The field of family studies has recently seen the development of a more specialized focus on the character of particular relationships. The nature of these relationships may take many forms but typically involves individuals who view themselves as a unit with a long-term commitment to continue their relationship. Traditionally, at least in western societies, families are defined in terms of two parents living together with responsibility for rearing their children. However, these so-called nuclear families are becoming a rarer phenomenon. Single-parent families, childless couples, lesbian or gay male couples are also all represented in the broad mix of relations referred to as families. Each of the chapters in this book deals with a primary relationship issue. These include: issues of early marriage how young relationships become enduring relationships parent and child relations conflict between partners the interface between work and family life marital quality and maintenance divorce and its impact on the family aging and older families This volume provides a useful reference for professionals whose research and/or clinical practice focuses on family relationship issues. This book is also intended for advanced students in the areas of sociology, close relationships and family sciences. Families as Relationships is one of a series of paperbacks dedicated to the study and application of processes by which individuals relate to each other in social and family settings. Each book provides an expanded and up-to-date version of a section in the original Handbook of Personal Relationships (second edition) edited by Steve Duck.

Every family is hurting, and the wounds that come from our relatives can be deeper than all others. Conflict within a family can range from daily frictions and annoyances to rage and hatred and eventually estrangement. We want things to be different but have no idea where to start. After 25 years of ministering to families, Rob Rienow believes reconciliation is at the heart of the gospel--reconciliation with God and one another. You will come away with specific steps you can take in your relationships with your family members to pursue peace and healing in your homes. Each chapter includes key biblical examples as well as present-day stories of families who have experienced God's help and healing--including the author's own miraculous healing of his relationship with his father. Our families can bring out the best, as well as the worst, in all of us. May this book guide you in making your home and family a blessing in a broken world.

Long recognized as the authoritative guide for clinicians working with divorcing families, this book presents crucial concepts, strategies, and intervention techniques. Robert E. Emery describes how to help parents navigate the emotional and legal hurdles of this painful family transition while protecting their children's well-being. The book is grounded in cutting-edge research on family relationships, parenting, and children's adjustment, including Emery's groundbreaking longitudinal study of the impact of divorce mediation versus litigation. It provides a detailed treatment manual for mediating custody and other disputes, developing collaborative parenting plans, and fostering positive postdivorce family relationships. New to This Edition *Reflects the latest psychological research, as well as divorce and custody law. *Chapters on understanding and addressing divorcing partners' anger and grief. *Treatment manual chapters have been extensively revised. *Incorporates the author's 12-year follow-up study.

You Can Stop Fighting With Your Chidren! Here is the bestselling book that will give you the know–how you need to be more effective with your children and more supportive of yourself. Enthusiastically praised by parents and professionals around the world, the down–to–earth, respectful approach of Faber and Mazlish makes relationships with children of all ages less stressful and more rewarding. Their methods of communication, illustrated with delightful cartoons showing the skills in action, offer innovative ways to solve common problems.

At the center of people’s lives is the family, which can be and should be a haven from the harshness of the outside world. Unfortunately, the source of people’s greatest hope for happiness often turns out to be the source of their worst disappointments. Now, the family therapist, Salvador Minuchin unravels the knots of family dynamics against the background of his own odyssey from an extended Argentinian Jewish family to his innovative treatment of troubled families. Through the stories of families who have sought his help, the reader is taken inside the consulting room to see how families struggle with self-defeating patterns of behavior. Through his confrontational style of therapy, Dr Minuchin demonstrates the strict but unseen rules that trap family members in stifling roles, and illuminates methods for helping families untangle systems of disharmony. In Dr Minuchin’s therapy there are no villains and no victims, only people trying to deal with various problems at each stage of the family life cycle. Minuchin understands the family as a system of interconnected lives, not as a “dysfunctional” group. Each story of a therapeutic encounter brings a new understanding of familiar dilemmas and classic mistakes, and recounts Dr Minuchin’s creative solutions.

The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Couples and Family Relationships presents original articles from leading experts that link research, policy, and practice together to reflect the most current knowledge of contemporary relationships. Offers interesting new perspectives on a range of relationship issues facing twenty-first century Western society Helps those who work with couples and families facing with relationship issues Includes practical suggestions for dealing with relationship problems Explores diverse issues, including family structure versus functioning; attachment theory; divorce and family breakdown; communication and conflict; self regulation, partner regulation, and behavior change; care-giving and parenting; relationship education; and therapy and policy implications

In the 1990s it is no longer "news" that families do not operate independently from other social organizations and institutions. Instead, it is generally recognized that families are embedded in a complex set of relationships with other institutions and contexts outside the family. In spite of this recognition, a great deal remains to be discovered about the ways in which families are influenced by these outside agencies or how families influence the functioning of children and adults in these extra-familial settings--school, work, day-care, or peer group contexts. Moreover, little is known about the nature of the processes that account for this mutual influence between families and other societal institutions and settings. The goal of this volume is to present examples from a series of ongoing research programs that are beginning to provide some tentative answers to these questions. The result of a summer workshop characterized by lively exchanges not only between speakers and the audience, but among participants in small group discussions as well, this volume attempts to communicate some of the dynamism and excitement that was evident at the conference. In the final analysis, this book should stimulate further theoretical and empirical advances in understanding how families relate to other contexts.

The enduring and multi-faceted significance of families in society, and their value as a focus for the exploration of social change have ensured that families remain a prominent focus of academic enquiry. This book proposes a new conceptual framework that both challenges and attempts to reconcile traditional and contemporary approaches.

This is the eBook of the printed book and may not include any media, website access codes, or print supplements that may come packaged with the bound book. A student-centered and practical approach to learning This book provides timely, practical, and high-interest information about marriages, families, and intimate relationships, in an engaging format that is easy to use and learn from. Marriages, Families, & Intimate Relationships: A Practical Introduction discusses fundamental concepts and insights from across the social sciences. It also attempts to engage students with high- interest, useful information and to answer the questions that matter greatly to them. A better teaching and learning experience This program will provide a better teaching and learning experience—for you and your students. Here’s how: Personalize Learning — MySocLab delivers proven results in helping students succeed, provides engaging experiences that personalize learning, and comes from a trusted partner with educational expertise and a deep commitment to helping students and instructors achieve their goals. I mprove Critical Thinking — Questions and self-assessment help students think critically about content, engage in class discussions, and make connections to their personal lives. Engage Students — Student-focused features and a visually appealing design keep students interested. Explore Theory — High-interest information combined with the most current research provides a sociological focus to the text. Support Instructors — MySocLab enables instructors to assess student progress and adapt course material to meet the specific needs of the class. Note: MySocLab does not come automatically packaged with this text. To purchase MySocLab, please visit: www.mysoclab.com.