)
Highlight: ``What Role Should Sex Play in My Life?'' Beth-Ann Asks	231	(1)
Differences between Male and Female Sexuality	231	(1)
Highlight: A Precoital Contract	232	(2)
Physiology of the Sexual Response	234	(1)
Female Sexual Response	234	(1)
Highlight: Female Genital Mutilation	235	(1)
Making Decisions: What Are Your Biggest Problems and Complaints about Sex?	236	(1)
Highlight: Describing Orgasm	237	(3)
Male Sexual Response	238	(1)
Variations in Sexual Response	238	(1)
Some Myths Unmasked	239	(1)
Does Sexual Addiction Exist?	240	(1)
Marital Sex: Can I Keep the Excitement Alive?	240	(2)
Highlight: One Husband's Sexual Life	242	(1)
Highlight: Sex and Physical Disability	243	(1)
Sex and the Aging Process	243	(3)
Menopause	244	(2)
Sex and Drugs	246	(2)
Sexually Transmitted Diseases	248	(4)
Debate the Issues: Pornography	252	(2)
Family Planning, Pregnancy, and Birth	254	(40)
Children by Choice	255	(1)
Are We Ready for Children?	256	(1)
Children Having Children	257	(3)
Family Planning Decisions	260	(3)
Deciding on a Contraceptive	261	(1)
Abortion	262	(1)
What Research Tells Us: Who Has Abortions?	263	(3)
Infertility	266	(2)
Prerequisites of Fertility	267	(1)
Causes of Infertility	267	(1)
Making Decisions: How Old Is Too Old?	268	(7)
Methods of Treatment: Designing Babies	269	(6)
Highlight: The Ultimate Breakthrough	275	(1)
Highlight: Who, in Fact, Are the Parents of Jaycee?	276	(1)
Pregnancy	276	(1)
Highlight: Am I Really Pregnant?	277	(8)
Pregnancy Tests	277	(2)
Environmental Causes of Congenital Problems	279	(4)
Controlling Birth Defects	283	(2)
Birth	285	(1)
Cesarean Birth	285	(1)
Highlight: Infant Mortality Rates	286	(6)
Birth Pain	286	(1)
Natural Childbirth	287	(1)
Rooming-In	288	(1)
Alternative Birth Centers	288	(1)
Home Births	289	(1)
Postpartum Emotional Changes	289	(3)
Debate the Issues: To Clone or Not to Clone	292	(2)
The Challenge of Parenthood	294	(41)
What Effects Do Children Have on a Marriage?	296	(3)
Highlight: The Highs and Lows of Parenthood	299	(2)
Traditionalization of the Marital Relationship	300	(1)
Parental Effectiveness	301	(3)
Highlight: Diversity in Child-Rearing Values and Practices	304	(11)
The Father's Role in Parenting	306	(3)
Television, Video Games, and the Internet as Surrogate Parents	309	(4)
Child Rearing, Discipline, and Control	313	(2)
Making Decisions: Using Discipline and Punishment Effectively	315	(2)
Spanking	316	(1)
The Growing Child in the Family	317	(5)
Infancy: The First Year	317	(2)
The Toddler: 2 to 3 Years of Age	319	(1)
Early Childhood: 4 to 5 Years of Age	320	(1)
School Age: 6 to 11 Years of Age	320	(1)
Puberty-Adolescence: 12 to 18 Years of Age	321	(1)
Highlight: To Tattoo or Not to Tattoo: Out Damned Spots!	322	(1)
The Young Adult: 19 to 30 Years of Age	323	(1)
Highlight: Adolescent Hormones and Brain Functioning	323	(1)
Highlight: Oh No, John Is Back Home Again	324	(1)
What Research Tells Us: Young Adults Living with Parents	325	(1)
Broader Parenting	325	(1)
Parents without Pregnancy: Adoption	326	(2)
The Single-Parent Family	328	(2)
Highlight: Father Absence in African American Homes	330	(3)
Debate the Issues: Should Parents Stay Home to Rear Their Children?	333	(2)
Family Life Stages: Middle Age to Surviving Spouse	335	(27)
What Research Tells Us: Increasing Life Expectancy	337	(1)
Dealing with Change: Another Characteristic of the Strong, Healthy Family	337	(1)
The Graying of America	338	(1)
Middle Age: The Empty Nest	339	(2)
