Continuity & change in the American family / Lynne M. Casper, Suzanne M. Bianchi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Casper, Lynne M.

Contributor:

Bianchi, Suzanne M.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Families--United States.

Families.

United States.

Social change--United States.

Social change.

Physical Description:

xxxv, 370 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Continuity and change in the American family

Place of Publication:

Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications, [2002]

Summary:

Continuity and Change in the American Family engages students with issues they see every day in the news, providing them with a comprehensive description of the social demography of the American family. Understanding ever-changing family systems and patterns requires taking the pulse of contemporary family life from time to time. This book paints a portrait of family continuity and change in the later half of the 20th century, with a focus on data from the 1970??'s to present. The authors explore such topics as the growth in cohabitation, changes in childbearing, and how these trends affect family life. Other topics include the changing lives of single mothers, fathers, and grandparents and increasing economic disparities among families; child care and child well-being; and combining paid work and family. The authors are talented writers who bring considerable professional and scholarly background to bear in illuminating this topic in a thoughtful yet lively presentation.

Contents:

Is the American family in decline? A note on the demographic approach to studying families. Theoretical frameworks in family demography. A note on data and family terminology. Choice of topics and organization of this volume

Changing families in a changing society. A changing society. Changing households and families. Racial differences in household and family structure. Delayed marriage and living arrangements of young adults. Cohabitation. Marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Childbearing. Living arrangements of the elderly. Intergenerational ties and multigenerational living. Conclusion

Cohabitation. Who cohabits and how has this changed over time? A note on gay and lesbian cohabiting households. Cohabitation and marriage. Are cohabiting and married individuals becoming more alike? Cohabitation and single life. Different purposes, different cohabitors. Race and the meaning of cohabitation. Premarital cohabitation and risk of divorce. Conclusion

Childbearing / by Martin O'Connell. Entering motherhood : childbearing among cohorts of women. Number of children and childlessness. Generational differences in childbearing. Nonmarital childbearing. Employment patterns before and after pregnancy. Birth expectations. Fertility in men's lives. Conclusion

Single-mother families. Who is a single mother? Trends in single motherhood. Cohabitation and single-parenting. Cohort change in lifetime experience of single-mothering. Changing socioeconomic characteristics of single mothers. Variation among single mothers. Single mothers and welfare reform. Conclusion

Fathering. Beliefs about father involvement : ideals and realities. Declining fatherhood : long-term trends in men's coresidential parenting. Lifetime estimates of parenthood. Father-only families and cohabitation. Characteristics of single and married fathers. Child custody. Contact between nonresident fathers and their children. Child support among nonresident fathers. Married fathers' time and activities with children. Fathers' and mothers' views on father involvement. Conclusion

Grandparenting. How has grandparenthood changed over the years? Grandparenting. Grandparents and single-parenting. Multigenerational families with grandparents. Heterogeneity in multigenerational families with grandparents. Characteristics of grandparents in multigenerational families. Economic well-being of grandparents in multigenerational families. Racial differences in multigenerational families with grandparents. Economic well-being of grandchildren in multigenerational families. Conclusion

Child care. Growth in non-parental child care. How do parents choose child care? Complexity of child-care arrangements. Child care and child well-being. Conclusion

Child well-being. Changing numbers of U.S. children. A transformation of family life. Foster children and adopted children. Children in gay and lesbian families.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 317-350) and index.

ISBN:

0761920080

0761920099

OCLC:

47120320