Allyn & Bacon / Prentice Hall

Interdisciplinary Studies



Family Life Now: A Conversation About Marriages, Families, and Relationships (with Student Workbook)
Kelly J. Welch, Kansas State University

ISBN-10: 020552334X
ISBN-13: 9780205523344

Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
Copyright: 2007
Format: Kit/Package/ShrinkWrap; 608 pp
Published: 01/10/2007

Suggested retail price: $109.33
Buy from myPearsonStore

A candid and thoughtful conversation about families and family life.

 

This text combines the personal touch and scholarly expertise of an outstanding teacher to explore the ways that family members and intimate partners interact, and how families adapt to stresses, changes and everyday challenges. We are all a product of our families of origin. How that influences who we are and who we become is a central theme woven throughout Family Life Now.

 

This book follows the Family Life Education framework to examine marriages, families, and intimate relationships. Throughout the text, theories from the fields of sociology, family studies, psychology, lifespan human development, and other social sciences are integrated so that they can be applied to real life situations. The text also presents enough biological science to explain some of the physical realities of who we are and why we behave as we do.


  • Kelly Welch is a popular and award-winning instructor and a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) in a School of Family Studies. Her teaching background includes human development and sexuality as well as marriage and family.
  • Applies the principles of Family Life Education: the skills and knowledge required to enrich individual and family life.
  • Uses a conversational and personal tone that makes a special connection with readers.
  • Interdisciplinary approach–using perspectives from sociology, psychology, lifespan human development, other social sciences.
  • Each chapter has learner-centered pedagogical elements at the beginning, middle, and end of each chapter. 
  • The Chapter Opening Scenarios are a strength of this text. These are poignant and powerful real life stories.
  • Boxed features examine family life from various angles.
    • FAMILY LIFE Then: This feature looks back at events, trends and attitudes that shape how families function and how attitudes towards family have evolved through the years.
    • FAMILY LIFE Now: This feature explores events, trends and attitudes today that shape how families function and how people interact as a result of these events, trends and attitudes.
    • The Family Table: This feature looks at the way in which families work together to create healthy family dynamics
    • Healthy Selves/Healthy Family: This feature discusses the impact of family health issues on the rest of the family, or the impact of any kind of health threat (including unhealthy behaviors) on the rest of the family.
  • Own It!  These freewriting exercises give students opportunities to think critically about contemporary issues that affect day-to-day family living. (For instance: what will the long-term impact of Hurricane Katrina be on families in the affected regions?)
  • Family Life Education brings closure to each chapter with the author's personal commentary on the content presented throughout the chapter starting with the poignant chapter opening vignette.
  • Taking Sides: These exercises demonstrate stress points in relationships, by creating scenarios involving intimate partners and showing both positive and negative interaction patterns. Great for classroom discussion!
  • End of chapter Material:
    • Chapter summaries. Bulleted lists of key concepts and ideas conveyed throughout the chapter.
    • Key Terms and Concepts.  A listing of key terms and concepts follows the summary.  
    • Multiple choice questions: 10 questions per chapter.

Brief Table of Contents

 

1)    Family Life Now: A Conversation

2)    Family Contexts:  The Many Areas of Family Life

3)    Understanding the Family through Research and Theory

4)    Family Communication:  Meanings, Methods, and Messages

5)    Gender in Contemporary Society

6)    The Experiences of Relational Intimacy

7)    Love and Loving

8)    The Path to Commitment:  Attraction, Dating, and Partnering

9)    Coupling: From Singlehood to Marriage

10)  Sex and Sexuality

11)  The Choice and Challenge of Childbearing

12)  Parenting:  Choices, Challenges, and Changes

13)  Family Change:  Stress, Crisis, and Transition

14)  Uncoupling:  Conflict, Relationship Deterioration, and Divorce

15)  Rebuilding:  Family Life Following Divorce

16)  Family Life and Aging

 

 Full Table of Contents

 

