Understanding Families series – serie

Black and Latino families are in fact highly family-oriented and want to be involved in exchange networks but, because they are economically disenfranchised, they are prevented from participation. The vitriolic debate on welfare reform currently sweeping the nation assumes that if institutional mechanisms of social support are eliminated, impoverished families will simply rely on an extensive web of kinship networks for their survival. The political discourse surrounding poverty and welfare reform has an increasingly racial undertone. Implementation of social policy that presupposes the availability of family safety nets in minority communities could have disastrous consequences for many without extended kin networks. Many scholars and political analysts assume that thriving kin and non-kin social support networks continue to characterize minority family life. Policy recommendations based on these underlying assumptions may lead to the implementation of harmful social policy. No More Kin examines extended kinship networks among African American, Chicano, Puerto-Rican, and non-Hispanic white families in contemporary America and seeks to provide an integrated theoretical framework for examining how the simultaneity of gender, race, and class oppression affects minority family organization. Breaking new ground in a variety of fields, No More Kin is sure to become a valuable resource for students and professionals in family studies, gender studies, and race/ethnic studies.

Black and Latino families are in fact highly family-oriented and want to be involved in exchange networks but, because they are economically disenfranchised, they are prevented from participation. The vitriolic debate on welfare reform currently sweeping the nation assumes that if institutional mechanisms of social support are eliminated, impoverished families will simply rely on an extensive web of kinship networks for their survival. The political discourse surrounding poverty and welfare reform has an increasingly racial undertone. Implementation of social policy that presupposes the availability of family safety nets in minority communities could have disastrous consequences for many without extended kin networks. Many scholars and political analysts assume that thriving kin and non-kin social support networks continue to characterize minority family life. Policy recommendations based on these underlying assumptions may lead to the implementation of harmful social policy. No More Kin examines extended kinship networks among African American, Chicano, Puerto-Rican, and non-Hispanic white families in contemporary America and seeks to provide an integrated theoretical framework for examining how the simultaneity of gender, race, and class oppression affects minority family organization. Breaking new ground in a variety of fields, No More Kin is sure to become a valuable resource for students and professionals in family studies, gender studies, and race/ethnic studies.

Grief can be an isolating experience. When a family member dies the loss goes beyond individual grief. Its concentric circles encompass all the living members of a family, and even alter interactions within that family. In Families Making Sense of Death, Janice Winchester Nadeau explores the healing process within the family context. Through interviews and analysis, she takes a look at the dynamics at work in families in which a member has died. With a keen sense of empathy, the author shares stories that show how, gradually, families come to terms with their grief and make sense of death, as time goes by. This "family meaning-making" is not a linear process. It is alternately stimulated and inhibited within a family. Nadeau draws conclusions from her research about which particular social factors and conditions play a role in the overall outcome. She succeeds in showing not only how different families cope with death within the family, but also how skillful and sensitive field research is done.

What progress have African Americans made in corporate America? This book examines the evidence by drawing on studies of almost 200 black corporate managers and their families. A past president of the New York State Council on Family Relations, author Susan D. Toliver, shows that black families have progressed in corporate America, but the inroads are uneven. Toliver takes a penetrating look at how the cultural identity of black families has been influenced by their participation in corporate America. She also suggests that corporations deepen their commitment to cultural diversity, not in name onlyùbut work to emphasize the talents and develop the strengths of the African American community. Black Families in Corporate America explores the following areas: + Shifting gender dynamics within the families of black managers + Changes in approaches to parenting + Issues of racial identity within corporations and the professional black community Black Families in Corporate America will appeal to scholars in ethnic studies, multicultural counseling, family theory, sociology, social work, personnel management, organizational development, and cross-cultural psychology.

Shifting the focus from intervention with problem populations, this book targets the everyday socialization of African American children. African American Children is a comprehensive exploration of historical and contemporary patterns of parenting in black families. Historically, it focuses on how slavery, race, the racial caste system, and the African American culture influenced the ways African Americans parented their children. This series of social forces seriously circumscribed the ability of African Americans to conform to the ideologies about the nature of children and the roles of parents that began to evolve in the early 20th century. In the context of growing diversity, Shirley A. Hill examines the work that African American parents do in raising their children and explores general child socialization patterns as well as parenting issues and challenges. Providing an analysis of the views, philosophies, and parenting strategies of parents from a variety of social class backgrounds, African American Children combines qualitative and quantitative data collected to examine a broad overview of current theoretical debates about African

American families as they relate to child socialization. Topics include discipline strategies, sexual socialization, teen sexuality, self-esteem, redefining physical attractiveness, gender roles, and the role of the extended family and community.

