Many people seem to be searching for answers to help explain their past, understand their current way of being, and create a happier, more satisfying future. It is the current trend to blame mothers for such emotional problems. "Poppa" Psychology calls into question this habit of blaming mothers, and focuses, instead, on the father-child relationship. Regardless of whether the father is present or absent, his actions will have a direct influence on the child's development. Fathers have received a great deal of media attention lately, but the main focus has been on their absence. "Poppa" Psychology deals with the psychological ramifications of the father-child relationship, regardless of whether the fathers are present or absent. Specifically, it highlights factors that are related to maladjustment in children and provides suggestions for raising psychologically healthy children.

It is common for European couples living fairly egalitarian lives to adopt a traditional division of labour at the transition to parenthood. Based on in-depth interviews with 332 parents-to-be in eight European countries, this book explores the implications of family policies and gender culture from the perspective of couples who are expecting their first child. Couples' Transitions to Parenthood: Analysing Gender and Work in Europe is the first comparative, qualitative study that explicitly locates couples' parenting ideals and plans in the wider context of national institutions. This unique analysis of transitions to parenthood in contemporary Europe focuses on Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic and Poland. It explores how parents' agency varies along with policy-culture gaps in their countries and provides evidence of their struggle to adapt to, or resist, socially desired paths and patterns of change. In fact, the ways in which institutional structures limit possible choices and beliefs about motherhood and fatherhood are linked in ways that often go unnoticed by social scientists, policy makers and parents themselves. This cutting-edge book will be of interest to social scientists, political scientists, journalists and policy-makers. Parents-to-be will also find value in this analysis of gender in parenthood. Contributors include: P. Abril, J. Alsarve, P. Amigot, S. Bertolini, C. Botia-Morillas, K. Boye, F. Buhlmann, A. Dechant, M. Dominguez Folgueras, M. Evertsson, N. Girardin, D. Grunow, M.J. Gonzalez, D. Hanappi, T. Jurado-Guerrero, I. Lapuerta, J.-M. Le Goff, T. Martin-Garcia, J. Monferrer, R. Musumeci, M. Naldini, O. Nesporova, M. Reimann, A. Rinklake, C. Roman, M. Seiz, R. Stuchla, P.M. Torrioni, I. Valarino, G. Veltkamp, M. Verweij

Based on open-ended interviews with adult children and children-in-law, this book documents how plain folk from the working and middle classes manage to provide care for their frail, elderly parents while simultaneously meeting the obligations of their jobs and their own immediate families.

Adult children who care for elderly parents are pressured daily trying to juggle the responsibilities of work, family, and caregiving. Deborah Merrill shows how plain folk (as one caregiver termed herself) from the working and lower middle classes manage to provide care for their frail, elderly parents while simultaneously meeting the obligations of their jobs and their own immediate families. The evidence is drawn from open-ended, in-depth interviews with adult children and children-in-law, all of whom have worked outside of the home at some point during caregiving.

Merrill examines the strategies that caregivers use to combine work and caregiving and the accommodations they make in their jobs. She also points to the pathways that lead family members to caregiving roles and how those pathways vary according to family history, gender, and in-law status. By focusing on class differences in caregiving and pointing to policy implications, Merrill has provided an invaluable resource for students, researchers, and policymakers in social work, gerontology, family studies, and social issues.

For people born to parents from two socially distinctive racial groups, the answer to the question of racial identity can be far from straightforward. Exploring the lived experiences of the 'mixed-race' population group in Scotland, a country with distinctive national identity, this book examines how mixed Scots obtain an understanding of self through interacting with others within and beyond their home. Focusing on the impact of the family on the formation of mixed identities, this book breaks fresh ground, becoming one of the few sociological studies that brings together perspectives from mixed individuals and parents of mixed children. The book pays close attention to how members within 'mixed-race' families respond differently to everyday encounters of race and negotiate the greater shaping forces from wider society. Using illustrative cases drawn from in-depth interviews across a two-year period, the author offers a vibrant picture of 'mixed-race' experiences in modern Scotland, unravelling the complex interplay of race, social class, and imagined boundaries of Scottishness. Approaching the question of identity through a lens that combines interactionist and intersectional perspectives, Mengxi Pang invites readers to unravel the process of identity-making and its intricacies.

There has been a widespread fascination with age-dissimilar couples in recent years. This book examines how the romantic relationships of these couples are understood. Based on qualitative research, McKenzie investigates notions of autonomy, relatedness, contradiction, and change in age-dissimilar relationships and romantic love.

