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Key Concepts in Family Studies
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Key Concepts in Family Studies



December 2010 | 256 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd

"This is a thoughtful and sometimes challenging elaboration of some of the key concepts in contemporary family studies... Students and researchers will want to have this book close to hand, not simply as a reference work but as a stimulus to critical social analysis."
- David H J Morgan, University of Manchester

"Written in an intelligent, engaging, and accessible manner by two leading and highly respected family scholars whose contributions to the field over the past two decades have been path-breaking. This is an important resource for students and professionals studying, and working in, the field of family studies within and across the disciplines of sociology, social policy, social work, health studies, education, and gender studies."
- Andrea Doucet, Carleton University

This book's individual entries introduce, explain and contextualise key topics within the study of family lives. Definitions, summaries and key words are developed throughout with careful cross-referencing allowing students to move effortlessly between core ideas and themes. Each entry provides:

  • Clear definitions
  • Lucid accounts of key issues
  • Up-to-date suggestions for further reading
  • Informative cross-referencin.

Relevant, focused and accessible, this book will provide students with an indispensible guide to the central concepts of family studies.

 
Introduction
 
Attachment and Loss
 
Biology
 
Care
 
Child Development
 
Childhood and Children
 
Comparative Approaches
 
Conflict Theories
 
Coupledom: Marriage, Partnership and Cohabitation
 
Demography
 
Division of Labour
 
Domestic Violence and Abuse
 
Families of Choice
 
Family as Discourse
 
Family Change and Continuity
 
Family Effects
 
Family Forms
 
Family Law
 
Family Life Cycle and Life Course
 
Family Policies
 
Family Practices
 
Family Systems
 
Fatherhood, Fathers and Fathering
 
Feminisms
 
Functionalism
 
Grandparents
 
Home
 
Household
 
Individualization
 
Intimacy
 
Kinship
 
Motherhood, Mothers and Mothering
 
Negotiation
 
New Right
 
Parenthood, Parents and Parenting
 
Personal
 
Phenomenological Approaches
 
Post-Coupledom: Separation, Divorce and Widowhood
 
Power
 
Problem Families
 
Public and Private
 
Rationalities
 
Role Theory
 
Siblings
 
Social Divisions
 
Socialization
 
Transnational Families

This is a thoughtful and sometimes challenging elaboration of some of the key concepts in contemporary family studies. In each of the forty-eight short essays, the reader will find a theoretically informed and cross-referenced guide to the major themes that have constituted this highly significant area of the social sciences. Students and researchers will want to have this book close to hand, not simply as a reference work but as a stimulus to critical social analysis
David H J Morgan
Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Manchester


Key Concepts in Family Studies is written in an intelligent, engaging, and accessible manner by two leading and highly respected family scholars whose contributions to the field over the past two decades have been path-breaking. This is an important resource for students and professionals studying, and working in, the field of family studies within and across the disciplines of sociology, social policy, social work, health studies, education, and gender studies
Andrea Doucet
Professor of Sociology
Carleton University, Canada


Excellent text which supports students studying childhood and families.

Mrs Justine Gallagher
Social Work and Communities, Northumbria University
October 28, 2015

This is a useful set of essays which are proving very useful to social policy students with a particular interest in families. It sets out clearly and succinctly the theories, issues and controversies around families today, in an informative and provocative style.

Dr Sue Vella
Social Policy & Social Work , University of Malta
August 7, 2015

This is a useful and informative book that can be used as background reading for undegraduate nursing students to help understand the concept of family in preparation for their practice experiences.

Mrs Amie Hodges
School of Nursing & Midwifery Studies, Cardiff Univ.
September 5, 2014

This collection of key concepts is particularly useful for students learning to conduct social policy analysis who have had limited exposure to family studies. It offers a clear exposition of contemporary debates in the field and makes very useful suggestions for further readings for students wishing to deepen their knowledge on any of the 48 concepts covered. It is culturally sensitive and avoids the pitfall of value-laden analysis , clarifying and challenging assumptions in a manner that is bound to be very useful for students of policy analysis.

Dr Sue Vella
Social Policy & Social Work , Univ. of Malta
July 10, 2014

Excellent text

Dr Caroline Lohmann-Hancock
Social Justice & Inclusion, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David
July 31, 2012

I think this will be a very useful resource for students as they take my course on Sociology of the Family this autumn, and will be a good complement to the other text I have adopted.

Dr Jane Gray
Department of Sociology, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
July 14, 2011

This is a reference book and can only accompany a more comprehensive text or other readings that are the focus of a course.

Denise Deutschlander
Humanities Social Science Dept, Red Rocks Community College
June 17, 2011

The text is a detailed, and thorough exploration of family issues. It will be used within the lifespan development module, to enable students to explore the subject within the context of family work. I will also recommend it for other modules within the social work degree course, such as Every Child Matters.

Mr Dave Mason
Faculty of Health, Staffordshire University
June 1, 2011

Useful reference book in a library, but insufficient detail to be adopted for a course.

Mr Martin Harmer
Social Sciences & Law, University of Teesside
January 13, 2011

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