This book is an ideal supplemental text for advanced students in child development, family studies, sociology of the family, as well as students in ethnic studies, multicultural counseling, or gender studies.

Romancing the Honeymoon is the first comprehensive look at the North American honeymoon from a multidisciplinary academic perspective. Using theoretical and methodological approaches from sociology, history, and cultural studies, this benchmark study presents a compelling discussion of the cultural significance of the honeymoon ritual. The authors present data on the origins of the honeymoon, historical changes in cultural narratives about honeymooning, honeymoon advertising, the symbolic meanings of contemporary honeymoon sites (architecture, space planning, and decorating), and the individual pre-honeymoon expectations and post-honeymoon realities of a sample of contemporary newlyweds. This book is about more than honeymoons, however, as historical changes and contemporary experiences in honeymooning are related to such issues as identity construction, gender conflict, interpersonal risk, and rationality in late modern society. This highly readable volume provides a unique study and demonstrates the relevance of social theory in an approachable manner.

This multidisciplinary, multi-method application will provide students and scholars in family studies, gender studies, family sociology, and cultural studies with valuable insight in to this unique custom.

Romancing the Honeymoon is the first comprehensive look at the North American honeymoon from a multidisciplinary academic perspective. Using theoretical and methodological approaches from sociology, history, and cultural studies, this benchmark study presents a compelling discussion of the cultural significance of the honeymoon ritual. The authors present data on the origins of the honeymoon, historical changes in cultural narratives about honeymooning, honeymoon advertising, the symbolic meanings of contemporary honeymoon sites (architecture, space planning, and decorating), and the individual pre-honeymoon expectations and post-honeymoon realities of a sample of contemporary newlyweds. This book is about more than honeymoons, however, as historical changes and contemporary experiences in honeymooning are related to such issues as identity construction, gender conflict, interpersonal risk, and rationality in late modern society. This highly readable volume provides a unique study and demonstrates the relevance of social theory in an approachable manner.

This multidisciplinary, multi-method application will provide students and scholars in family studies, gender studies, family sociology, and cultural studies with valuable insight in to this unique custom.

"This well-written book skillfully introduces the readers to the history of family problem solving. The range and quality of content in the book is vast and comprehensive. Strength lies within the detailed review of the literature. Readers seeking a wealth of information in a single volume may find this text a useful educational and research tool. Given the book's readability, it is recommended for upper-level seminars. It would be appropriate as a supplemental or required graduate-level text in courses from multiple disciplines that deal with family problems. The text is thought provoking, and it may be a useful resource for researchers, students, educators, and practitioners working with families."

--Journal of Marriage and the Family

"This exploration of problem solving is useful to a variety of audiences who work with and conduct research related to families… It offers practical applications of family problem solving as well as recent advances in and future considerations of research this field."

--America's Family Support Magazine

Family problems can range from mild conflicts to pathological issues. In recent years it has become apparent that an understanding of family conflict is impossible without more knowledge about a fundamental characteristic of families-family problem solving. The various methods and tools, both effective and ineffective, that families use to solve their problems is an ongoing subject of research and clinical work that involves many disciplines, including clinical psychology, sociology, family therapy, developmental psychology, communications, and social psychology. These vastly different perspectives and approaches emerging from this research have resulted in a diverse body of knowledge that has yet to be integrated and synthesized. In Family Problem Solving, author Samuel Vuchinich pulls this research together in one comprehensive volume that is written in an accessible and engaging style. Elucidating the core principles that have developed from these various fields, Family Problem Solving explores family conflicts, the nature of family problems, problems across the life cycle, and social constructions. This volume also includes applications of family problem solving as well as recent advances in and future considerations of this field.

This book will provide a useful resource for professionals and students in family studies, developmental psychology, sociology of the family, and family psychology.

Current research on fatherhood often focuses on minimal changes men have made in their participation in family life. Anna Dienhart argues that men have indeed made significant changes to their family roles, but those changes are often masked in existing discourses on fatherhood. In Reshaping Fatherhood, Dienhart's qualitative study of 18 shared parenting couples explores both men's and women's resourcefulness and shows how these couples have deliberately co-created alternatives to traditional parenting roles. Using these narrative accounts, Dienhart offers several options for creating a family structure that allows both mothers and fathers to participate actively in parenting.