CHAPTER 1:  Family Life Now

STUDYING MARITAL AND FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

UNDERSTANDING TODAY’S FAMILIES

UNDERSTANDING MARRIAGE

FAMILY INTERACTIONS AND YOU

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

CHAPTER 2:  Family Contexts: The Many Facets of Family Life

FAMILY CONTEXTS: AN INTRODUCTION

THE ECONOMIC CONTEXT

THE RELIGIOUS CONTEXT

THE GOVERNMENT CONTEXT: FAMILY POLICY AND FAMILY LIFE

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

CHAPTER 3:  Understanding Families through Research and Theory

UNDERSTANDING FAMILIES THROUGH RESEARCH

UNDERSTANDING FAMILIES THROUGH THEORY

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

CHAPTER 4:  Family Communication and Conflict 

THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

CONFLICT IN RELATIONSHIPS

CORNERSTONES OF COMMUNICATION

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

CHAPTER 5:  Gender in Today’s Society

THE BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF GENDER

THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES OF GENDER

GENDER AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

CHAPTER 6:  Intimacy:  Developing and Experiencing Affectionate Bonds

INTIMACY: DO WE HAVE A NEED TO RELATE TO OTHERS?

DEVELOPING INTIMACY

OBSTACLES TO INTIMACY

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

CHAPTER 7:  Love and Loving

LOVE IS A CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE

WHAT IS LOVE?

DEVELOPING LOVE

THEORIES OF LOVE AND LOVING

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

Chapter 8:  The Path to Commitment:  Attraction, Dating, and Partnering 

“FRISKY BUSINESS”: INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION THEORIES

THE PATH TO COMMITMENT

NONMARITAL COHABITATION

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

Chapter 9:  Coupling: From Singlehood to Marriage

BEING SINGLE

THE ACT OF MARRIAGE

THE TRANSITION TO MARRIAGE: WHY IT’S SO TOUGH     

MARITAL SATISFACTION

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

Chapter 10: You, Sex, and Sexuality

CULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO SEXUALITY

BIOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO SEXUALITY

UNDERSTANDING SEXUAL RESPONSES IN WOMEN AND MEN

SEX IN MARRIAGE

NONMARITAL SEX

OTHER KINDS OF SEX

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

Chapter 11:  The Choices and Challenges of Childbearing

 CHILDBEARING IN AMERICA: BECOMING PARENTS

HOW WE REPRODUCE

THE CHANGES THROUGH PREGNANCY

LABOR AND BIRTH

UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES

PROTECTING YOUR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: UNDERSTANDING SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

Chapter 12:  Parenting: Choices, Challenges, and Changes

 PARENTHOOD: A FAMILY IS BORN

THE CHOICES

THE CHALLENGES

THE CHANGES

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

Chapter 13:  Uncoupling: Relationship Deterioration and Divorce

 UNCOUPLING

EMOTIONALLY ENDING THE MARRIAGE

LEGALLY ENDING THE MARRIAGE: THE FORMAL DIVORCE

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

Chapter 14:  Rebuilding: Family Life Following Divorce

THE AFTERMATH OF DIVORCE:  TRANSITIONS

CHALLENGES FOR SINGLE PARENTS

TRANSITIONS TO REPARTNERING

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

Chapter 15:  Family Change: Stress, Crisis, and Transition

FAMILY CHANGE

FAMILY CRISIS

FAMILY VIOLENCE

FAMILY COPING AND RESILIENCE

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

 

Chapter 16:  Family Life and Aging

AGING AND THE AGED

FAMILY TIES THROUGH AGING

FAMILY CHANGES TOWARD THE END OF LIFE

DYING and DEATH EXPERIENCES

FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

SUMMARY

    A candid and thoughtful conversation about families and family life.

     

    This text combines the personal touch and scholarly expertise of an outstanding teacher to explore the ways that family members and intimate partners interact, and how families adapt to stresses, changes and everyday challenges. We are all a product of our families of origin. How that influences who we are and who we become is a central theme woven throughout Family Life Now.

     

    This book follows the Family Life Education framework to examine marriages, families, and intimate relationships. Throughout the text, theories from the fields of sociology, family studies, psychology, lifespan human development, and other social sciences are integrated so that they can be applied to real life situations. The text also presents enough biological science to explain some of the physical realities of who we are and why we behave as we do.

