This invaluable reference introduces successful strengths-based programs for aiding families of young children in critical social contexts: family, school, community, and policy. The wide range of systems/contextual approaches described here are based in current understanding of children's development, stress and resilience in families, cultural competence, and the two-generational approach to intervention. Research-based examples across early care and early learning platforms illustrate the links between parental protective factors and children's academic and social outcomes, and between family stability and larger social goals. By supporting parents and children equally, the contributors assert, these interventions more fully address developmental and family issues than programs that mainly serve one generation or the other. Included in the coverage:* Parent and community focused approaches to supporting parents of young children: the Family Networks Project.* Honoring parenting values, expectations, and approaches across cultures.* Building young children's executive functions at home and in early care and education settings.* Promoting early childhood development in the pediatric medical home.* Neighborhood approaches to supporting families of young children.* Public policy strategies to promote the well-being of families with young children. Innovative Approaches for Supporting Parents of Young Children benefits professionals and practitioners working to support families of young children, particularly those interested in social work, psychology, public policy, and public health.

This collection of essays is the product of a series of seminars held at the University of Cambridge in 1998 under the auspices of the newly formed Cambridge Socio-Legal Group. The book presents an interdisciplinary exploration of the nature of parenthood and its various manifestations in contemporary society. It is divided into three sections dealing respectively with defining parenthood,new issues in contemporary parenting and parenting post-divorce. Each contributor addresses the central question 'What is a Parent?' from the perspective of his or her own discipline, thus bringing together ideas about parents derived from law, sociology, psychology, biology and criminology. Despite the familiar and apparently obvious answer to this question the notion of 'parent' emerges from the analysis as a contested concept. Definitions are various and fluid, parenting practices are by no means fixed, and ideologies which frame who parents are and what they do are subject to disruptions from several quarters. In short, the essays in this book show the ways in which 'parent' like 'child' is a term with a shifting meaning and 'parenthood' refers to a fluid set of social practices which are historically and culturally situated. Contributors: Andrew Bainham, Carol Brayne, Stuart Bridge, Rachel Cook, Shelley Day Sclater, Margaret Ely, Loraine Gelsthorpe, Susan Golombok, Jack Goody, Jonathan Herring, Felicia Huppert, Allison James, Martin Johnson, Bridget Lindley, Mavis Maclean, Juliet Mitchell, Ros Pickford, Martin Richards, Wendy Solomou, Candida Yates.

In the US and UK there has been a transformation in child care, family leave, social assistance and tax credits over the last twenty years. This book explores the factors behind these changes. With detailed case studies, it shows that ideas and the power to wield them are crucial factors in the transformation of family policy.

This book presents a sociological account on marital dissolution that engages and extends theorisations on individualisation and the contemporary organisation of personal relationships to discuss how the experience of divorce might not be all debilitating but on the contrary, could provide opportunities for productivity, self-responsibility and relationship formation. Using Singaporean divorcees' narrative accounts, the book explores how divorcees shape and construct what the author refers to as, a divorce biography, to end their unsatisfying marriages, cope with the crisis, negotiate the associated risks, organise post-divorce personal communities and make future plans. It uncovers how divorcees navigate their divorce biographies within the economic, policy and social context they are located in and examines the conditions that facilitate or hinder the pursuit of productivity in different facets of their post-divorce lives. Far from a standard story of divorce, this book presents the diversity and complexity of Singaporean divorce biographies. The research challenges negative discourses associated with divorce and offers a more nuanced perspective by discussing both the precarious and productive aspects of the experience. More importantly, it provides a critical discussion on the limited definition of family prevalent in Singaporean society, and shows how post-divorce family life and practices continue to thrive despite the rupture of marriage.

Drawing on articles appearing in popular women's magazines from 1950 to 1989, this study documents changes in justifications of gender-based divisions of labor in the home and workplace. The study details the types of rationalizations that have been used to reconcile one new familial arrangement--two-parent workers with traditional gender values that promote men as breadwinners/fathers and women as housewives/mothers. The study reveals that changes have taken place only within the context of being a "good mother." A serious analysis of women's burden of being both breadwinner and homemaker, therefore, has not occurred. Women's magazines serve as moral guides for their readers, providing justifications for both working and nonworking readers. They rely heavily on "experts" to provide personal direction to their readers. This work is in the same vein as Susan Faludi's Backlash, which examines the use of the media in the control of gender ideologies.

