Understanding the family (2nd ed)

An introductory textbook in family studies. The contributors demonstrate how "the family" is constituted in the public and private spheres, and outline the tensions that exist between the dominant assumptions of state and society and the lived realities and everyday experiences of family life.The book draws on a range of theoretical perspectives from sociology, social policy and psychology to examine the assumptions about "the family" that are embedded in social policy, law and political discourse.

It reveals that such assumptions fail to recognize the marked diversity of family forms in contemporary society, and ignore the complex myriad ways in which family life is experienced.