Understanding Families

Professor Linda McKie is Head of School for Applied Social Sciences (SASS) at Durham University.  Dr Samantha Callan is recognised as a research and policy expert in the fields of family relationships, mental health and the early years. She is currently Associate Director for Families and Mental Health at the Centre for Social Justice, for whom she has chaired four major social policy reviews. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow at Edinburgh University′s Centre for Research in Families and Relationships (CRFR).

This excellent, innovative, comprehensive and easy to read text should be essential reading for everyone keen to understand families across the globe. It addresses key questions, carefully blends policy concerns, research issues and theoretical debates, points to further reading and includes a very helpful glossary. It will make an outstanding contribution to family studies and is highly recommendedJanet WalkerEmeritus Professor, Newcastle University This is a clearly written, well organized, and highly digestible overview of the sociology of the family. It covers major themes and issues, including important changes over time in behavior as well as the ideas used to understand patterns of behavior and structure. The authors manage to include a strong international perspective while highlighting many specific examples and trends in the UK and across Europe. What I appreciate so much about this book is that it is to the point and not overburdened by a tedious amount of detail or nuances of the type that can so easily mire and demoralize readers who are trying to capture the essential features in the study of the family. I highly recommend this book for serious students who want to efficiently capture the gist of this thing called familyScott M. StanleyResearch Professor and Co Director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies, University of Denver, USA I don′t know how often I′ve wished for an introductory text on family life which encompassed critical contemporary sociological thinking alongside the basic information students need, and have only found fossilised thinking on a stodgy subject. But now all that has changed. McKie and Callan have achieved what I thought was almost impossible in Understanding Families; this is a textbook which provides unrivalled foundations for a critical understanding of contemporary families and relationshipsCarol SmartProfessor of Sociology, The Morgan Centre, University of Manchester

• IntroductionStructures, Processes and StrategiesFamily or Families?Families in HistoryThe Families We Live With, The Families We Live ByThe Contents of the BookSummaryExplore FurtherPART ONE: INTRODUCING FAMILIES Families and RelationshipsIntroductionFamilies: A Constant State of FluxContinuities and PresumptionsStructures: Identifying and Talking About FamiliesDefining Families 1: Common CharacteristicsDefining Families 2: Values, Memories and Spaces and PlacesStatistical Trends and Family StructuresProcesses: Families, Kinship and ActivitiesGlobal FamiliesTopic 1. The Impact of Welfare Regimes on Families: France, the Russian Federation, East and West GermanyTopic 2: Ideal and Actual Families in AsiaSummaryExplore FurtherExplaining FamiliesIntroductionSociological Explanations: Premise and OriginsIdeology and Theory: What Is This Thing ′the Family′?Sociological TheoryTies that Bind: Making Sense of StructuresFamilies as a Framework: ParsonsSocialization: MertonActors and Actions: Theories of InteractionInteractions: GoffmanStructures and Practices: Giddens and WallaceTheories of ConflictThe ′Lifeworld′ of Families: HabermasWomen, Men, Gender: Feminist PerspectivesFeminist and Gender: Perspectives on FamiliesGlobal DimensionsContemporary Voices on IntimacySummaryExplore FurtherPART TWO: RESEARCH AND POLICYResearching FamiliesIntroductionResearch MethodsSurvey ResearchWriting About People and Families: Ethnographic Research MethodsSecondary Analysis of Research StudiesHistorical Research on FamiliesApproaches to the History of the FamilyBetter Times for Families?Documenting Change in Family ProcessesFamily and Sex 1900-2000Private Troubles and Public IssuesResearching Change and ContinuitySolo LivingTalking About SexSingle ParentingSummaryExplore FurtherPolitics, Policies and PracticesIntroductionDefinitionsPolicies and Families′ Forms and FunctionsFamily Policy - New Kid on the Block?How do Policies Deliver Benefits to Families?Policy Approaches to Different Family FormsEvidence-Based PolicyFamilies in ActionFamilies and Social CohesionFamilies and Social BreakdownBeyond StereotypesFamilies and the Welfare StateThe Relationship Between Politics and PoliciesServices and PracticesTypes of ServicesSummaryExplore FurtherPART THREE: FAMILIES IN ACTIONRelationships and SexualitiesIntroductionLets Get Together: Marriage, CohabitationUniversality of Marriage and PartneringDefinition of Partnering - How do People Partner?Diversity in Partnering ArrangementsCohabitationSame-Sex Couples and FamiliesChildren Raised by Same-Sex CouplesMoving Apart: Breakdown and DivorceWhy do Relationships Break Down?What Changes After Divorce and What Stays the Same?Being Together and Living Apart: Solo Living, Friendships and Social Networks′Coupleness′ Outside of CohabitationWhy else do people Live Alone?Beyond the Family - FriendshipsSocial NetworksCommunities and NeighbourhoodsThe Effects of Neighbourhoods and Communities on FamiliesSexualized SocietiesEnduring Relationships: Generating HistoriesEnduring IntimacySummaryExplore FurtherFamilies and WorkIntroductionDefining and Explaining WorkUnderemployment and UnemploymentBoundaries: Paid and Unpaid WorkThe Global ContextSurvival and Longevity: The Challenge to WorkDecent Work and Rural EmploymentRelationships and ResourcesAcquiring and Allocating ResourcesGender and ResourcesUnpaid WorkGender Roles and Unpaid WorkQuantifying and Valuing Unpaid WorkVital but SubordinateFamily Practices and WorkPolicy, Politics and FamiliesExplaining Preferences and ChoicesMigrant Domestic WorkersSummaryExplore FurtherPART FOUR: CONCLUSIONSFamilies into the FutureIntroductionTrends and FuturesWorking Patterns, Gender and CareDemography: Fertility, Life Expectancy and CareRelationship FormationThe Impact of Technologies on FamiliesCommonalities and Differences across the GlobeBeliefs and BehavioursSustainable Families?The Importance of ChildcareShaping Politics and PolicyAddressing Family FragilitySame-Sex Relationships and Assisted ReproductionSummaryExplore Further Glossary