     

     

  • 0205398642Family Life Now: A Conversation About Marriages, Families, and Relationships (Book Alone)
    Welch
    © 2007 | Allyn & Bacon | Cloth; 608 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0205398642 | ISBN-13: 9780205398645
    Brief Description

OVERALL

 

This is a significant textbook.  It is filled with application examples as it skillfully weaves theory, policy, context, gender, biology, cognition, and emotion into a unified whole. 

V. William Harris

Utah State University

 

I found myself not only getting excited about the information but slipping into thoughts about how I could successfully present this information in a classroom setting. 

V. William Harris

Utah State University

 

I like the approach of the book - very - that allows students to build on knowledge as they go from one chapter to another. We are a family science department, so we reinforce in all of our basic courses the scientific process of gathering information, so I am pleased to read that this textbook includes three chapters on the family life education paradigm.

Eugene Folden

Ohio State University

 

I really like the overall approach of this text. I follow a family life education approach and this would work well with my class: giving student information so that they can make better life choices.

Terry Hatkoff

California State University, Northridge

 

As a decades-long family life educator, I am excited about the idea of an introductory family course text using a FLE framework.

Greg Kennedy

Central Missouri State University

 

 

In all the chapters I reviews, current research and imporant authors in the area were included.

Lori Maida

Westchester Community College 

 

This text compares quite favorably with the higher quality texts emphasizing a balance between family/ marriage content, and application in teaching.

William Cross

Illinois College 

 

I like how theory is included where appropriate within the text so that theory becomes an ongoing part of the educational discussion rather than a section that we discuss and do not revisit.

V. William Harris

Utah State University

 

WRITING STYLE

 

The author's writing style, approach and tone would communicate well to students. This approach is readily adaptable to both below and above average students.

William Cross

Illinois College

 

I especially like the author's ability to incorporate her own experiences in the text. It made reading the information seem more pertinent to real life and gave the text an informal feel which I think students would enjoy.

Lori Maida

Westchester Community College

 

The author's writing style and tone is casual, yet engaging. I enjoyed reading the chapters and I think that students would respond positively as well.

Lori Maida

Westchester Community College

 

DIVERSITY

 

The author has done a good job of introducing different family forms. 

Sylvia Asay

University of Nebraska, Kearney 

 

I like the Family Life Then and the Family Life Now interjections throughout the text as well as the emphasis on diversity and culture.

V. William Harris

Utah State University

 

PEDAGOGICAL FEATURES

  

I do like the study break insert entitled "Own It" on family diversity - it gets students thinking about things.

Eugene Folden

Ohio State University

 

I especially like the "Own It" feature. I use journaling in my other courses and I would like to add this to the Marriage and Family course.

Sylvia Asay

University of Nebraska, Kearney

 

I also find the "Family Life Then" interesting and a way for students to get a perspective on history and a possible connection with their parents or grandparents which I find very helpful in their understanding of the topics.

Sylvia Asay

University of Nebraska, Kearney

 

I like the Family Life Then and the Family Life Now interjections throughout the text as well as the emphasis on diversity and culture.

V. William Harris

Utah State University

 

 

ON CHAPTER 7:  LOVE AND LOVING

 

The information in the chapter on love and loving is...current, well-written, and well organized.

Eugene Folden

Ohio State University

 

ON CHAPTER 14: UNCOUPLING: CONFLICT, RELATIONSHIP DETERIORATION, AND DIVORCE 

 

I found the current statisitcs on divorce and their explanation to be especially helpful.

Lori Maida

Westchester Community College

 

Kelly Shea Welch teaches in the School of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University.  A native of Kansas, she received her Ph.D. in Family Studies at Kansas State University after working for many years as a doula, a professional birth attendant who provides emotional, physical, and informational support to the childbearing woman and her partner.  Still today her research interests marry women’s health issues with family studies.  Over the past 10 years, she has taught the large, introductory human growth and development course which enrolls a little more than 1,000 students per semester.  The author of the interactive learning CD Roms, Development: Journey of a Lifetime, and Development: Journey through Childhood and Adolescence, she recognizes and emphasizes the value of active and learner-centered pedagogy that allows students to organize, integrate, and generate knowledge.  In addition to teaching the human growth and development course, she also teaches the Family Relationships class that enrolls approximately 300 students each semester.  She is a recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the Presidential Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching, and nominations for the United States Professor of the Year and the United States Distance Educator of the Year.  These teaching awards and nominations recognize her distinct, innovative, and energetic teaching style—students consistently indicate that this unique teaching style puts them “on the edge” of their seats and holds their attention.

