Sociology

Find cross-cultural perspectives on families in 25 countries worldwide, including mate selection, fertility and socialization, gender roles, marriage, family, stresses and violence, divorce, and more.

Learn about the marriage customs and ceremonies of various cultures, including changes in attitudes and legislation over time.

Find information on topics related to family life. At the back of v. 5, see the List of Entries by Category on p. III for places to start; v. 5 also includes a time line of changes in family structures over the centuries.

The past five decades have witnessed a dramatic change in our understanding of the nature of the family and its role in society. In a thorough revision of the first edition of this classic text and reference, published by Plenum in 1987, the editors have assembled a distinguished roster of contributors to address such topics as past, present, and future perspectives on family diversity; theory and methods of the family; changing family patterns and roles; the family and other institutions; and family dynamics and processes.

Everyone is part of a family, but what constitutes a family is one of the most hotly debated issues in the United States today. Battleground: The Family provides extensive coverage of those critical issues in U. S. culture concerning current and future family life, such as dating, marriage, parenting, work and family, abuse, and divorce. The scholarly contributors to this set provide unbiased coverage on these often incendiary topics, allowing students to assess the role of these controversies in their own lives.