Thinking About the Family

First published in 1986. Over the past decade and a half the rising divorce rate, coupled with other changes in family life, has led some observers to conclude that the traditional nuclear family today is analogous to a species of dinosaur facing an inevitable Ice Age and, with it, extinction. During this recent period of social upheaval, in which the American family has undergone considerable change, there has been an exciting upswing in research on the family and the introduction of novel perspectives for seeking to understand this most important societal institution. This volume brings together the writings of a set of researchers who represent one of these emerging approaches.

R.D. Ashmore, D.M. Brodzinsky, Rutgers -The State University of New Jersey

Introduction: Thinking About the Family PART I: VIEWS OF PARENTS 1. A Consideration of the Cognitive Activities of Parents and Their Role in the Socialization Process 2. Reflections on the Belief-Behavior Connection: Lessons Learned from a Research Program on Parental Belief Systems and Teaching Strategies 3. Cognitive Processes During Reactions to Rule Violation 4. Some Antecedents of Maternal Attributions About Children's Performance in Mathematics 5. Prenatal Expectations, Postnatal Experiences and the Transition to Parenthood 6. Linking Parental Beliefs to Children's Social Competence: Toward a Cognitive-Behavioral Assessment Model PART II: VIEWS OF CHILDREN 7. Children's Concepts of the Family Extension of the Family Concept - Is This a Family? 8. Children's Knowledge of Adoption: Developmental 9. Children's Reasoning About Parental Divorce 10. Coping with Abuse: Children's Perspectives on Their Abusive Treatment