Dienhart emphasizes that "tag-team parenting," a common technique that couples use to juggle the responsibilities of a hectic family life, relies on both the interchangeability of parental tasks as well as the specialization by preference. Dienhart compares shared parenting to a dance that demands continuous revision of the perceptions and activities of fatherhood and motherhood. She challenges family researchers to move beyond deficit and comparative model perspectives about the complexities of gendered family life as she offers alternative ideas about division-of-labor patterns, men's relational capabilities in child care, the preeminence of men's provider role, and traditional notions about gender and politics in families.

This timely book is ideal for professionals and students in family studies, sociology of the family, family psychology, and gender studies.

This book places changes in leaving and returning home in the context of the major events of 20th century America. The authors examine the reasons children ultimately leave home to live on their own and how the pattern has changed throughout the 20th century. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, Goldscheider and Goldscheider have constructed these patterns for when children leave home and what the most important criteria for doing so are to different groups in America, including men, women, Blacks, Hispanics, Whites, and different religious groups and social classes.

This book places changes in leaving and returning home in the context of the major events of 20th century America. The authors examine the reasons children ultimately leave home to live on their own and how the pattern has changed throughout the 20th century. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, Goldscheider and Goldscheider have constructed these patterns for when children leave home and what the most important criteria for doing so are to different groups in America, including men, women, Blacks, Hispanics, Whites, and different religious groups and social classes.

What is life like in contemporary American communes? How do families fit into communal life? What are communal families, and what impact do families have on how communes are run and how they develop? As the only contemporary exploration of communal families, this book investigates the assumptions that scholars and others have made regarding the status of the family within communes, and debunks current myths about communes and communal families. While some groups are predisposed to families, other communal groups become replacements or substitutes for the nuclear family. William L. Smith investigates a variety of practices, including monogamy, polygamy, pantagamy, and celibacy, as implemented by intentional communities in dealing with family life. Drawing on the history of communes in the United States, Smith discusses various communal groups, such as the Shakers, the Mormons, the Oneida Community, the Amana Colonies, as well as contemporary rural and urban communal groups such as Twin Oaks, Jesus People USA, and the Hutterites.

Families and Communes provides students and researchers with an intriguing study of a unique social group that is often overlooked.

What does an adolescent really learn about adult responsibilities from holding down a paying job or doing household chores? Does a teenager's employment lead to change in the family? Based on an 8-year study, Adolescents, Work, and Family examines how adolescents' work experiences, both within the home and in the paid work force, affect their relationship with their parents, their self-concepts, and their well-being. This book is unique in that it studies not only working adolescents but their parents as well. Among their findings the contributors reveal the importance of work quality and context in developing youth competence, the similarity between parents and children in their perceptions of the benefits and costs of youth work, how paid work can contribute to positive family relationships, how positive work experiences can buffer the adolescent from stressful family problems, and how an adolescent's work plans influence their early transition to adulthood. In addition, the book offers readers directions for future research in this growing area of inquiry. Acquiring and maintaining work is a marker of the adolescent's transition to adulthood. Thus, scholars of adolescent and family development, youth and family policymakers, and professionals who help youths and their families will find the book's revelations important and useful. "This book is timely and is much needed to help clarify an understanding of the impact of work on adolescents and their families. It is the first to draw together a detailed analysis of intergenerational ties to work while maintaining a focus on adolescents. Moreover, a myriad of complex issues including work and development, work as an arena of comfort, and the meaning of work for adolescents and their parents are examined over time for a representative yet situated sample. While there are competing books . . . Jeylan T. Mortimer and Michael D. Finch's volume is really the first to provide a highly detailed analysis over time." --Kathryn M. Borman, University of South Florida