This insightful new work deals with all of the contemporary issues concerning parenting by gay men and lesbians. It is designed to broaden readers' thinking on homosexuality and homosexuals in general; to include the dimension of children and parenting within the context of the homosexual family; and to provide specific information about it. The book also includes data on the children of gay and lesbian parents, as well as a discussion of alternative forms of parenthood such as adoptive and foster parenthood, stepparent families, and gay men and lesbians in heterosexual family unions. Because of their special significance, there are separate chapters on legal issues, counseling needs, and social psychological concerns for gays and lesbians considering parenthood.

Joining two usually distinct areas of psychoanalytic treatment, this volume explores the psychoanalytic theory of object relations and its application to the study of marital and family interaction. Freud's object relations model lends itself well to the study of internalized object relations and external personal relations. Integrating various psychoanalytic approaches as well as contributions of Piagetian scholars, this essay also incorporates general systems theory. The study covers the breakdown of marital relationships, narcissism of partners, separation and individuation of adolescent offspring, role typing, family communication, defense mechanisms, entrapping, and emotional processes. It concludes with a synthesis of marital and family object relations models.

"Object Relations and the Family ProcesS" introduces the reader to the object relations model. It describes the process of acquiring object concepts of both permanence and libidinal strivings. The concept of libidinal object is then defined. An overview of the psychoanalytic theory of object relations is given and the intrapersonal and interpersonal spheres of object relations are described. The remainder of the book is devoted to the author's presentation of his hypothetical model. Both psychoanalysts and therapists will find this model a useful one.

This book makes an original contribution to researching child-community development so that those with specific interests in early childhood education have new theoretical tools to guide their research practices. The book explicitly theorises the use of digital visual tools from a cultural-historical perspective. It also draws upon a range of post-structuralist concepts for moving research and scholarship forward. Examples of visual technologies from research in different cultural communities are foregrounded.

In particular this book introduces contemporary methodologies for researching child and community development with a focus on visual methodology so the dynamics of development can be captured over time and analysed historically, culturally, socially, ecologically and psychologically through a range of iterative techniques. Visual technology was not freely available in Vygotsky s time for example, and therefore potentially represents an extension of his genetic experimental approach to researching child development.

The book presents a range of methodological arguments about research into child and community development through which new conceptions for research centred on young children have been created. The authors of the chapters also discuss why a more holistic, dynamic and ethical view of research is needed for generating new knowledge about child development in a range of cultural contexts. "

While both the nature of families and the composition of the workforce have gone through radical changes, few adjustments have been made so that work and family are aligned in ways that promote strong families and a strong economy. Changing Realities of Work and Family takes a multidisciplinary look at the topic of work and family, ultimately addressing four primary questions: How do families and employers accommodate the demands of employment and children?; How does society deal with diversity and discrimination in areas such as age, community, and sexual orientation?; How does working and caring for families affect health?; and What is the effect of work-family integration in politics, business, and the legal system?These questions are addressed from a variety of perspectives and a diverse assortment of contributors, including a former Governor who gave birth to twins while in office; a distinguished legal professor and leading authority on workplace discrimination against mothers and pregnant women; a researcher whose work on parental stress includes videotaped interactions between parents and children as parents return home from work; and a consultant to corporations developing workplace flexibility with a particular focus on low-wage workers. Comprised of original empirical articles written expressly for this work and real world examples and strategies for balancing the two, this book presents the most current research on the field of work and family..

In virtually all societies, crime is an ever-present problem. Although families are often envisioned as a 'safe haven,' criminologists and family researchers have found the familial context to be at the core of many forms of crime and violence. Family members often find themselves as victims of crime and violence, often perpetrated by yet another family member. The unique nature of family relationships, such as those between children and parents, sometimes lead to intergenerational patterns of violence within families. Understandably, societies often struggle to address crime and violence within families; as such behaviors are often unreported and even concealed. Even beyond the family, crime and criminal behavior can often directly impact familial relationships, such as with the incarceration of a spouse or parent. This multidisciplinary volume of CPFR will address topics such as: child abuse and neglect, spousal violence, incarceration and parenting, community crime and family well-being, family life and delinquency, intrafamily violence, and policy-related issues pertaining to family violence.

This collection provides a comprehensive insight into disabled children and youth in Nordic countries. It seeks to understand the experiences of children from their own perspectives and takes a multidisciplinary approach grounded in the new social studies of childhood and the Nordic relational approach to disability.

