Mark A. Fine

Jean Ispa

Kathy R. Thornburg

With this in-depth journey into the lives of nine young African-American mothers facing issues related to single parenthood and poverty, readers will get critical insight into these women's relationships, social influences, triumphs, and challenges.;

The Everyday Struggles of Young Families in Poverty

Keepin' on

Andrew I. Schwebel

Andrew Schwebel

This book presents a new approach to understanding the family unit and how and why it functions as it does. The approach focuses on the cognitions of family members and how these, in turn, shape individuals' behavior and the functioning of the family system. The use of the cognitive-behavioral perspective in family science has gained a quick and broad acceptance among social scientists and practitioners during the past decade. One reason for its success is that the basics of the approach are easy to learn and apply. Specifically, the approach maintains that a person who believes that he or she is a failure will -- because of this cognition -- act in certain self-defeating ways and have various self-deprecating feelings. The wide acceptance of the cognitive-behavioral approach rests on more than its simplicity: the approach has repeatedly proven itself in the laboratory and in the clinic. The knowledge readers of this volume will gain about the cognitive-behavioral approach provides them with tools that they can use to better understand not only the family interactions, but the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals -- including themselves -- in the family setting.

A Cognitive-behavioral Approach

Understanding and Helping Families

Frank D. Fincham

Each of the contributors describes how theory has been used to generate new knowledge in the field and suggests future directions for how theory may be used to extend our knowledge base. The book helps readers acquire a working knowledge of the key family science theories, findings, and issues and understand how researchers make use of these theories in their empirical efforts. To maximize accessibility, each of the renowned contributors addresses a common set of issues in their chapter: Introduction to the content area; Review of the key topics, issues, and findings; A description of each of the major theories used to study that particular content area; Limitations of the theories; Suggestions for better use of the theories and/or new theoretical advances; Conclusions about future theoretical developments.

A Content-based Approach

Handbook of Family Theories

Organized by content areas rather than by theory, this comprehensive, accessible handbook helps readers gain greater insight into how key theories have impacted today’s family research. Most competing books, organized by theory, do not provide a strong sense of the links between theory and research. Using the 2000 and 2010 decade-in-review issues of the Journal of Marriage and Family as a resource, the book addresses the most important topics impacting family studies research today. The introductory chapter, written by the editors, provides an overview of the role family theories have had on the field. This chapter is followed by 23 others on family-related content areas written by renowned scholars in the field. The book is organized around the most important domains in the field: parenting and parent-child relationships, romantic relationships, conflict and aggression, structural variation and transitions, demographic variations, and families and extra-familial institutions. Each of the contributors describes how theory has been used to generate new knowledge in the field and suggests future directions for how theory may be used to extend our knowledge base. The book helps readers acquire a working knowledge of the key family science theories, findings, and issues and understand how researchers make use of these theories in their empirical efforts. To maximize accessibility, each of the renowned contributors addresses a common set of issues in their chapter: • Introduction to the content area • Review of the key topics, issues, and findings • A description of each of the major theories used to study that particular content area • Limitations of the theories • Suggestions for better use of the theories and/or new theoretical advances • Conclusions about future theoretical developments. An ideal text for graduate and/or advanced undergraduate family theories courses, this book’s unique organization also lends itself to use in content-based family studies/science courses taught in family studies, human development, psychology, sociology, communication, education, and nursing. Due to its comprehensive and current approach, the book also appeals to scholars and researchers in these areas.

A Content-Based Approach

Loreen N. Olson

This volume advances theory and research by presenting original, empirical studies as well as theoretical and methodological overviews on dark family communication processes. Taking an interdisciplinary and international approach, the volume includes contributions from the most respected scholars in their specialty areas. It is the first published work on the dark side of family communication scholarship to include critical theorizing. This makes it an important contribution to family communication research in general and dark side work more specifically. Such chapters examine how gender, race, class, and sexual orientation impact and are impacted by dark family communication. In addition to a micro, interaction-based exploration of how social location and dark family communication processes intersect, some chapters offer more social critiques of dark family communication (and how it is socially constructed) at a macro-level. The volume is intended for scholars, researchers, and graduate students interested in the dark side of family communication and family dynamics. It is also well suited for advanced undergraduate or graduate courses in family communication, dark side of family communication, family processes, family dynamics, family conflict, and family stress and coping.