What's for dinner? Not just in America, but around the world? And how is it cooked, what's the historical significance of that food, how is it served and consumed, and who gets to clean up? This book provides fascinating insight into how dinner is defined in countries around the world. Almost universally, "dinner" is a key meal in most countries around the world, whether it be a simple dish of rice and beans, a slice of pizza on the go, or a multi-course formal meal. What do the specifics of how a meal is eaten-by hand instead of with utensils, for example-say about a specific culture? This fascinating one-volume reference guide examines all aspects of dinner in international settings, enabling insightful cross-cultural comparisons and an understanding of the effects of modernization and globalization on food habits. Some 50 countries are covered in chapters focusing on present-day meal habits in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and North and South America. The commentary covers everything about the meal, such as the time, the cooking and preparation, shopping for ingredients, the clean-up process, gender-based participation roles, conversation or other social interactions, and etiquette-just about everything that happens at the table. The book is ideal for classroom teaching and learning, as the entries and photos are conducive to teaching students about other cultures, directly supporting the National Geography Standards. Students will be able to make informed comparisons between their own lives and the various cultural experiences described in the book. Provides intimate insights into a broad range of international food habits, thereby affording readers a glimpse into the daily lives of people around the world and offering immense opportunities for cross cultural comparisons Compares cooking methods, gender roles regarding food and meals, and the places of children or extended relatives at meal time Underscores how food culture is universally and intrinsically related to ethnicity, family, and meal-time tradition Presents a combination of reference narrative, photographs, and recipes that make this a one-stop reference source ideal for students learning about other cultures

This wide-ranging book offers fascinating insights into the nature of marriage in the Middle Ages, both in its social, political, legal, and religious aspects, and its treatment in contemporary art and literature. From such major topics as the role of the Church fathers and the Bible, and the practice and law of marriage, to the cult of celibacy and the relationship between marriage and architecture, Professor Brooke's illuminating study offers the most complete account of medieval marriage ever published. He draws on a remarkable group of case studies and sources, including the letters of Heloise and Abelard, the epics of Wolfram von Eschenbach, and the poetry of Chaucer, and concludes with a penetrating look at the Arnolfini Marriage by Jan van Eyck.

This volume addresses the tensions between work and welfare with respect to fertility. Focusing on childbearing choices (intentions, desires) as influential predictors of future fertility, the contributors examine the importance of labour force attachment on young women's fertility plans in the context of increased labour market flexibility and differences in work-life balance policies across Europe in the early 21st century. Both high- and low-fertility societies of different welfare regimes are studied, illuminating processes of uncertainty and risk related to insecure labour force attachment and the incoherence effect in terms of women's and men's equal access to education and employment but unequal share of domestic responsibilities, constraining fertility. The synthesis of the findings shows how childbearing choices in relation to uncertainty, risk and incoherence offer a lens for understanding the capabilities of families to have and care for children in contemporary Europe. This volume contributes to the conceptual development of further research on the complex relationship between fertility, paid work and work-life balance policies.

Competing claims on time in work and family life have become inherent, unavoidable features of the Western world. As households increasingly juggle competing responsibilities, and as job expectations and parenting standards intensify, many people feel torn between work and family. This book aims to deepen our understanding of a variety of conditions that influence the successes and difficulties experienced in attempting to equally accommodate both work and private lives. The contributors argue that conditions which create competing claims on time can originate from the organization, from the household, or from both; a multi-level and multi-actor approach is thus applied to the problem. Paying detailed attention to time use and time pressures, the contributors focus not only on the causes of disturbed balances between work and care, but also on solutions to these competing claims. The conclusions reached provide policymakers and implementers with evidence that certain elements of the organization and the household can be seen as parameters that are susceptible to directed policy-based intervention. This comprehensive, multinational and multi-disciplinary study encompasses sociology, economics, geography and urban science perspectives from across Europe, US, and Australia. It will prove essential reading for students of social scientific disciplines, including family and organizational sociology and economics, and for policymakers and researchers focusing on work-family issues.

Why does sex and relationship education (SRE) continue to have mixed success? Why is teaching SRE difficult? And why do some adolescents practice safe sex according to the SRE messages while others still engage in risky sexual behaviour? To answer these questions, this book explores a cutting edge Youth Work-based SRE programme that examines how young people aged 15-21 engage with SRE, describing how a range of socioeconomic, cultural and sexual norms, values and attitudes differently shape their decision-making on sex, intimacy and future pathways. The empirical data presents young people's rich accounts from diverse socioeconomic contexts and relationships, as well as sex educators' views on the efficacy of SRE. Important key themes are family and friendship networks, education and employment expectations, and personal and romantic relationships. Uniquely theorising classed circumstances and expectations with gendered heterosexual practices, Understanding Sex and Relationship Education, Youth and Class reveals that understanding the contextual specifics of teens lives is crucial for the relevancy of SRE. Drawing on SRE and Youth Service practice, alongside policy debates in the UK and international context, means that this book will be useful for readers worldwide, and those interested in sociology, social policy, sexual and public health studies, as well as policymakers and youth practitioners.

