Unprecedented social changes are taking place that pose new challenges for families. The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Families brings together a collection of original essays that investigate partnering , parenting and families against the backdrop of rapid social change brought about by globalization, contested cultural values, severe economic shocks, new technologies, and widespread rethinking of welfare state protection for families today.

Table of Contents

• List of Tables
• List of Illustrations
• Contributors
• Preface
• Part I: Global Perspectives on Families
• 1 Family Systems of the World
• Times of Change and Family Patterns
• The World's Seven Major Family Systems and Their Twentieth-Century Mutations
• Current Tendencies
• Conclusion: Persistent Diversity, Persistent Importance
• References
• 2 Changing European Families
• Introduction
• Becoming a Family
• Transition to Parenthood
• Family Dissolution
• Discussion
• Acknowledgment
• References
• 3 American Families
• American Families: Demographic Trends and Social Class
• Conclusion
• References
• 4 Family Change in East Asia
• Modernization and Mystiques about East Asian Families
• Women's Status and Gender Equality in East Asia
• Marriage Formation and Dissolution
• Migrant Families
• Fertility Decline
• Living Arrangements and Aging Society
• Challenges and Opportunities
• Acknowledgments
• References
• 5 Changes and Inequalities in Latin American Families
• Introduction
• Modernity and Modernization in Latin America
• The Main Changes in Latin American Families
• Conclusion
• References
• Part II: Diversity, Inequality, and Immigration
• 6 Same-Sex Families
• Queer Youth
• Gay Parents
• Gay Elders
• Discussion
• References
• 7 Family Poverty
• Defining Poverty
• The State of World Poverty and Consequences for “the Poor”
• Which Families are Poor and Why?
• Living in Family Poverty
• Conclusion
• References
• 8 Transnational Families
• Transnational Families: Introduction and the Mobility Turn
• Case studies: Transnational Families and the Global Circulation of Care
• Transnational Families: Conceptual and Theoretical Issues
• Transnational Families: Research and Methodology across Borders
• Transnational Families: Doing Family across Time and Distance
• Transnational Families: Policy Implications
• Conclusion and Future Directions
• References
• 9 Ethnic Diversity in the United Kingdom
• Introduction
• Toward Modern Individualism for All?
• Caribbean Kinship: Transnational Links and Support
• Diversity of the British South Asian Population
• Pakistani Muslim Marriages: Transnationality, Instability, and Consanguinity
• Conclusion
• References
• 10 Immigrant Families and the Shifting Color Line in the United States
• A Nation of Immigrant Families, Still
• Is the Color Line Shifting?
• Biracial and Multiracial Children
• Segmented Assimilation and the Bifurcation of Racial Groups
• Conclusion
• References
• Part III: Family Forms and Family Influences
• 11 Cohabitation
• Introduction
• Basic Cohabitation Trends and Patterns in the United States
• Cohabitation around the Globe
• Major Research Questions about Cohabitation
• Concluding Thoughts: Implications
• Acknowledgments
• References
• 12 Partnerships, Family, and Personal Configurations
• Family Configurations and Interdependences
• Conjugal Dyads
• Conclusion
• References
• 13 Health and Families
• Introduction
• Core Concepts and Measures in the Study of Families and Health
• Families and Child Health: Core Concepts and Measures
• Families and Child Health: Empirical Research
• Marital Status, Transitions, and Processes: Implications for Adult Health
• Implications of Parenthood for Adult Health
• Conclusion and Future Directions
• References
• 14 Religion and Families
• Introduction
• The American Religious Landscape: A Brief Overview
• Religious Influences and Family Life
• Conclusion
• References
• Part IV: Family Processes
• 15 Divorce
• Introduction
• Trends and Cross-National Differences in Divorce
• Who Divorces? The Predictors of Divorce
• Consequences of Divorce
• Discussion
• References
• 16 Partner Violence in World Perspective
• Defining and Measuring Partner Violence
• Prevalence
• Contextual and Causal Mechanisms
• Correlates of and Potential Impact of Partner Violence
• Services for Victims
• Policy, Primary Prevention, and Offender Treatment
• Future and Concluding Remarks
• References
• 17 Money Management, Gender, and Households
• Managing Money at the Couple Level
• Institutional Approaches to Managing Money
• Conclusions
• References
• 18 Family Transmission of Socialand Cultural Capital
• Theoretical Framework: Investment in Children and Adolescents
• Forms of Family Capital Diluted, Diffused, or Intertwined
• Parental Investment in International Context
• Social Capital and Academic Outcomes
• Cultural Capital and Academic Outcomes
• Social Capital and Social Adjustment
• Transmission of Social and Cultural Capital across the Life Course
• Unanswered Questions and Future Directions for Research
• References
• Part V: Life Course Perspectives
• 19 Adult Intergenerational Relationships
• Introduction
• The Solidarity Perspective
• Conflict, Tension, and Ambivalence
• Exchange and/or Altruism
• Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage
• Consequences for Individual Well-Being
• Country Differences and Institutional Effects
• Conclusion
• References
• 20 Children's Families
• Introduction
• Children as Social Actors
• The Social Structure of Childhood
• Children's Families: A Life Course Perspective
• Children and Families: Looking Back and Looking Forward
• References
• 21 Fathers and Fatherhood
• Expectations for New Fatherhood
• Shifts in Coparenting and Partnering
• Nurturance of Children over Time
• Challenges and Inequality in New Fatherhood
• Conclusion
• References
• 22 Aging Families and the Gendered Life Course
• Introduction
• Changing Family Composition
• Older Families in Transaction with Institutions
• Relationships and Caregiving
• Conclusions: Implications for Theory and Future Research
• Acknowledgments
• References
• Part VI: Families in Context
• 23 Public Policy and Families
• Introduction
• Diverging Models of Earning and Caring
• Female Employment and Birthrates: Converging Goals, Diverging Outcomes?
• Conclusion
• References
• 24 Family Policy and Wives’ Economic Independence
• Theoretical Considerations
• Data and Measurement
• Analytical Strategy
• Findings
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgment
• References
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2: Method of analysis
• 25 Assisted Reproduction, Genetic and Genomic Technologies, and Family Life
• Introduction
• Relationship Testing
• Assisted Reproduction Techniques
• Testing for Genetic Disease
• Biomedical Technology: Deployment and Cultural Assumptions
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgments
• References
• 26 Sex, Family, and Social Change
• Sex Early in the Life Course
• From Procreation to Pleasure
• Same-Sex Relationships Going Mainstream
• Conclusion
• References
• 27 The Global Chaos of Love
• Cosmopolitan Families: Characteristics and Constellations
• Cosmopolitan Theory
• The Rise of a Transnational Shadow Economy
• Transnational Motherhood and Global Care Chains
• Loss and Gain: Cosmopolitan Comparisons
• Conclusions
• References