Bonds between brothers and sisters are among the longest lasting and most emotionally significant of human relationships. But while 45 percent of adults struggle with serious sibling strife, few discuss it openly. Even fewer resolve it to their satisfaction. In Cain's Legacy , psychotherapist Jeanne Safer, a recognized authority on sibling psychology (and an estranged sister herself) illuminates this pervasive but hidden phenomenon. She explores the roots of inter-sibling woes, from siblicide in the book of Genesis to tensions in Freud's family history. Drawing on sixty in-depth interviews with adult siblings struggling with conflicts over money, family businesses, aging parents, contentious wills, unhealed childhood wounds, and blocked communication, Safer provides compassionate guidance to brothers and sisters whose relationship is broken. She helps siblings overcome their paralysis and pain, revealing how they can come to terms with the one peer relationship they can never sever- even if they never see each other again. A heartfelt look at a too-often avoided topic, Cain's Legacy is a sympathetic and clear-eyed guide to navigating the darkness separating us from our brothers and sisters.

Rural Families and Work focuses on the findings of the Rural Families Speak research study and the theoretical frameworks that are utilized to examine the context of rural low-income families' employment. This volume provides a solid foundation for understanding rural employment problems and issues. Family ecological theory is the central framework with a discussion of theories that contribute to the opportunities for the contextual research, including family economic stress theory, human capital, human capability, and some selected policy frameworks. Employment is addressed through review of policy issues, community contexts, family and social support, and available resources. Throughout the volume future research directions and applications are highlighted.

Who are the new families that are appearing on city streets, in suburban malls, and at Fourth of July celebrations? The parents, in their 40s and 50s, are obviously Caucasian, and their very young daughters are obviously Chinese. This book is about these new "American & Chinese" families that are being formed through the mechanism of international adoption. The first survey of bicultural Chinese-American children, based on personal experience and rigorous research, both documents these adoptions and examines their implications for American society. This book will be of great use to couples considering or living with adopted Chinese children, professionals in social welfare and education, and scholars and other researchers involved with American multiculturalism.

Whom do teenagers turn to when they need emotional support? In this contribution to the literature on adolescent social support networks, Kandi Stinson conducts thirty in-depth interviews with adolescents and their custodial parents. She divides her interviews evenly between children living with both biological parents, with the divorced mother, and with the divorced mother and stepfather. Do the structure and effectiveness of the adolescents' social support networks vary in these three environments? What are the implications of these variations for adolescent well-being? Focusing on what kinds of networks most adequately meet the needs of adolescents, Stinson concludes that the relationship between adolescent and mother is crucial in determining the size and structure of support networks and that variations in the mother's marital status have a great impact on the number, kinds, and quality of support networks.

Stinson's study explores the answers to three guiding questions: What do adolescent support networks look like? How are these networks affected by the divorce or remarriage of parents? What are the impacts of network size and structure on adolescent well-being? Following a review of literature, Stinson describes the size and structural characteristics of networks. She then focuses four chapters on those particular network relationships which emerge as significant sources of support: mother-adolescent, father-adolescent, relationships with relatives, and adolescent friendships. In her final chapter Stinson applies her empirical results to her guiding questions. This study is directed at researchers and practitioners specializing in adolescent well-being, divorce, and remarriage counseling.

The Latino population in the United States continues to grow and now represents 12% of the population. Yet, remarkably little attention has been paid to understanding parenting and child development processes among Latino families. Although research on Latino parenting is beginning to emerge, the field is in need of further structure and direction. This volume addresses this need and advances the field both by presenting state-of-the-art research on Latino parenting and also by proposing conceptual and methodological frameworks that can provide the field with further integration and direction.

In addition to presenting innovative research examining parental beliefs and practices of Latino families from different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, authors provide frameworks for identifying the origins of these beliefs and practices, and provide a rich picture of both the values that can be considered Latino and the social and demographic normative and at-risk Latino samples. Finally, methodological and conceptual recommendations for future research on each cited area, as well as the field, are presented.

Drawing on her long experience as an academic researcher and writer, Ann Oakley develops a sociology of the research process itself, telling the story of how a research project is undertaken and what happens during it, to both researchers and those who are researched. This remarkable book focuses on a topic of great importance in the provision of health services - caring and social support. Setting neglect of this topic in the wider context of an ongoing crisis in gendering knowledge, Social support and motherhood is now reissued for a contemporary audience. It has much resonance for social science researchers and others interested in the experiences of mothers, and in the relations between social research, academic knowledge and public policy.

