Conventional wisdom and research strongly suggest that when divorced parents can eventually co-parent, protect their children from their unresolved conflicts, incorporate authoritative parenting skills and maintain good mental health, their children have a good chance to fare well in the long term. These are ideal goals for any family, not just those of divorce. But, during the stressful period prior to the separation-and often for several years afterward-even the most dedicated parents are unsteady.
by Leah Schmalzbauer, Ph.D., Montana State University
Whereas poor women used to migrate primarily to reunite with family, they are increasingly migrating in search of wages to support their children. This trend is rooted in an increased supply of poor women in the South who cannot secure living wages. But more importantly it is fueled by the feminization of the low-wage care industry.
by Annette Lareau, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania
The intersection of race and class in American life is an important but often vexing subject for sociologists. The power of social class is often obscured by the visibility of race. I wrote Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life (University of California Press, 2003) in part because I wanted to make class real by showing how it works in everyday life.
Robert M. Milardo is Professor of Family Relations at the University of Maine. He has published extensively in the field of family studies and is currently editor of the Journal of Family Theory and Review owned by the National Council on Family Relations, of which he was elected a Fellow in 2005. He is the author of The Forgotten Kin, published by Cambridge University Press, edits the Family Studies textbook series published by Routledge, and recently served as the editor of the Journal of Marriage and Family. Bob has a long-standing interest in the science of family relationships and served as the first president of the International Association for Relationship Research. His interviews and commentaries on family issues have appeared in a wide array of venues, including Psychology Today, the Guardian, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, and a variety of local and regional media.
William J. Doherty is an educator, researcher, therapist, speaker, author, consultant, and community organizer. He is Professor and Director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Program in the Department of Family Social Science, College of Education and Human Development, at the University of Minnesota, where he is also an adjunct Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health.
Bill is past president of the National Council on Family Relations, the nation's oldest interdisciplinary family studies organization. His awards include the Significant Contribution to the Field of Marriage and Family Therapy Award, the Margaret E. Arcus Award for Outstanding Contribution to Family Life Education, and the Outstanding Community Service Award from the University of Minnesota.
A popular speaker to lay and professional audiences, he has won several teaching awards in his career and is frequently interviewed by print, radio, and TV media on family issues.
Dr. Brown is Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH. A family demographer, her research addresses the patterns and consequences of the rapid transformation of U.S. family life. She has published extensively on cohabitation and its implications for the well-being of children and adults. She also conducts research on how family living arrangements and instability shape child development. Finally, her research examines new family forms in the second half of life, with an emphasis on cohabitation, dating, and divorce among Baby Boomers and older adults. Dr. Brown's work has been supported by federal grants from NICHD, NIA, and ASPE/HHS.
by Richard Rhodes, Guest Columnist, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction (1988) and the National Book Award (1987)
I know today, with confidence in the evidence, that violence is not genetic nor merely neurological: violence is learned through a process of violent socialization.
