Robert M. Milardo is Professor of Family Relations at the University of Maine. He has published extensively in the field of family studies in leading journals and books and is currently editor of the Journal of Family Theory and Review owned by the National Council on Family Relations, of which he was elected a Fellow in 2005. He is the former associate editor of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships and the former editor of the Journal of Marriage and Family. Professor Milardo is active in the developing science of personal relationships and served as the first president of the International Association for Relationship Research. His interviews and commentaries on family issues have appeared in a wide array of venues, including Psychology Today, the Guardian, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, and a variety of local and regional media.

“Robert Milardo has produced an excellent empirically based and theoretically informed study of the significance of aunts and uncles in contemporary family networks. He shows how these relationships, largely ignored in the research literature, can be highly influential in shaping personal development and family process. This book makes a very welcome contribution to our knowledge.” – Graham Allan, Keele University

• Preface; 1. Relational landscapes; 2. The study; 3. Describing the relationships; 4. Essential aunting and uncling; 5. Mentoring; 6. Family work; 7. Friendship; 8. The social reproduction of aunts and uncles; 9. Balancing the composition; Appendices.

Robert M. Milardo is Professor of Family Relations at the University of Maine. He has published extensively in the field of family studies in leading journals and books and is currently editor of the Journal of Family Theory and Review owned by the National Council on Family Relations, of which he was elected a Fellow in 2005. He is the former associate editor of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships and the former editor of the Journal of Marriage and Family. Professor Milardo is active in the developing science of personal relationships and served as the first president of the International Association for Relationship Research. His interviews and commentaries on family issues have appeared in a wide array of venues, including Psychology Today, the Guardian, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, and a variety of local and regional media.

“Robert Milardo has produced an excellent empirically based and theoretically informed study of the significance of aunts and uncles in contemporary family networks. He shows how these relationships, largely ignored in the research literature, can be highly influential in shaping personal development and family process. This book makes a very welcome contribution to our knowledge.” – Graham Allan, Keele University

• Preface; 1. Relational landscapes; 2. The study; 3. Describing the relationships; 4. Essential aunting and uncling; 5. Mentoring; 6. Family work; 7. Friendship; 8. The social reproduction of aunts and uncles; 9. Balancing the composition; Appendices.

Robert M. Milardo is Professor of Family Relations at the University of Maine. He has published extensively in the field of family studies in leading journals and books and is currently editor of the Journal of Family Theory and Review owned by the National Council on Family Relations, of which he was elected a Fellow in 2005. He is the former associate editor of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships and the former editor of the Journal of Marriage and Family. Professor Milardo is active in the developing science of personal relationships and served as the first president of the International Association for Relationship Research. His interviews and commentaries on family issues have appeared in a wide array of venues, including Psychology Today, the Guardian, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, and a variety of local and regional media.

“Robert Milardo has produced an excellent empirically based and theoretically informed study of the significance of aunts and uncles in contemporary family networks. He shows how these relationships, largely ignored in the research literature, can be highly influential in shaping personal development and family process. This book makes a very welcome contribution to our knowledge.” – Graham Allan, Keele University

• Preface; 1. Relational landscapes; 2. The study; 3. Describing the relationships; 4. Essential aunting and uncling; 5. Mentoring; 6. Family work; 7. Friendship; 8. The social reproduction of aunts and uncles; 9. Balancing the composition; Appendices.