Social Class and Changing Families in an Unequal America [Hardcover]

American families are far more diverse and complex today than they were 50 years ago. As ideas about marriage, divorce, and remarriage have changed, so too have our understandings about cohabitation, childbearing, parenting, and the transition to adulthood. Americans of all socioeconomic backgrounds have witnessed changes in the nature of family life, but as this book reveals, these changes play out in very different ways for the wealthy or well off than they do for the poor.Social Class and Changing Families in an Unequal Americaoffers an up-to-the-moment assessment of the condition of the family in an era of growing inequality. Highlighting unique aspects of family behavior, it reveals the degree to which families' varying experiences are shaped by social class. This book offers a much needed assessment of contemporary family life amid the turbulent economic changes in the United States.Marcia J. Carlson is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Paula England is Professor of Sociology at Stanford University. Recent decades have seen dramatic changes in U.S. families, including patterns of marriage, childbearing and the like. This excellent book brings together top scholars to discuss the central role of social class in such changes and is a must-read among family scholars, students, and policymakers interested in understanding the under-studied role of class in contemporary family change. Social Class and Changing Families in an Unequal Americais a valuable resource for family scholars who want to catch up with their favorite research topics quickly and enjoyably, for students just learning about the most important research on the Amrican family, and for researchers interested in the efforts of economic and social change on contemporary family life. I enjoyed reading it and intend to use it in my family course next year. I recommend the book highly. This book offers an up-to-the-moment assessment of the condition oflӮ