Family Life Now: A Conversation About Marriages, Families, and Relationships, 1/E

Kelly Welch, Kansas State University
ISBN: 0205398642

 

 

A candid and scholarly conversation about families and family life.

 

 

We are all products of our families of origin. How that influences who we are and who we become is a central theme woven throughout Family Life Now. This text combines the personal touch and scholarly expertise of an outstanding teacher to explore the ways that family members and intimate partners interact, and how families adapt to stresses, changes and everyday challenges.

 

About the Cover – “Family Affair” by Julie Frith

Virginia Satir (1917-1988), a pioneer in the field of family therapy, used the metaphor of a mobile to explain that families are systems—sets of interconnected parts. When one element of a mobile is disrupted, it affects the balance and movement of the rest of the structure. In family life, disruption and change is inevitable. Each event—marriage and divorce; birth and death; a new job or home; loss of love or physical health; the transition from one life stage to another--sets off a response that will affect every member within the family system.

 

About the Author

 

Kelly Welch teaches in the School of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University. She is a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE), and her teaching background includes human development and sexuality, as well as marriage and family. For over 10 years, she has consistently taught the Family Relationships course and the introductory human growth and development course.

 

She is a recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the Presidential Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching, and nominations for the United States Professor of the Year and the United States Distance Educator of the Year.  These teaching awards and nominations recognize her distinct, innovative, and energetic teaching style– a style students say puts them “on the edge of their seats.”

View a Sample Chapter PDF:

 

Interactive Walkthrough

For Marriage and the Family


For Marriage and Family


Give your students a choice! PearsonChoices products are designed to give your students more value and flexibility by letting them choose from a variety of text and media formats to best match their learning style and their budget.

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This title is a member of the MyFamilyLab Series, which also contains the titles below . You can also visit the MyFamilyLab Series page.

    This text applies a sociological imagination to explore both the private, personal side of family life as well as the public, institutional nature of "the Family." It shows that many family concerns are actually social issues that need to be addressed through sound social policies.

     

    The author, Karen Seccombe, encourages students to think about families beyond their own personal experiences, and even beyond family structure in the United States. Her goal is to impart a passion for critical thinking as students see that families exist within social worlds.  

     

    Families and Their Social Worlds shows that our conceptions of families are imbedded within our social structure, and that families represent a set of rules, regulations and norms that are situated in a particular culture in a particular historical time.

     

    Important policy considerations are imbedded in each chapter to illustrate what is currently being done, and perhaps even more importantly, what can be done to strengthen families and intimate relationships.

     

  • 0205516459Families and Their Social Worlds
    Seccombe
    © 2008 | Allyn & Bacon | Cloth; 496 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0205516459 | ISBN-13: 9780205516452
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

    • A candid and thoughtful conversation about families and family life.

     

    This text combines the personal touch and scholarly expertise of an outstanding teacher to explore the ways that family members and intimate partners interact, and how families adapt to stresses, changes and everyday challenges. We are all a product of our families of origin. How that influences who we are and who we become is a central theme woven throughout Family Life Now.

     

    This book follows the Family Life Education framework to examine marriages, families, and intimate relationships. Throughout the text, theories from the fields of sociology, family studies, psychology, lifespan human development, and other social sciences are integrated so that they can be applied to real life situations. The text also presents enough biological science to explain some of the physical realities of who we are and why we behave as we do.

     

     

  • 0205398642Family Life Now: A Conversation About Marriages, Families, and Relationships (Book Alone)
    Welch
    © 2007 | Allyn & Bacon | Cloth; 608 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0205398642 | ISBN-13: 9780205398645
    Brief Description

    • A candid and thoughtful conversation about families and family life.

     

    This text combines the personal touch and scholarly expertise of an outstanding teacher to explore the ways that family members and intimate partners interact, and how families adapt to stresses, changes and everyday challenges. We are all a product of our families of origin. How that influences who we are and who we become is a central theme woven throughout Family Life Now.

