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A Perspective on Tomorrow’s Families

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Handbook of Marriage and the Family

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to examine ideas about families in the future, from the viewpoint both of what is likely and of what may be possible. Usually considerable energy is expended in defining the family as a term in theoretical discussions of the family. However, in this essay, six approaches to the family as a concept are summarized: the family as used in ideological abstraction, as a romantic image, as a unit of treatment, as a last resort, as a process, and as a network. Although these topics do not exhaust the question of definition, they are suggestive of the range of ideas available. The difficulties of assessing the potential for change are discussed. The future itself, as an environmental setting for families, is examined to the limits of our imagination, invention, and innovation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Individual and Family Studies, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    Barbara H. Settles

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  1. Barbara H. Settles
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Union Graduate School of the Union Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Marvin B. Sussman

  2. Department of Individual and Family Studies, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA

    Marvin B. Sussman  & Suzanne K. Steinmetz  & 

  3. Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

    Suzanne K. Steinmetz

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Settles, B.H. (1987). A Perspective on Tomorrow’s Families. In: Sussman, M.B., Steinmetz, S.K. (eds) Handbook of Marriage and the Family. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7151-3_7

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