Family Life Now (eBook)

PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chapter 1: Family Life Now
What Is Marriage?
What Is Family?
Contemporary Families
Families in Cultural Contexts
Family Life Education: The Study of Families Through A Family Lens
Family Life Education: Strengthening Families
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 2: Understanding Families Through Research and Theory
Understanding Families Through Research
Becoming a Consumer of the Literature
Understanding Families Through Theory
Family Interactions and You
Family Life Education: Creating, Implementing, and Evaluating Effective Family Programming
Summary
Chapter 3: Family Communication, Conflict, and Forgiveness
The Communication Process
Communication Between Men and Women
Types of Communication
Cornerstones of Communication
Conflict in Relationships
The Role of Forgiveness in Family and Intimate Relationships
Family Life Education: Forging Family Strengths
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 4: Gender in Today’s Society
It Matters: The Biology of Gender
It Matters: The Culture of Gender
Gender Polarization: Complementary Opposites—Or Inequality?
The Theories of Gender Development
It Matters: The Agents of Socialization
It Matters: Gender and Contemporary Issues
Family Life Education: Practicing With Sensitivity and Respecting Diversity
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 5: Intimacy: Developing and Experiencing Affectionate Bonds
Intimacy: Do We Have a Need to Relate to Others?
What Do Intimate Relationships Look Like?
The Psychosocial Development of Children
Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Psychosocial Development
Obstacles to Intimacy
Family Life Education: Valuing Diverse Couple Experiences
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 6: Love and Loving
Love Is a Cultural and Historical Experience
What Is Love, Actually?
Companionate Love: Experiencing Love as a Commitment
Developing Love
Theories of Love and Loving
Family Life Education: Relating to Others With Respect, Sincerity, and Responsibility
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 7: The Path to Commitment: Attraction, Dating, Partnering, and Cohabitation
“Frisky Business”: Interpersonal Attraction Theories
The Path to Commitment
Relationship Development
Nonmarital Cohabitation: Living Together
Family Life Education: Using Reinforcing Strategies to Aid Couple Formation and Maintenance
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 8: Singlehood, Coupling, and Marriage
Being Single
The Act of Marriage
The Transition to Marriage: Why It’s So Tough
Satisfying Marriages
Family Life Education: Identifying Social and Cultural Influences Affecting the Marital Experience
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 9: You, Sex, and Sexuality
Learning Sexuality: Cultural Contributions
Our Sexual Selves
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Relationships and Sex
Cheating: Sex Outside the Relationship
Experiencing Sexual Difficulties
Family Life Education: Advancing Healthy Sexual Well-Being From a Value-Respectful Position
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 10: Becoming Parents: Choices and Challenges
Childbearing Trends: Who’s Having Babies?
Having Children: Now, Later, or Never?
Being Pregnant and Giving Birth
Unexpected Outcomes
Adoption: By Circumstance or Choice
Contraception and Abortion
Family Life Education: Fostering Healthy Family Formation
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 11: Parenting Life Now
Change Over Time: Parenting Is a Process
From Partners to Parents: Making the Transition
Today’s Parents
Parenting 101: Best Practices for Parenting
Family Life Education: Guiding and Influencing a Child’s Development
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 12: Family Life and Work: A Balancing Act
Working Families: The Transformation of American Homes
A Portrait of Contemporary Dual-Earner Couples
Couples and Work: Just Trying to Make Ends Meet
The Balancing Act: Juggling Family Life and Work
Policies for Working Families
Marriage and Money
Family Life Education: Understanding and Assisting Families’ Decisions
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 13: Uncoupling: Relationship Deterioration and Divorce
Uncoupling
Emotionally Ending the Marriage/Couple
Legally Ending the Marriage: The Formal Divorce
Avoiding Divorce: Getting a Marriage Back on Track
Family Life Education: Educating and Assisting Families Through Transition and Change
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 14: Rebuilding: Family Life Following Couple Dissolution and Divorce
The Aftermath of Divorce: Transitions
How Divorce Affects Children and Adolescents
Challenges for Single Parents
Transitions to Repartnering
Family Life Education: Protecting Children’s and Adults’ Well-Being
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 15: Family Change: Stress, Crisis, and Transition
Family Change
Family Crisis
Family Coping and Resilience
The Crisis of Family Violence
Family Life Education: Providing Knowledge and Skills
Summary
Key terms
Chapter 16: Family Life and Aging
Aging and the Aged
Marriage Experiences Through Aging
Intergenerational Ties
Family Changes Toward the End of Life
Dying and Death Experiences
Family Life Education: Removing Barriers and Assisting in Transitions
Summary
Key terms
GLOSSARY
REFERENCES
INDEX