The dominant cultural script is that the Baby Boomers have 'had it all', thereby depriving younger generations of the opportunity to create a life for themselves. Bristow provides a critical account of this discourse by locating the problematisation of the Baby Boomers within a wider ambivalence about the legacy of the Sixties.

This series of four volumes honors the lifetime achievements of the distinguished activist and scholar Elise Boulding (1920-2010) on the occasion of her 95th birthday. This first anthology documents the breadth of Elise Boulding's contributions to Peace Research, Peacemaking, Feminism, Future Studies, and Sociology of the Family. Known as the "matriarch" of the twentieth century peace research movement, she made significant contributions in the fields of peace education, future studies, feminism, and sociology of the family, and as a prominent leader in the peace movement and the Society of Friends.

"Americans at Midlife" is an exploration of the middle years within the framework of trends in the larger society, including longer life expectancy and an aging population; changes in marriage, divorce, and family composition; increased participation of women in the labor force; and the growth of two-income families.Major interests at midlife center around work and careers, current and future economic well-being, and planning for retirement. Other major concerns involve relationships with younger and older generations: boomerang kids who leave home and return, and aging parents, often healthy and active now, who may need care in their later years.

The book begins with a discussion of how demographic and social changes affect midlife, followed by chapters on work and retirement planning or looking for the good years, the not-so-empty nest, and aging parents. A chapter on mid-life women considers the implications of combining work and caregiving and raises concerns about their economic well-being, given their longer life expectancy and often more limited resources. The book ends with a consideration of policy issues that may affect midlife in the future.

A world-class introduction to the historical and continuing impact of classical theory on sociological debate The latest edition of Classical Sociological Theory offers students a definitive guide to the theoretical foundations of sociology and the continuing impact of the ideas explored by early theorists, including Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Mead, Simmel, Freud, Du Bois, Adorno, Marcuse, Parsons, and Merton. The prestigious editors have integrated several readings on the most influential theories arising out of the Enlightenment era and the work of de Tocqueville. Readers are introduced to seminal works in classical sociological theory by way of editorial introductions that lend historical and intellectual perspective to the included readings. The readings themselves have been selected based on their combinations of theoretical sophistication and accessibility. From analyses of self and society to examinations of critical theory and structural-functional analysis, Classical Sociological Theory remains the gold standard in classical theory readers. The Fourth Edition of this widely taught book includes: Selections that trace the history of classical sociological theory, from its undisciplined roots to its modern influence on contemporary sociological debate Readings describing the "pre-history" of sociology, including ideas from the Enlightenment and de Tocqueville Editorial introductions that place selected works firmly in their intellectual, philosophical, and historical contexts for the benefit of the student A distinguished and scholarly team of editors with a wide and deep range of expertise Perfect for undergraduate and graduate students of social and sociological theory, Classical Sociological Theory is also a thought-provoking resource ideal for use in courses taught in human geography, anthropology, criminology, and urban studies programs.

Sanctions for illegitimacy vary enormously across cultures and are linked to social structure. Some societies handle non-marital births in a relaxed way; others use restitutive sanctions; and others repressive sanctions. This study of 122 non-industrial societies shows that the regulation of illegitimacy is more varied than any particular theory suggests (and there are many, including Marxism, functionalism, sociobiology, and feminism). The work aims to test a variety of theoretical ideas about the possible factors involved in social regulation of illegitimacy -- social hierarchy, fraternal interest groups, female power, extended family structure, affection for children, and father involvement with infants -- and to examine combinations of these factors for predictive power. This study will be of interest to scholars and students in sociology, family studies, and cultural anthropology.

Unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are on the increase among young people. This volume explores social and behavioural implications of adolescent sexuality and suggests ways in which to encourage sexual responsibility.

With contributions from psychologists, sociologists and family care experts, the volume examines such topics as gender, sexual behaviour, adolescent parenting, homosexuality and bisexuality.

As Michael Harrington's "New American Poverty" alerted readers to that problem, so the present collection makes readers aware of the various conditions of single parenting. . . . The institutional barriers of courts, housing, and workplace to the economic well-being of the female single parent are explicitly and directly examined. Solid recommendations for institutionalizing change on the state and federal levels are made. The interdisciplinary expertise of the authors covers the fields of law, social work, urban planning, housing, economics, and public policy, all with solid academic preparation. Charts are clear and concise, and the laguage is direct and concrete. "Choice"

The single-parent family phenomenon is primarily about households headed by single mothers with minor children. Some perceive this growing family form as a threat to the values of the traditional nuclear family and often stereotype the mothers and their children as problems all too often dependent on public assistance. Others cite an uncaring society that ignores the needs of its more vulnerable members. Stereotypes of single women as parents, however, often significantly misrepresent the reality. Indeed, the very ignoring of the great range of differences that characterize contemporary single mothers has itself led to a large and harmful body of myths that perpetuate and intensify the single parent's problems.

