Publisher:Don Mills, Ontario ;Oxford University Press,[2014]
Bibliography, etc. Note: Includes bibliographical references (pages 224-247) and index.
Formatted Contents Note: 1. Variations in Family Life -- Defining Families -- Historical Changes in Marriage and Families -- Family Policies and the State -- Gender, Class, Ethnicity, and Family Policies -- Cultural and Historical Variations in Families ; Family Structure ; Authority and Lineage ; Marriage System ; Multiculturalism and Cultural Clashes -- 2. Theorizing and Researching Family Life -- Social Structure Shapes Family Patterns -- Interpersonal Factors Shape Family Life -- Ideas, Global Culture, and Public Discourse Influence Family Life -- Theoretical Framework Used in This Book -- Methods of Family Research -- 3. Forming Intimate Relationships -- The Social Regulation of Sexuality and Courtship ; Dating and Sexuality in the Past ; Early Patterns of Courtship and Engagement -- Current Dating and Sexual Practices ; Dating Abuse ; Remaining Single ; Finding Partners: Advertising versus Tradition -- The Transition from Dating to Cohabitation -- Rising Rates of Cohabitation -- The Social and Policy Implications of Increased Cohabitation -- 4. Formalizing Relationships -- Negotiating the Transition from Cohabitation to Marriage -- Who Marries Whom? -- The Rise in Same-Sex Marriage -- Legal Marriage Rates -- Cultural Practices in Marriage ; Preferred Marriage Partners and the Exchange of Gifts ; Residence, Relations with Kin, and Surnames -- Western Weddings and Marriage Practices -- Marriage Quality -- Male Violence against Female Partners -- Barriers to Legal Marriage -- 5. Child-bearing, Child-rearing, and Childhood -- Parenting and Childhood in the Past -- Fertility Patterns -- Why Have Children? -- Assisted Conception and Surrogacy -- Pregnancy and Maternity Practices -- Child-rearing Practices ; Socialization and Gender Roles ; Research on Fathering ; Same-Sex Parenting ; Parenting Challenges and Children's Well-Being -- The Extension of Adolescence -- ChildWelfare Issues -- State Support for Child-rearing -- 6. Household Work and Money -- Cohabitation, Marriage, and Housework ; Early Studies of Household Work ; Current Studies on Houshold Work ; Household Work, Paid Work, and Stress -- Household Money and Wealth Accumulation -- Changing Labour Markets -- Gender and Work ; Employment and Parenthood -- Dealing with "Child Poverty" -- Parental Leave and Child-Care Subsidies -- Conclusion: The Growing Impact of Paid Work on Family Life -- 7. Separation, Divorce, and Re-partnering -- Why Are So Many Couples Separating? -- Outcomes of Separation and Divorce -- Family and Divorce Laws ; Marriage, Gender, and Property ; Reforms in Child Custody and Residence Patterns ; Reforms in Child-Support Assessment and Enforcement -- Children, Separation, and Divorce -- Remarriage and Stepfamilies