Highlight: How a Highly Trained Engineer Became a Bicycle-Repair Man	341	(4)
The Sandwich Generation: Caught in the Middle	342	(3)
Retirement	345	(5)
Widowhood as the Last Stage of Marriage	350	(1)
Highlight: Doctor's Wife	351	(2)
The Adjustment Process and Remarriage	352	(1)
Highlight: Remarriage after the Loss of a Spouse	353	(1)
Highlight: Death of a Young Wife: A Young Father Alone	354	(1)
The Grandparenting Role	354	(3)
Highlight: Becoming Parents Again after Your Children Are Raised	357	(1)
Older but Coming on Strong	358	(2)
Debate the Issues: Should Physicians Help Terminally III Patients Commit Suicide?	360	(2)
The Importance of Making Sound Economic Decisions	362	(35)
What Research Tells Us: GNI per Capita in Various Countries	364	(1)
What Research Tells Us: Median Income of Households and Families	365	(1)
Slowly Drowning in a Sea of Debt	366	(2)
What Research Tells Us: How Much Do Americans Owe?	368	(1)
Making Decisions: Compare Your Attitudes about Money	369	(1)
Making Good Credit, Borrowing, and Installment-Buying Decisions	369	(3)
Discount Interest: Consumer Purchases	370	(1)
Simple Interest: Home Loans	371	(1)
Financial Problems and Marital Strain	372	(1)
The Seductive Society: Credit and Advertising	373	(1)
Effective Money Management	374	(4)
To Pool or Not to Pool Family Money?	375	(1)
Allocation of Funds: Who Makes the Spending Decisions?	376	(1)
Budgeting: Enlightened Control of Spending	376	(2)
Making Decisions: How to Budget Your Income	378	(1)
Saving through Wise Spending	378	(1)
Making Decisions: Budget Worksheet	379	(2)
The Economy and Black, Hispanic, Asian American, and Single-Parent Families	381	(1)
Inflation and Recession	382	(2)
Inflation	383	(1)
Families Around the World: Mexico: The Middle-Class Family	384	(3)
Periods of Reduced Inflation and Mild Recession	387	(1)
Deciding What Insurance Is Needed	387	(2)
Medical Insurance	387	(1)
Automobile Insurance	388	(1)
Home Owner's Insurance	388	(1)
Life Insurance	388	(1)
Deciding to Buy a Home	389	(2)
The Decision to Invest	391	(2)
Highlight: You Can Still Make a Million Dollars	393	(3)
Debate the Issues: Credit: The Way to Economic Well-Being, or a Slavery System?	396	(1)
The Dual-Worker Family: The Real American Revolution	397	(32)
What Research Tells Us: Women in the Workforce	399	(1)
Women and the Economy	399	(7)
Job Opportunities for Women	401	(2)
Pay Differentials between Men and Women	403	(3)
Making the Decision to Become a Two-Earner Family: The Wife Goes to Work	406	(8)
The Working Wife's Economic Contribution to the Family	407	(2)
Community Service and the Working Wife	409	(1)
Household Activities and Supermothers	410	(2)
Deciding in Favor of Part-Time Work	412	(2)
Child Care and Parental Leave	414	(2)
Stay-at-Home Moms	415	(1)
Employers, Pregnant Employees, and Working Mothers	416	(3)
Home-Based Work	419	(1)
Marital Satisfaction in the Two-Earner Family	419	(2)
Work and Family: Sources of Conflict	421	(2)
Jobs, Occupations, and Careers	423	(1)
Dual-Career Families	424	(3)
Commuter Marriage and/or the Weekend Family	424	(3)
Debate the Issues: Is Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Pervasive?	427	(2)
Family Crises	429	(35)
Coping with Crises	431	(1)
Stress: Healthy and Unhealthy	431	(1)
Highlight: Types of Stressor Events	431	(5)
Crisis Management	432	(3)
Defending against Harmful Stress	435	(1)
Highlight: Agencies That Can Help with Various Crises	436	(2)