This sensitive, substantive book provides a needed examination of the realities of single parenthood for women. It makes a major contribution toward thoughtful formulation of policies for improving the economic and social well-being of single parents and their children. Scholars and practitioners in the fields of law, social work, urban planning, housing, economics, and public policy address and respond to the many problems, challenges, and barriers that single mothers confront in the courts, in labor markets, and in housing.

Friendship is one of the best things that God has created. It is unparalleled as a building block of society, a universal theme in great literature, and has a huge impact on our mental health and happiness. But many of us are lonely or feel suffocated by the pressures of life and quantity of relationships we have to maintain, and almost all of us could benefit from better friendships. Phil Knox, author of Story Bearer and Head of Mission at Evangelical Alliance, celebrates the best of friendships in The Best of Friends. Punctuated with personal story, poetry, and practical application, Knox examines friendship in the setting of the church and explores how Jesus invested his time both with his closest companions and one-off encounters. Readers will recognise the power of friendship in bringing non believers to church, and Knox explores the importance of becoming friends with people who are different from us. Advising that our church circles are always open and invitational, not closed cliques. Finally, Knox considers intergenerational friendships and the most important friend request of all time: one's relationship with God. Full of practical advice, The Best of Friends shows us how to choose our friends wisely and maintain lasting and meaningful friendships, especially our relationship with God.

This book explains how the short-lived sexual revolution 50 years ago has led to the current evolution of our sexual values and behaviors and social standards among youth culture, examining topics such as communication technologies and sex, teen pregnancy, and divorce rates in the Bible Belt. Is an increase in sexual activity during adolescence a normal part of the transition to adulthood, or evidence of a societal problem? Why would conservative religious youth become sexually active earlier than their peers and be more likely to have an unintended pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease? How are women continuing to lead our society's sexual transformation? Written by an author whose 40-year career in sexology and university administration provides a uniquely qualified perspective upon both sex research and the changing sexual perceptions of American youth, this comprehensive book is must-read for both parents and policy makers. America's Sexual Transformation traces the philosophical, cultural, and scientific developments responsible for the beginning and end of America's sexual revolution that have now spawned a more substantive sexual transformation. It examines traditional theories and attitudes regarding sex, and demonstrates how the findings of sex research provide entirely new paradigms that should replace outmoded and harmful theories. This groundbreaking book also explains who we are as sexual individuals and how we got to be that way. Chapter notes highlight some of the major sex research studies of the past 50 years Case studies and personal histories document unusual sexual preferences and how the practice of sex therapy is changing with current communication technologies A comprehensive index helps readers find salient points easily

The founding volume of the European Family Therapy Association book series presents new ideas confirming the crucial importance of systemic family therapy for family practice. Spanning paradigms, models, concepts, applications, and implications for families as they develop, experts in the field demonstrate the translatability of session insights into real-world contexts, bolstering therapeutic gains outside the treatment setting. Chapters emphasize the potential for systemic family therapy as integrative across theories, healing disciplines, modes of treatment, while contributors' personal perspectives provide unique takes on the therapist's role. Together, these papers promote best practices not only for therapy, but also research and training as professionals delve deeper into understanding the complexity and diversity of families and family systems. Origins and Originality in Family Therapy and Systemic Practice offers practitioners and other professionals particularly interested in family therapy practice timely, ethical tools for enhancing their work.

In this volume, a distinguished set of international scholars examine the nature of collaboration between life partners in the sciences, with particular attention to the ways in which personal and professional dynamics can foster or inhibit scientific practice. Breaking from traditional gender analyses which focus on divisions of labor and the assignment of credit, the studies scrutinize collaboration as a variable process between partners living in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries who were married and divorced, heterosexual and homosexual, aristocratic and working-class and politically right and left. The contributors analyze cases shaped by their particular geographical locations, ranging from retreat settings like the English countryside and Woods Hole, Massachusetts, to university laboratories and urban centers in Berlin, Stockholm, Geneva and London. The volume demonstrates how the terms and meanings of collaboration, variably shaped by disciplinary imperatives, cultural mores, and the agency of the collaborators themselves, illuminate critical intellectual and institutional developments in the modern sciences.