Offering an integrated, culturally sensitive focus, Understanding Latino Families presents a dynamic new approach to the study of Latino families. This new approach centers on the strengths of Latino/Hispanic groups, the structural processes that impede their progress, and the cultural and familial processes that enhance their intergenerational adaptation and resiliency. A leading group of scholars clearly presents social and demographic profiles of Latino groups in the United States, empirical and conceptual reviews of Latino family approaches, and practice and policy implications from studies of Latino social programs. Included for discussion are such salient topics as the economic well-being of Latino families, prospects for Latino children and adolescents, the adjustment of Central American refugee families, and Latino child and family health concerns. Researchers, scholars, and students in the fields of ethnic studies, family studies, sociology, social work, and psychology will find Understanding Latino Families an invaluable resource. "Understanding Latino Families is a timely edition of the Understanding Families series distributed by Sage Publications. In a political climate of economic discord and social change, this book highlights the ways many Latino families struggle to succeed in the face of factors related to immigration, labor for transformations, cultural incongruence with dominant society, cross-force transformations, cultural incongruence with the dominant society, cross-generational acculturation patterns, and racism. . . . Adding veracity to the social policy debate, Understanding Latino Families presents social and demographic profiles of Latino groups in the United States, empirical and conceptual reviews of Latino family approaches, and practice and policy implications from studies of Latino social problems." --Cultural Diversity and Mental Health "Understanding Latino Families presents an excellent new approach to the study of Latino family structures: one which considers ethnic group strengths, family actions, and the processes that enhance resiliency. This makes for quite a scholarly, probing study." --The Midwest Book Review "College-level students of social service will appreciate having a new approach that considers the collective group strengths of Hispanics and the processes that enhance their adaptation process. Scholars present reviews of Latino family groups in this country and discuss their social and economic patters." --The Bookwatch "For researchers and students in the fields of ethnic studies, family studies, sociology, and social work, this book offers a culturally sensitive approach to the study of Latino families. Featured are social and demographic profiles of Latino groups, empirical reviews of Latino families, approaches, and practice and policy implications from studies of Latino social programs. Other topics include the prospects for Latino children and adolescents, child and family health concerns, and the adjustment of Central American refugee families." --Journal of Social Work Education "Understanding Latino Families is an important contribution and a badly needed addition to the field of family studies. This book provides a wealth of information about the contemporary status of Latino families. It will immediately become a basic source for introducing readers to this topic and will inform both specialists and students of various levels of sophistication. This book is especially strong in giving the reader an appreciation for the great diversity that exists in the racial and ethnic composition that characterizes the membership of Latino families. Of the existing work on this topic, this edited book is the best collection . . . in the social sciences. I am convinced that academics and professionals in the fields of child development, sociology, and social work can benefit greatly by reading this book. This collection will also be a valuable tool for graduate students in all these fields. Selected chapters that are less theoretically based might also be beneficial for undergraduates who are taking university courses on ethnic diversity." --Gary W. Peterson, Arizona State University, Tempe

Offering an integrated, culturally sensitive focus, Understanding Latino Families presents a dynamic new approach to the study of Latino families. This new approach centers on the strengths of Latino/Hispanic groups, the structural processes that impede their progress, and the cultural and familial processes that enhance their intergenerational adaptation and resiliency. A leading group of scholars clearly presents social and demographic profiles of Latino groups in the United States, empirical and conceptual reviews of Latino family approaches, and practice and policy implications from studies of Latino social programs. Included for discussion are such salient topics as the economic well-being of Latino families, prospects for Latino children and adolescents, the adjustment of Central American refugee families, and Latino child and family health concerns. Researchers, scholars, and students in the fields of ethnic studies, family studies, sociology, social work, and psychology will find Understanding Latino Families an invaluable resource. "Understanding Latino Families is a timely edition of the Understanding Families series distributed by Sage Publications. In a political climate of economic discord and social change, this book highlights the ways many Latino families struggle to succeed in the face of factors related to immigration, labor for transformations, cultural incongruence with dominant society, cross-force transformations, cultural incongruence with the dominant society, cross-generational acculturation patterns, and racism. . . . Adding veracity to the social policy debate, Understanding Latino Families presents social and demographic profiles of Latino groups in the United States, empirical and conceptual reviews of Latino family approaches, and practice and policy implications from studies of Latino social problems." --Cultural Diversity and Mental Health "Understanding Latino Families presents an excellent new approach to the study of Latino family structures: one which considers ethnic group strengths, family actions, and the processes that enhance resiliency. This makes for quite a scholarly, probing study." --The Midwest Book Review "College-level students of social service will appreciate having a new approach that considers the collective group strengths of Hispanics and the processes that enhance their adaptation process. Scholars present reviews of Latino family groups in this country and discuss their social and economic patters." --The Bookwatch "For researchers and students in the fields of ethnic studies, family studies, sociology, and social work, this book offers a culturally sensitive approach to the study of Latino families. Featured are social and demographic profiles of Latino groups, empirical reviews of Latino families, approaches, and practice and policy implications from studies of Latino social programs. Other topics include the prospects for Latino children and adolescents, child and family health concerns, and the adjustment of Central American refugee families." --Journal of Social Work Education "Understanding Latino Families is an important contribution and a badly needed addition to the field of family studies. This book provides a wealth of information about the contemporary status of Latino families. It will immediately become a basic source for introducing readers to this topic and will inform both specialists and students of various levels of sophistication. This book is especially strong in giving the reader an appreciation for the great diversity that exists in the racial and ethnic composition that characterizes the membership of Latino families. Of the existing work on this topic, this edited book is the best collection . . . in the social sciences. I am convinced that academics and professionals in the fields of child development, sociology, and social work can benefit greatly by reading this book. This collection will also be a valuable tool for graduate students in all these fields. Selected chapters that are less theoretically based might also be beneficial for undergraduates who are taking university courses on ethnic diversity." --Gary W. Peterson, Arizona State University, Tempe

