Marriage and family : perspectives and complexities / edited by H. Elizabeth Peters and Claire M. Kamp Dush.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Peters, Elizabeth, 1955-

Kamp Dush, Claire M.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Marriage--United States.

Marriage.

Families--United States.

Families.

Parenting--United States.

Parenting.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (447 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Family life has been radically transformed over the past three decades. Half of all households are unmarried, while only a quarter of all married households have kids. A third of the nation's births are to unwed mothers, and a third of America's married men earn less than their wives. With half of all women cohabitating before they turn thirty and gay and lesbian couples settling down with increasing visibility, there couldn't be a better time for a book that tracks new conceptions of marriage and family as they are being formed.The editors of this volume explore the motivation to marry and the role of matrimony in a diverse group of men and women. They compare empirical data from several emerging family types (single, co-parent, gay and lesbian, among others) to studies of traditional nuclear families, and they consider the effect of public policy and recent economic developments on the practice of marriage and the stabilization—or destabilization—of family. Approaching this topic from a variety of perspectives, including historical, cross-cultural, gendered, demographic, socio-biological, and social-psychological viewpoints, the editors highlight the complexity of the modern American family and the growing indeterminacy of its boundaries. Refusing to adhere to any one position, the editors provide an unbiased account of contemporary marriage and family.

Contents:

Introduction / Elizabeth Peters, Claire M. Kamp Dush

Perspectives on marriage. Historical and cross-cultural perspectives on marriage / Arland Thornton

Marriage and family : the evolutionary ecological context / Bobbi S. Low

Gender lens on marriage / Paula England

Institutional, companionate, and individualistic marriage : a social psychological perspective on marital change / Paul R. Amato

Contemporary families. Single parenthood and child well-being : trends, theories, and evidence / Rachel Dunifon

Cohabitation and parenthood : lessons from focus groups and in-depth interviews / Wendy D. Manning, Pamela J. Smock, Cava Bergstrom-Lynch

Examination of child well-being in stable single-parent and married families / Claire M. Kamp Dush

Reconsidering the association between stepfather families and adolescent well-being / Megan M. Sweeney, Hongbo Wang, Tami M. Videon

Parenting by gay men and lesbians : beyond the current research / Gary J. Gates, Adam P. Romero

Strengthening marriage. Supporting healthy marriage : designing a marriage education demonstration and evaluation for low-income married couples / Virginia Knox, David Fein

Differentiating among types of domestic violence : implications for healthy marriages / Michael P. Johnson

Future of marriage. Growing importance of marriage in America / Steven L. Nock

Future of marriage and the state : a proposal / Tamara Metz

Why won't African Americans get (and stay) married? Why should they? / Shirley A. Hill

Race, immigration, and the future of marriage / Daniel T. Lichter, Warren A. Brown.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612796531

9781282796539

1282796534

9780231520027

0231520026

OCLC:

826476479