The Harmful, the Morally Suspect, and the Socially Inappropriate

The Darker Side of Family Communication

John H. Harvey

Featuring excerpts of essays collected from over one thousand young adults while in the throes of divorce, this book paints a picture of the pain and the hope shown by the storytellers. By framing the narratives with an analysis of the most recent divorce literature, the authors provide readers with a greater and more vivid understanding of the effects of divorce. Challenging the contention that most children will be irretrievably hurt by their parents' divorce, some stories clearly demonstrate the strength and resilience many have learned in dealing with a divorce in the family. Emphasis is placed on how hope about the possibilities of having close relationships - as well as a willingness to create stronger families in their own lives - represent abiding motivations in this sample of young people. The authors hope that the use of the raw input of respondents will make the experiences more realistic and ultimately help people deal with major loss events in their lives. Highlights of the new edition include: A new chapter (7) that demonstrates the messiness of divorce (infidelity, dysfunctional interactions, multiple marriages/relationships, and the financial expense), the fading stigma of divorce, the latest divorce rates, the increased average age of first time marriages, and the recent hook-up phenomenon wherein young people are showing a reluctance to commitment Updated throughout with the most current demographic data, new findings from the top researchers in the field, and the latest intervention programs A review of the Divorce Variability and Fluidity Model (DVFM) that helps predict variability in adjusting to divorce More suggestions to help children adapt to divorce, including material on parenting education classes and mediation as a method for easing the process A list of readings and suggested websites for further review More tables and graphs to summarize key concepts. An ideal supplement for courses on divorce, family studies, close relationships, and loss and trauma taught in human development and family studies, and clinical, counseling, and social psychology, as well as communication, social work, and sociology, these engaging stories also appeal to practitioners and those interested in the effects of divorce in general.

Stories of Loss and Growth, Second Edition

Children of Divorce

Children of Divorce features excerpts of stories collected from hundreds of young people. The narratives embrace such themes as despair, chaos in the family, and "missing" dads. The volume paints a picture of the pain, the hope, and the resiliency shown by young adults while in the throes of divorce and in the years to follow. These poignant narratives are framed by an analysis of the most recent divorce literature. The book clearly demonstrates the value of storytelling in helping people deal with major loss events in their lives. The authors' hope is that by examining these experiences, we will gain a greater understanding of the effects of divorce and ultimately strengthen relationships in the future. This book challenges the contention that most children will be irretrievably hurt by their parents' divorce. Presenting a mixture of young people's voices demonstrating the great variety of reactions to parental divorce, it shows the strength and resilience many of these young people have learned in surviving the pain surrounding divorce in their families. Emphasis is placed on how hope about the possibilities of having close relationships--as well as a willingness to try to have stronger families in their own adult lives--represent abiding motivations in this sample of young people. Providing an overarching theoretical emphasis on the value of storytelling for people dealing with major losses, the authors hope that this method of stressing the raw input of respondents will make the experiences more vivid and realistic to the reader.

Stories of Loss and Growth

This Handbook presents up-to-date scholarship on the causes and predictors, processes, and consequences of divorce and relationship dissolution. Featuring contributions from multiple disciplines, this Handbook reviews relationship termination, including variations depending on legal status, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. The Handbook focuses on the often-neglected processes involved as the relationship unfolds, such as infidelity, hurt, and remarriage. It also covers the legal and policy aspects, the demographics, and the historical aspects of divorce. Intended for researchers, practitioners, counselors, clinicians, and advanced students in psychology, sociology, family studies, communication, and nursing, the book serves as a text in courses on divorce, marriage and the family, and close relationships.

Mark A. Fine

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