Marriages and Families in the 21st Century : A BioEcological Approach (Hardcover)

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xvii

Walk Through Tour xviii

1 The Changing American Family 1

WHAT IS A FAMILY? 3

FAMILY STRUCTURES VS. FAMILY PROCESSES 8

THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN FAMILIES 16

THE APPROACH AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THIS BOOK 28

2 How We Study the Family: Theories and Research Methods 31

OVERVIEW: THE NEED FOR GOOD THEORY AND RESEARCH DESIGN 33

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS 33

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 47

DEMOGRAPHIC ISSUES IN RESEARCH 57

3 Sex and Gender 67

OVERVIEW: A BIOECOLOGICAL APPROACH TO SEX AND GENDER 70

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEX AND GENDER? 70

THE IMPORTANCE OF GENDER FOR LIVING IN FAMILIES 72

GENDER AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION 75

GENDER DISCRIMINATION AND SEXISM 78

THEORIES OF GENDER ROLE DEVELOPMENT 82

OUR DEVELOPMENT INTO BOYS AND GIRLS AND MEN AND WOMEN 87

4 Sexualities 103

OVERVIEW OF INFLUENCES ON SEXUALITY 105

MACROSYSTEM AND HISTORICAL INFLUENCES ON SEX AND SEXUALITIES 105

TRENDS IN SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDES ABOUT SEX 109

SEX ORGANS: THE WAY THEY WORK AND HOW THINGS GO AWRY 113

SEXUAL ORIENTATION 125

A CLOSER LOOK AT CURRENT ISSUES IN SEXUALITY 129

5 Dating and Mate Selection 141

OVERVIEW OF DATING, HOOKING UP, AND MATE SELECTION 143

A BIOECOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF DATING AND MATE SELECTION 146

THEORIES OF DATING AND MATE SELECTION 155

HISTORICAL TRENDS IN DATING AND MATE SELECTION 159

DIVERSITY IN DATING AND MATE SELECTION 161

CONTEMPORARY TRENDS AROUND THE WORLD 163

6 Love 171

WHAT IS LOVE? 173

IS LOVE UNIVERSAL? 178

BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF LOVE 184

THE SOCIAL CONTEXTS OF LOVE: ATTACHMENT THEORY 189

MACROSYSTEM INFLUENCES ON LOVE 193

A FINAL NOTE: ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF LOVE 196

7 Marriages and Committed Partnerships 201

OVERVIEW OF CONTEMPORARY MARRIAGE TRENDS 204

HEALTH BENEFITS OF HAPPY MARRIAGES 207

A HISTORICAL EXAMINATION OF MARRIAGE 210

TYPES OF MARRIAGE 212

MARITAL PROBLEMS 231

HEALTHY PROCESSES IN MARRIAGES 234

8 Living Single 243

OVERVIEW OF SINGLEHOOD 245

UNIQUE CHALLENGES FACING SINGLES 246

THE NORMATIVE LIFE CYCLE MODEL 251

THE DIVERSE LIVES OF SINGLE PEOPLE 253

MACROSYSTEM FORCES AGAINST SINGLEHOOD 257

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH OF SINGLE PEOPLE 263

SINGLE THROUGH COMMITMENT TO GOD 267

FINAL REFLECTIONS 271

9 Reproduction and Parenting 275

OVERVIEW: TO PARENT OR NOT TO PARENT 278

HISTORICAL TRENDS IN PARENTING 280

REPRODUCTION AND BIRTH 286

THE TRANSITION TO PARENTHOOD 293

INFERTILITY AND CREATIVE WAYS TO BECOME PARENTS 296

PARENTING INFANTS AND CHILDREN 301

THE MANY FACES OF PARENTHOOD 309

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND THE MACROSYSTEM 318

10 The Economy of Working Families: Balancing Mental, Physical, and Financial Health in the Twenty-First Century 323

OVERVIEW OF ECONOMIC TRENDS 325

DIVERSITY IN WORK AND FAMILY LIFE 329

BALANCING WORK AND FAMILY 342

LIVING ON THE EXTREMES OF THE SOCIOECONOMIC CONTINUUM: POVERTY AND WEALTH 350

11 Families in Crisis: Violence, Abuse, and Neglect 357

OVERVIEW: THE PERVASIVE NATURE OF VIOLENCE 360

ELDER ABUSE AND NEGLECT 361

ANIMAL ABUSE 365

INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE 369

BATTERERS 386

CHILD MALTREATMENT 391

12 Divorce and Remarriage 403

OVERVIEW: TRENDS IN DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE 405

THE COMPLEXITIES OF DIVORCE 411

THE EFFECTS OF DIVORCE 415

REDUCING THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF DIVORCE 424

REMARRIAGE 427

13 Growing Older in Families 439

OVERVIEW: CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL BELIEFS ABOUT AGING 441

MULTIDIMENSIONAL CHANGES WITH AGE 444

RETIREMENT 456

FAMILY LIFE ACROSS GENERATIONS 458

14 The Evolution of Families in the Twenty-First Century 471

FIVE KEY IDEAS FOR UNDERSTANDING MARRIAGES AND FAMILIES 473

GENERAL TRENDS IN MULTICULTURALISM 475

GENDER AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY 477

GLOBALIZATION 480

AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT IMMIGRATION 487

FINAL REFLECTIONS ON THE FUTURE OF FAMILIES 490

Glossary of Key Terms G-1

References R-1

Index I-1