Produced under the auspices of the Section on the Sociology of Children and Youth of the American Sociological Association, this volume provides a cohesive, wide-ranging source of information on the life courses of children and youths. Contributions reflect: demographic analyses and projections; dualitative aspects of children's lives; children and youth in historical and cross-cultural perspective; issues of development in social context; children and public policy; and social and psychological dynamics of childhood and adolescence.

Dramatic societal changes have reshaped America's families. Young adults have delayed marriage, and cohabitation before marriage has become commonplace. One in three women giving birth is unmarried, and the proportion of children under 18 living in single-parent families rose from 23 to 31 percent between 1980 and 2000, reflecting increased rates of both nonmarital childbearing and divorce.
This authoritative volume offers a blueprint for addressing some of the most important measurement issues in family research, and it points out potential pitfalls for researchers and students who may...

Dramatic societal changes have reshaped America's families. Young adults have delayed marriage, and cohabitation before marriage has become commonplace. One in three women giving birth is unmarried, and the proportion of children under 18 living in single-parent families rose from 23 to 31 percent between 1980 and 2000, reflecting increased rates of both nonmarital childbearing and divorce. This authoritative volume offers a blueprint for addressing some of the most important measurement issues in family research, and it points out potential pitfalls for researchers and students who may not...