Philip A. Cowan – författare

This volume, the result of the second annual Summer Institute sponsored by the Family Research Consortium, focuses on family transitions--both normative and non-normative. The subject of family transitions has been a central concern of the consortium largely because studies of families in motion help to highlight mechanisms leading to adaptation and dysfunction. This text represents a collective effort to understand the techniques individuals and families employ to adapt to the pressing issues they encounter along their life course.

This volume, the result of the second annual Summer Institute sponsored by the Family Research Consortium, focuses on family transitions--both normative and non-normative. The subject of family transitions has been a central concern of the consortium largely because studies of families in motion help to highlight mechanisms leading to adaptation and dysfunction. This text represents a collective effort to understand the techniques individuals and families employ to adapt to the pressing issues they encounter along their life course.

The Family Context of Parenting in Children''s Adaptation to Elementary School is a result of a longitudinal prevention study of 100 families begun the year before their first children entered kindergarten. Each family went through an assessment and then a subset was randomly chosen for group intervention. The children in both groups were then studied as they progressed through kindergarten and first grade to assess the quality of their adaptation to the school environment.The text focuses on how parent-child relationships are only one determinant of a child''s academic competence, social competence, and behavior. Rather, these relationships must be understood in the context of the role they play within the family as a system. It also addresses the recent challenges to claims about the impact of parents on their children''s development.The book sheds additional light on family influences within the larger social environment as a key determinant of the quality of children''s adjustment to schooling. It appeals to scientists, professionals, and parents alike.

The Family Context of Parenting in Children''s Adaptation to Elementary School is a result of a longitudinal prevention study of 100 families begun the year before their first children entered kindergarten. Each family went through an assessment and then a subset was randomly chosen for group intervention. The children in both groups were then studied as they progressed through kindergarten and first grade to assess the quality of their adaptation to the school environment.The text focuses on how parent-child relationships are only one determinant of a child''s academic competence, social competence, and behavior. Rather, these relationships must be understood in the context of the role they play within the family as a system. It also addresses the recent challenges to claims about the impact of parents on their children''s development.The book sheds additional light on family influences within the larger social environment as a key determinant of the quality of children''s adjustment to schooling. It appeals to scientists, professionals, and parents alike.

Any agenda for family research in the 1990s must take seriously a contextual approach to the study of family relationships. The editors and contributors to this volume believe that the richness in family studies over the next decade will come from considering the diversity of family forms -- different ethnic groups and cultures, different stages of family life, as well as different historical cohorts. Their goal is to make more explicit how we think about families in order to study them and understand them. To illustrate the need for diversity in family studies, examples are presented from new and old families, majority and minority families, American and Japanese families, and intact and divorcing families. This variety is intended to push the limits of current thinking, not only for researchers but also for all who are struggling to live with and work with families in a time when family life is valued but fragmented and relatively unsupported by society''s institutions. Students and researchers interested in family development from the viewpoint of any of the social sciences will find this book of value.