Defense Mechanisms	437	(1)
Death in the Family	438	(7)
Natural Causes	438	(1)
Ambiguous Loss	439	(1)
Suicide and Homicide	439	(4)
Firearm Mortality	443	(1)
Grief and Bereavement	443	(2)
Accidents, Injuries, and Catastrophic Illness	445	(1)
Making Decisions: The Case of the Weinstein Family	446	(1)
Family Violence	447	(3)
Violence between Partners	447	(1)
Child Abuse	448	(2)
Sibling Abuse	450	(1)
Highlight: Repressed Memories of Incest	450	(2)
Peer Abuse	451	(1)
Parental Abuse by Children	451	(1)
Factors Associated with Family Violence	452	(1)
Poverty and Unemployment	452	(3)
Children and Poverty	455	(1)
The Military Family in the Time of War	455	(2)
Drug and Alcohol Abuse	457	(6)
Drugs and Drug Abuse	458	(2)
Alcohol	460	(3)
Debate the Issues: Should Drugs Be Legalized?	463	(1)
The Dissolution of Marriage	464	(32)
Let No One Put Asunder	465	(1)
What Research Tells Us: Divorce Facts	466	(1)
Reasons for America's High Divorce Rate	467	(2)
Emotional Divorce and the Emotions of Divorce	469	(2)
Highlight: Not One Divorce but Six	471	(1)
Highlight: Divorce: Constant Self-Questioning	472	(1)
Divorce but Not the End of the Relationship	473	(1)
Making Decisions: What Changes Must Be Made with Divorce?	474	(1)
Problems of the Newly Divorced	475	(5)
Economic Consequences	476	(2)
Children and Divorce	478	(2)
What Research Tells Us: The Children of Divorce	480	(4)
Types of Child Custody	482	(2)
Highlight: Divorce and Dad	484	(1)
Divorce: The Legalities	484	(4)
Some Cautions about No-Fault Divorce	487	(1)
Divorce Counseling and Mediation	488	(1)
Reducing Divorce Rates	489	(1)
Divorce May Not Be the Answer	490	(5)
Debate the Issues: Should Couples Stay Together for the Sake of the Children?	495	(1)
Remarriage: A Growing Way of American Life	496	(27)
Returning to Single Life	499	(3)
Cohabitation as a Courtship Step to Remarriage	502	(1)
Remarriage: Will I Make the Same Mistakes Again?	502	(2)
Highlight: Bob, Carol, Ted, and Alice	504	(3)
Family Law and Stepfamilies	507	(1)
Child-Support Obligations	507	(1)
Custody and Visitation of Stepchildren	508	(1)
His, Hers, and Ours: The Stepfamily	508	(2)
Highlight: How to Ruin a Remarriage	510	(2)
Highlight: The Ten Commandments of Stepparenting	512	(3)
Weekend Visits of the Noncustodial Child	512	(2)
Dealing with Sexuality in the Stepfamily	514	(1)
Highlight: How Much Closer Can We Get?	515	(1)
The New Extended Family	515	(2)
Building Stepfamily Strengths	517	(4)
The Prenuptial Agreement	517	(1)
Mediation to Settle Conflicts and Other Prevention Programs	518	(3)
Debate the Issues: Fatherless America: Can a Stepfather Take the Place of a Biological Father?	521	(2)
Actively Seeking Marital Growth and Fulfillment	523	(21)
``And They Lived Happily Ever After''	525	(2)
Highlight: Economic Success, Marital Failure	527	(1)
Highlight: Self-Improvement, Marital Failure	528	(1)
Marriage Improvement Programs	529	(5)
Guidelines for Choosing Marriage Improvement Programs	532	(2)
Highlight: A Family Life Enrichment Weekend	534	(3)
An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure: Marriage Enrichment	535	(2)
Highlight: Marriage Encounter	537	(1)
Marriage with Purpose: Effective Management	538	(2)
In the Future, the Family Will Remain and Diversify	540	(4)
Appendix A Sexually Transmitted Diseases	544	(10)
Appendix B Contraceptive Methods	554	(7)
Glossary	561	(2)
References	563	(18)
Credits	581	(2)
Author Index	583	(4)
Subject Index	587