Based on a review of recent scholarly literature on family structure, this report examines how the recent changes in family structure and the evolution of 'alternative' family structures have affected children. Examined are the overviews of the impact of divorce, re-marriage and the step family, the single parent family,racial differences in the family, gay and lesbian family structures, and the impact of daycare.

This book goes beyond traditional families and traditional notions about their impact on child development to consider parallel issues with less-frequently-studied types of families. For developmentalists, family specialists, clinicians, and educators.

This book examines the representation of infertility, assisted reproduction, miscarriage, adoption and surrogacy in a wide range of media, including blogs, vlogs, social media posts and factual programming. In so doing, it illustrates how pregnancy loss, involuntary childlessness and non-traditional mothering are being depicted across the media landscape. Whilst the topic of motherhood has emerged as a significant area of academic debate, narratives of unsuccessful or unconventional mothering have remained largely absent, even at a time when there is a growing conversation about infertility online. Timely, pertinent and original, the book demonstrates the importance of a broader and more informed cultural discussion about fertility and family building.

"George Holden embraces the idea that parenting is a dynamic process: children affect parents just as much as parents affect children. A multi-level, ecological approach to parenting and childrearing allows a full range of parenting styles, covering topics from co-parenting, evolutionary views, human behavioral genetics, to religious influences, and addressing challenges to be encountered across parenting courses, such as family violence, behavior problems, and the role of pathology in the family. Completely updated in a new third edition, Parenting: A Dynamic Process presents research in a way that is accessible and interesting but also accurate, current, and intellectually rich. Although written from a psychological perspective, views and applications from other disciplines - including sociology, criminology, anthropology, and pediatrics - are also discussed where appropriate. The text discusses contemporary issues, such as fertility problems, daycare, marital conflict, whether or not to use physical punishment, divorce, remarriage and step-parents, gay parents, the effects of poverty, risks and benefits of media use among children, and family violence. Additionally, Holden includes selected studies from developing and non-western countries as well as recent statistics on such topics as US & world birthrate, birth problems, adolescent pregnancy, child injury, divorce and remarriage, child maltreatment, and certain social policy issues"--

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Detailed Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- About the Authors -- List of Abbreviations -- Part I What Is HDFS? -- 1 HDFS -- Part II Who Are the People Involved in the Area of HDFS? -- 2 Careers in HDFS -- Part III What Is the History and Future of the HDFS Field? -- 3 History and Future of HDFS -- Part IV Why Is HDFS Important? How Does Theory and Research Inform Work in HDFS? -- 4 Introduction to Research in HDFS -- 5 Introduction to Theories in HDFS -- Part V Professionals and Ethical Thinking and Growth -- 6 Introduction to FLE and Its Applications -- 7 Professional Development and Ethics -- Part VI What are the Key Areas within HDFS? -- 8 Family and Early Years -- 9 Family and Childhood -- 10 Family and Adolescence -- 11 Family and Adulthood -- 12 Family and Late Adulthood -- 13 Diverse Families -- 14 Family Strengths -- Appendix A: A Closer Look at Applied Experiences in HDFS -- Appendix B: Consuming Research -- Glossary -- Index