     

    This book follows the Family Life Education framework to examine marriages, families, and intimate relationships. Throughout the text, theories from the fields of sociology, family studies, psychology, lifespan human development, and other social sciences are integrated so that they can be applied to real life situations. The text also presents enough biological science to explain some of the physical realities of who we are and why we behave as we do.

  • 020552334XFamily Life Now: A Conversation About Marriages, Families, and Relationships (with Student Workbook)
    Welch
    © 2007 | Allyn & Bacon | Kit/Package/ShrinkWrap; 608 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 020552334X | ISBN-13: 9780205523344
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

    • MyFamilyLab is an easy-to-use online resource that allows instructors to assess student progress and adapt course material to meet the specific needs of the class. MyFamilyLab enables students to diagnose their progress by completing an online self-assessment test. Based on the results of this test, each student is provided with a customized study plan, including a variety of tools to help them fully master the material. MyFamilyLab then reports the self-assessment results to the instructor as individual student grades as well as an aggregate report of class progress. Based on these reports, the instructor can adapt course material to suit the needs of individual students or the class as a whole.

     

     

    MyFamilyLab’s innovative features include:
    • Student resources such as a complete Flash eBook, videos, links to interactive self-assessment activities, and a variety of other study tools.
    • Groundbreaking MyTest assessment module and comprehensive electronic resource library for instructors.
    • Engaging Going Further activities that prompt students to think critically and applytheir knowledge of topics relating to families and relationships.

     

    For more information, visit www.myfamilylab.com and click Prentice Hall.

  • 0136035396MYFAMILYLAB: Where family, life, and learning unite!
    Prentice Hall
    © 2008 | Prentice Hall | On-line Supplement | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0136035396 | ISBN-13: 9780136035398
    URL: http://www.myfamilylab.com
    Brief Description

    • MyFamilyLab is a fully integrated multimedia ebook that helps students study for exams, explore concepts from the texts, write research paper, and better understand their own attitudes and beliefs. Found throughout the ebook are icons in the margins that students can click on and explore concepts — and their views — more closely. Icons found in the text include Examine, Watch, Listen, Sociology in the News and Pre/Post Tests.

     

    MyFamilyLab is a fantastic tool to help students do better in class and be better prepared for their own lives.

     

    To see a list of books available with MyFamilyLab, visit the MyFamilyLab Series page.

  • 0205543375MYFAMILYLAB: Where family, life, and learning unite!
    Allyn & Bacon
    © 2007 | Allyn & Bacon | Website | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0205543375 | ISBN-13: 9780205543373
    URL: http://www.myfamilylab.com
    Brief Description

    • For one semester/quarter courses on Marriage and Families, Sociology of the Family, Human Development or Family Studies.

     

    By introducing the themes of “Changes, Choices and Constraints” when presenting the basic concepts, theory, research and statistics about marriages and families, Benokraitis discusses how contemporary changes in families and their structure impact the choices student’s actually have, and how society can constrain their marriages, families and relationships.  Through this approach, students are better able to understand what the research and statistics mean for themselves!

     

    Seeing that there was a need for a text that reflected the issues- like race and ethnicity, remarriage and stepfamilies, and sexuality, that face students and their families, Professor Benokraitis wrote Marriage and Families as a way to show students both the choices and constraints that families face in modern society. 

     

  • 0132431734Marriages and Families: Changes, Choices and Constraints, 6/E
    Benokraitis
    © 2008 | Prentice Hall | Cloth; 672 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0132431734 | ISBN-13: 9780132431736
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

    • This book provides timely, practical, and high-interest information about marriages, families, and intimate relationships, in an engaging format that is easy to use and learn from.
  • 0205521452Marriages, Families, and Intimate Relationships: A Practical Introduction, 2/E
    Williams, Sawyer & Wahlstrom
    © 2009 | Allyn & Bacon | Paper; 624 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0205521452 | ISBN-13: 9780205521456
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

 

Pearson Higher Education offers special pricing when you choose to package your text with other student resources. If you're interested in creating a cost-saving package for your students, browse our available packages below, or contact your Pearson Higher Education representative to create your own package.



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