Synopses & Reviews
Offering a diverse variety of perspectives,
Exploring Family Theories, Third Edition, is a combined text/reader that integrates theory with research and applications. In each chapter, Suzanne R. Smith and Raeann R. Hamon present the history, scholarship, and critiques of one principal family theory in a concise manner. Numerous examples and illustrations augment and clarify content, while application questions help students relate these theories to the real world. After each chapter, a follow-up journal article exemplifies how that particular theory is used to guide actual research.
Review
"Exploring Family Theories identifies the key theories that are relevant for understanding families and explains them in a concise, straightforward manner. The application questions and sample readings help each theory come alive for students by encouraging them to think about real-world as well as research applications."--Rhonda Richardson, Kent State University
"Exploring Family Theories covers the ten leading theories quite nicely, giving students a sense of the history, assumptions, concepts, applications, and critique of each of them. I really like that approach; it aligns perfectly with how I teach my course. I am so impressed by this text. I will adopt."--Richard N. Pitt, Vanderbilt University
Review
"Exploring Family Theories identifies the key theories that are relevant for understanding families and explains them in a concise, straightforward manner. The application questions and sample readings help each theory come alive for students by encouraging them to think about real-world as well as research applications."--Rhonda Richardson, Kent State University
"Exploring Family Theories covers the ten leading theories quite nicely, giving students a sense of the history, assumptions, concepts, applications, and critique of each of them. I really like that approach; it aligns perfectly with how I teach my course. I am so impressed by this text. I will adopt."--Richard N. Pitt, Vanderbilt University
About the Author
Suzanne R. Smith is Associate Professor of Human Development at Washington State University Vancouver, where she serves as the Associate Chair and Program Director.
Raeann R. Hamon is Distinguished Professor of Family Science and Gerontology and Chair of the Human Development and Family Science Department at Messiah College in Pennsylvania.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
About the authors
Introduction
What Is Theory?
Where Do Theories Come From?
What Are The Functions of Theory?
How Do We Evaluate Theories?
The Need for Theorizing
Family Theory
Text Organization
1. Symbolic Interactionism Theory
History
Basic Assumption
Primary Terms and Concepts
Common Areas of Research and Application
Critique
Application
Sample Reading
Symbolic Interactionism in Grounded Theory Studies: Women Surviving with HIV/AIDS in Rural Northern Thailand, by Areewan Klunklin and Jennifer Greenwood
2. Structural Functionalism Theory
History
Basic Assumptions
Primary Terms and Concepts
Common Areas of Research and Application
Critique
Application
Sample Reading
Who Now Reads Parsons and Bales: Casting a Critical Eye on the "Gendered Styles of Caregiving" Literature, by Michael Carroll and Lori Campbell
3. Family Development Theory
History
Basic Assumptions
Primary Terms and Concepts
Common Areas of Research and Application
Critique
Application
Sample Reading
Gender and the Work-Family Interface: Exploring Differences Across the Family Life Course, by Giuseppe Martinengo, Jenet Jacob, and E. Jeffrey Hill
4. Family Stress Theory
History
Basic Assumptions
Primary Terms and Concepts
Common Areas of Research and Application
Critique
Application
Sample Reading
Ambiguous Loss and the Family Grieving Process, by Gabrielle Betz and Jill M. Thorngren
5. Family Systems Theory
History
Basic Assumptions
Primary Terms and Concepts
Common Areas of Research and Application
Critique
Application
Sample Reading
The Costs of Getting Ahead: Mexican Family System Changes After Immigration, by Martica L. Bacallao and Paul R. Smokowski
6. HUMAN ECOLOGICAL THEORY
History
Basic Assumptions
Primary Terms and Concepts
Common Areas of Research and Application
Critique
Application
Sample Reading
Revisiting the Virginia Tech Shootings: An Ecological Analysis, by Jun Sung Hong, Hyunkag cho, and Alvin Shiulain Lee
7. Conflict Theory
History
Basic Assumptions
Primary Terms and Concepts
Common Areas of Research and Application
Critique
Application
Sample Reading
Power and conflict Resolution in Siblings, Parent-Child, and Spousal Negotiations, by Holly Racchia, Hildy Ross, and Marcia Vickar
8. Social Exchange Theory
History
Basic Assumptions
Primary Terms and Concepts
Common Areas of Research and Application
Critique
Application
Sample Reading
Sexual Frequency and the Stability of Martial and Cohabiting Unions, by Scott Yabiku and Constance Gager
9. Feminist Family Theory
History
Basic Assumptions
Primary Terms and Concepts
Common Areas of Research and Application
Critique
Application
Sample Reading
Lesbian mothers' Constructions of the Division of Paid and Unpaid Labor, by Jordan Downing and Abbie Goldberg
10. Biosocial Theory
History
Basic Assumptions
Primary Terms and Concepts
Common Areas of Research and Application
Critique
Application
Sample Reading
Toward a Biosocial Theory of Offender Rehabilitation: Why Does Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Work?, by Jamie Vaske, Kevan Galyean, and Francis Cullen
Epilogue
Author Index
Subject Index