Valerie Malhotra Bentz is Associate Professor of Sociology at the Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas. Her areas of expertise include Sociological Theory, Social Psychology, Qualitative Research Methods, Sociology of the Arts, Social Psychology of Women, Social Work Practice, Sociology of Childhood, and Sociological Practice. She is a co-editor of Visual Images of Women in the Artsand Mass Media and the author of numerous journal articles. She has also served as a reviewer for the journals Sociological Quarterly, Qualitative Sociology, and Social Science Quarterly. Professor Bentz is founder and Vice-President for Education and Research, Institute on Communication and Mental Health Studies, Inc., Denton.

• FOREWORD: GHOSTS AND SPIRITS 1 GHOST OF A CHANCE 2 GROUP COMMUNICATION AND NARRATIVES IN RESEARCH 3 SELF, TIME, AND TEMPORAL EXPERIENCE 4 MATURE AND IMMATURE PARENT PRACTICES 5 THE CHILDHOODS OF REBECCA, GLORIA, AND GRETA—GHOSTS OF BATTERING PARENTS 6 GHOSTS OF SEXUALLY ABUSIVE FATHERS— JANET AND DELORES 7 MICHELLE AND BARBARA—REBELLING AGAINST THE GHOSTS OF POVERTY AND NEGLECT 8 THE DEATH OF A CHILD'S PARENT—SHELLY AND KAREN 9 PAM AND RHONDA—MATURE PARENTS 10 MATURE BECOMING IN SOCIAL CONTEXT