First published in 1987, the focus of this book is the distribution of material resources, notably money, work, care and food, within and between households. Social policy research had tended to roll households and families into one and consider them as ‘private’ spheres which only connected with society via the male head of household.

First published in 1980 about a third of all British children found to be in need of statutory care were living at home ‘on trial’ with parents or relatives. Little had yet been written about these children, this book, based on a study of a sample of such children and their families, was welcomed by all who worked in child care.

Originally published in 1986, this title was a landmark study of ageing in Australia and a major contribution to the study of gerontology at the time. It highlights major themes on ageing in ‘western’ industrialised societies, as well as pinpointing new, emerging themes.

In the early 1970s ‘baby battering’ accounted for an estimated 700 child deaths a year in Britain. First published in 1974, the special virtue of this book was that, apart from being the first fully-researched book on the subject, the author was able to look at baby battering as an outsider, seeing the picture as a whole.

Originally published in 1978, Jean Renvoize traces the web of violence along many different strands. She covers baby battering and child abuse, violent husbands and wives, ‘granny bashing’ and incest. She looks at the psychological roots and the social patterns; she also surveys the agencies that act to prevent family violence.

In the early 1980s incest was ceasing to be a taboo subject. First published in 1982, the author had travelled around the USA, where considerable attention had been paid to incest in the previous few years, meeting professionals and – more important – victims and abusers themselves. This is a work of general as well as specialist interest.

Originally published in 1985, this, at the time, controversial book explores the fundamental changes in personal relationships that had taken place over the previous decade, focusing on women who had deliberately chosen to have children outside a permanent relationship.

First published in 1976, this book explores two social issues which were central to future housing policy in Britain at the time: the implications, for families with young children, of both the increased use of flats in new local authority housing, and the sporadic expansion of nursery education and other services for the under-fives.

In the 1980s families other than those made up of the natural mother, father, and siblings were increasing. First published in 1988, this book looks at these ‘alternative’ families and considers the psychological and social consequences of growing up in a family where the genetic link between parents and children is missing or incomplete.

Originally published in 1978, this book was written in response to the growing need for resource material for Home Economics courses in which the sociological content was becoming increasingly important. It brings together material from a number of disciplines – sociology, economics, psychology – on the home, the family and the community.