Like all complex living systems, a family, during its life course, proceeds through predictable stages of development. Yet every family is different, its uniqueness defined and continually redefined by an open-ended array of structural, biological, and sociocultural variables. And, as with all living things, a family's continued well-being depends upon its ability to adapt to changes arising from both within the family system and without.

THEORIES OF FAMILY DEVELOPMENT. Family Development and Family Therapy (W. Nichols & M. Pace-Nichols). Evolutionary Psychology (W. DeKay). The Limits of Change: Heredity, Temperament, and Family Influences (J. Efran & M. Green). Human Development as a Process of Meaning Making and Reality Construction (D. Becvar). THE LARGER SOCIAL CONTEXT. Socialization of Gender Roles (C. Philpot). The Development of Children and Families of Color: A Supplemental Framework (K. Hardy & T. Loszloffy). Socialization of Socioeconomic Status (M. Rank). FAMILY STAGES, PATTERNS, PROCESSES, AND DYNAMICS. Making a Marriage (A. Napier). Childless Married Couples (W. Nichols & M. Pace-Nichols). Families with Young Children: A Developmental-Family Systems Perspective (N. Kaslow, et al.). The Midlife Family: Dealing with Adolescents, Young Adults, and the Marriage in Transition (E. Berman & A. Napier). Aging and the Family: Dynamics and Therapeutic Interventions (A. Davey, et al.). VARIATIONS IN FAMILY STRUCTURE. Families by Choice: Adoptive and Foster Families (L. Schwartz). Gay and Lesbian Families (J. Bigner). Diversity of New American Families: Guidelines for Therapists (R. Gates, et al.). Single-Parent Families: Dynamics and Treatment Issues (C. Everett & S. Everett). Families Experiencing Divorce (F. Kaslow). FAMILIES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND PROBLEMS. Remarried Families of 2000: Definitions, Description, and Interventions (R. Berger). Families Experiencing Violence (M. Harway). Families with Learning Disabilities, Physical Disabilities, and Other Childhood Challenges (S. Rigazio-DiGilio & D. Cramer-Benjamin). Families with Chronic Physical Illness (J. Barth). Families Experiencing Death, Dying, and Bereavement (D. Becvar). Index.