Starting with questions about how to incorporate Chinese culture and custom into the lives of their adopted daughters Emily and Claire, the authors began a year-long search for answers. The result is a detailed examination of the post-adoptive views, actions, and experiences of a national sample of families with children from China toward acknowledging their adopted child's Chinese cultural-heritage and the issues they face together as a multicultural family. Historical and present-day issues affecting intercountry adoptees and their families, such as arguments used to support or oppose intercountry and transracial adoption, developmental delay and the effects of institutionalization on Chinese adoptees, parent-child attachment, discrimination and racial prejudice, and identity development, are detailed. Parents' beliefs and experiences on these issues are supplemented by a multi-disciplined, comprehensive review of available literature. While occasionally relying on personal experiences, this book is not about the authors' personal adoption story and parenting experiences. Rather, the focus is on common experiences and reactions of adoptive families who were, for the most part, firmly ensconced in the cultural mainstream but now find themselves viewed differently by society; these parents find that issues of culture, race, and ethnicity have become an important part of their everyday lives. Adoption scholars and professionals, as well as adoptive parents, will benefit from reading Intercountry Adoption from China.

Based on comprehensive statistical data and detailed analyses of case histories drawn from private practice, maternity homes, and a county hospital, this book examines the societal, familial, and psychological factors in illegitimacy.

"Defining the Family: Law, Technology, and Reproduction in an Uneasy Age" provides a sweeping portrait of the family in American law from the nineteenth century to the present. The family today has come to be defined by individuality and choice. Pre-nuptial agreements, non-marital cohabitation, gay and lesbian marriages have all profoundly altered our ideas about marriage and family. In the last few years, reproductive technology and surrogacy have accelerated this process of change at a breathtaking rate. Once simple questions have taken on a dizzying complexity: Who are the real parents of a child? What are the relationships and responsibilities between a child, the woman who carried it to term, and the egg donor? Between viable sperm and the wife of a dead donor?

The courts and the law have been wildly inconsistent and indecisive when grappling with these questions. Should these cases be decided in light of laws governing contracts and property? Or it is more appropriate to act in the best interests of the child, even if that child is unborn, or even unconceived? No longer merely settling disputes among family members, the law is now seeing its own role expand, to the point where it is asked to regulate situations unprecedented in human history. Janet L. Dolgin charts the response of the law to modern reproductive technology both as it transforms our image of the family and is itself transformed by the tide of social forces.

Throughout the postwar period, changes in individual behaviour and legal reforms have transformed traditional notions of family life throughout Western Europe. However, interpretations of what constituted a desirable family life varied, together with the type of social intervention adopted towards it. Taking Britain and Italy as comparative cases, the author explores the extent to which dominant notions of family life differed in postwar Britain and Italy and the implications this had on the development of family policy in these two countries.

Family policy holds a particular status in the quest for a more equitable world as it intersects the rights of women, children, and workers. But despite local and global efforts and initiatives, the state of family policy in different areas of the world varies widely. Through a cross-section of countries on six continents, Family Policies Across the Globe offers the current state of the laws concerning family life, structure, and services, providing historical, cultural, and socioeconomic context. Lucidly written chapters analyze key aspects of family definition, marriage, child well-being, work/family balance, and family assistance, reviewing underlying social issues and controversies as they exist in each country. Details of challenges to implementation and methods of evaluating policy outcomes bring practical realities into sharp focus, and each chapter concludes with recommendations for improvement at the research, service, and governmental levels. The result is an important comparative look at how governments support families, and how societies perceive themselves as they evolve. Among the issues covered: Sierra Leone: toward sustainable family policies. Russia: folkways versus state-ways. Japan: policy responses to a declining population. Australia: reform, revolutions, and lingering effects. Canada: a patchwork policy. Colombia: a focus on policies for vulnerable families. Researchers , professors and graduate students in the fields of social policy, child and family studies, psychology, sociology, and social work will find in Family Policies Across the Globe a reference that will grow in importance as world events continue to develop.

This book is an introduction to the social anthropology of kinship - to the ways in which the peoples of different cultures marry and relate to each other within and outside the family, and to the means by which one generation relates to those that come before and after it. It is addressed in particular to students of anthropology, but is also intended as a one-volume guide to those, such as social historians, demographers and geographers, who find it necessary to understand patterns of kinship in different places and at different times.

The book is divided into two parts. Part I opens with a discussion of what kinship means to the social anthropologist as distinct from the biologist, and considers the different possible approaches to the subject within social anthropology itself. The following chapters cover topics such as descent, inheritance, succession, the family, residence, marriage, kinship terminology, systems of affinal alliance, the new reproductive technologies, and symbolic approaches to kinship.

In Part II the first four chapters provide an overview of theoretical debates concerning different aspects of kinship. The final chapter provides ethnographic examples, together with an annotated guide to further reading, divided by chapter.

The book applies and illustrates these concepts and topics to a number of contrasting case studies. These illustrate the insights that can be achieved from the study of kinship, and also show that the complexity of even the most familar kinship patterns rarely lends itself to simple description. The author also includes annotated guides to further reading.