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sec. 1. Centrality of communication in the familty: 1. Defining the family and communication ; 2. Models of family functioning -- sec. 2. Theory and methods in the study of the family: 3. Theoretical perspectives on the family ; 4. Research methods in camily communications -- sec. 3. Basic family processes: 5. Affection and intimacy ; 6. Conflict ; 7. Power and control ; 8. Decision-making in the family -- sec. 4. Communication in family subsystems: 9. Communication and marital satisfaction ; 10. Communication in different types of marriages ; 11. Communication in parent-child relationships ; 12. Communication in sibling relationships -- sec. 5. Communication in different types of families: 13. Communication in nontraditional family forms ; 14. Communication in troubled families ; 15. Communication in the aging family -- sec. 6. Seeking help: 16. Strengthening and repairing family relationships

Professor Sir Michael Rutter, the distinguished UK child psychiatrist, was one of the first to highlight that although there are many risk factors associated with poor child outcomes, there are also 'protective' factors which can mitigate the risks. Rutter's ideas, together with those of Bronfenbrenner (1979) who highlighted the importance of the wider ecology on children's development, have been at the core of the research at the Centre for Research into Parenting and Children in Oxford for over 20 years. This paper focuses on one domain of the Ecological framework: protective factors in family relationships. It discusses new brain research that shows that positive relationships in the early years have a measurable impact on the child's cognitive and emotional development and hypothesises that relationships with the wider family may also support better child outcomes. In Confucian societies, intergenerational family relationships are crucial in providing care for the elderly. As the 'One child' norm extends (not only in China) but across many Asian societies, the challenges for young people in supporting their parents and grandparents may become overwhelming. This article suggests families need state support to carry out their protective role in mitigating the risks experienced by both the young and the old. A state/family partnership approach is likely to be more acceptable, more effective, and more economic than state care alone.

The teenage years can be a confusing time for all youth, including GLBT teens. Challenges and questions can arise that only a family support system can answer. This helpful guide teaches GLBT teens how to maintain healthy familial relationships. Strategies for coming out to parents and siblings, and how to communicate with others, as well as how to understand and react to the emotions of others are also explored

Family interaction and attachment assume prominent roles in social control theories of delinquency. However, the degree of conceptualization and the measurement strategies generally employed arguably are inadequate to capture the real dynamic quality of such relationships and to specify their effects on delinquency involvement. The purpose of this research is to distinguish more precisely those family interaction mechanisms which are associated with delinquency. The analysis, based on a sample of 824 adolescents, leads to the specification of seven distinct family interaction dimensions: control and supervision, identity support, caring and trust, intimate communication, instrumental communication, parental disapproval of peers, and conflict. Compared with research based on a single attached‐unattached dimension, this multidimensional model gives a much more complete and precise sense of the kind of relationships which exist between parents and their more or less delinquent children. In addition, the analysis shows that the family interaction variables have similar effects on delinquency in both‐parent, mother‐only, and mother/stepfather homes. The analysis by race, sex, and race‐sex subgroups suggests, however, that while there is a core of family attachment dimensions that is important for all adolescents, there are several important subgroup differences.