In Multiracial Couples, 21 couples in which one partner is black and the other is white talk about their experiences. The book offers a comprehensive and insightful analysis based on extensive quotations. It discusses the fact that these couples see their relationships as ordinary, as well as their encounters with racism. It also provides a pioneering exploration of how they became a couple, their relationships with families of origin and with the community, how partners dafine themselves as individuals and as a couple, the ways they defend against racism, their parenting experiences, what the partners learn from each other, and the blessings of being an interracial couple. The authors of Multiracial Couples provide a first-person account that will be equal value to professionals and scholars in family studies, race and ethnic studies, family psychology, and sociology. "Multiracial Couples is the result of a well-conducted study of 21 black/white couples and their experiences. It focuses strongly on the words of the participants themselves, rather than on a psychological interpretation of their words, and that is its great strength. Chapters cover topics from identity to societal racism, and although there is background material with each topic, the primary voices are the couples'. The authors then provide an interesting, comprehensive analysis with each chapter. These conclusions do not attempt to sum up, but instead offer additional ideas for thought. In essence, the authors provide a very sound framework and guidance for the discussion without being judgmental, and they do achieve the delicate balance necessary to the completeness of this text." --Interracial Voice "Multiracial Couples is a detailed look at a phenomenon that many individuals would like to see disappear. This cogent presentation of the issue is must reading. It is informative, written from a dispassionate but critical viewpoint, and reader-friendly. First addressing, in the authors' words, 'the most corrosive form of white opposition to interracial couples--racism,' the authors subsequently guide readers like a diary of an interracial relationship. . . . Family therapists, scholars, and practitioners will find this an invaluable resource. Highly recommended for all levels." --Choice "This is an unusual and unique book. . . . The issues, problems, perceptions and solutions have wide applicability. Therapists dealing with couple problems in multiracial countries will find these pages fascinating and instructive." --Kalyana Rodrigo in Sexual and Marital Therapy

In Multiracial Couples, 21 couples in which one partner is black and the other is white talk about their experiences. The book offers a comprehensive and insightful analysis based on extensive quotations. It discusses the fact that these couples see their relationships as ordinary, as well as their encounters with racism. It also provides a pioneering exploration of how they became a couple, their relationships with families of origin and with the community, how partners dafine themselves as individuals and as a couple, the ways they defend against racism, their parenting experiences, what the partners learn from each other, and the blessings of being an interracial couple. The authors of Multiracial Couples provide a first-person account that will be equal value to professionals and scholars in family studies, race and ethnic studies, family psychology, and sociology. "Multiracial Couples is the result of a well-conducted study of 21 black/white couples and their experiences. It focuses strongly on the words of the participants themselves, rather than on a psychological interpretation of their words, and that is its great strength. Chapters cover topics from identity to societal racism, and although there is background material with each topic, the primary voices are the couples'. The authors then provide an interesting, comprehensive analysis with each chapter. These conclusions do not attempt to sum up, but instead offer additional ideas for thought. In essence, the authors provide a very sound framework and guidance for the discussion without being judgmental, and they do achieve the delicate balance necessary to the completeness of this text." --Interracial Voice "Multiracial Couples is a detailed look at a phenomenon that many individuals would like to see disappear. This cogent presentation of the issue is must reading. It is informative, written from a dispassionate but critical viewpoint, and reader-friendly. First addressing, in the authors' words, 'the most corrosive form of white opposition to interracial couples--racism,' the authors subsequently guide readers like a diary of an interracial relationship. . . . Family therapists, scholars, and practitioners will find this an invaluable resource. Highly recommended for all levels." --Choice "This is an unusual and unique book. . . . The issues, problems, perceptions and solutions have wide applicability. Therapists dealing with couple problems in multiracial countries will find these pages fascinating and instructive." --Kalyana Rodrigo in Sexual and Marital Therapy

This edited volume addresses one of the central issues of family studiesùparenting. Editor Terry Arendell uses the social constructionist and the feminist lens to examine current controversies and issues of interest to family professionals and students. This important new volume deals with the history and demography of parenthood, parenting styles and structures, and issues of parenting within the broader community and policy context. A long-awaited text, Contemporary Parenting is ideal for students and professionals in the fields of family studies, sociology, developmental psychology, social work, children/youth/adolescence, gender, counseling.