Introduction: Springing Forward from the Past

Barbara J. Risman, Springing Forward from the Past

Andrew J. Cherlin, One Thousand and Forty-Nine Reasons Why It’s Hard to Know When a Fact is a Fact

Philip A. Cowan, When Is a Relationship between Facts a Causal One?

Linda Burton, Uncovering Hidden Facts That Matter in Interpreting Individuals’ Behaviors: An Ethnographic Lens

In the News: Not Much Sense in Those Census Stories (Washington Post)

Part I: How We Got Here

Stephanie Coontz, The Evolution of American Families

Steven Mintz, American Childhood as a Social and Cultural Construct

In the News: A “Golden Age” of Childhood? (Christian Science Monitor)

In the News: How We Took the Child Out of Childhood (New York Times)

Donna L. Franklin, African Americans and the Birth of the Modern Marriage

Karen Struening, Families “In Law” and Families “In Practice”: Does the Law Recognize Families as They Really Are?

M. V. Lee Badgett, Briefing Paper: Will Providing Marriage Rights to Same-Sex Couples Undermine Heterosexual Marriage? Evidence from Scandinavia

In the News: Experts Question European Studies Cited in FMA Debate (Washington Blade)

Kerry Ann Rockquemore and Loren Henderson, Interracial Families in Post-Civil Rights America

Michael Rosenfeld, Briefing Paper: The Steady Rise of Nontraditional Romantic Unions: The Case of Interracial and Intercultural Marriage

In the News: Interracial Marriage: A Cultural Taboo Fades (Chicago Tribune)

Part II: Making Families and Intimate Relationships in the 21st Century

Pepper Schwartz, Why Is Everyone Afraid of Sex?

Pamela J. Smock and Wendy, Manning New Couples, New Families: The Cohabitation Revolution in the United States

Joshua Coleman, Parenting Adult Children in the 21st Century

Naomi Gerstel and Natalia Sarkisian, Briefing Paper: Marriage Reduces Social Ties

In the News: The Greedy Marriage: Two Scholars Argue That Good Spouses Can Make Bad Neighbors (Boston Globe)

Virginia E. Rutter, The Case for Divorce

In the News: How to Stay Married (Times of London)

Allen Li, Briefing Paper: The Impact of Divorce on Children's Behavior Problems

In the News: Divorce May Not Cause Kids’ Bad Behavior (USA Today)

In the News: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Divorce (Washington Times)

Patrick Heuveline, Briefing Paper: How Do They Do That? Estimating the Proportion of Marriages That End in Divorce

Stephanie Coontz and Nancy Folbre, Briefing Paper: Marriage, Poverty, and Public Policy

In the News: A Poor Excuse for Marriage (Washington Post)

Robert-Jay Green, From Outlaws to In-Laws: Gay and Lesbian Couples in Contemporary Society

Mignon R. Moore, Independent Women: Equality in African American Lesbian Relationships

Fact Sheet: Myths and Realities about Same-Sex Families

Etiony Aldarondo and Edward Ameen, The Immigration Kaleidoscope: Knowing the Immigrant Family Next Door

In the News: The Picture-Perfect American Family? These Days, It Doesn’t Exist (Washington Post)

Part III: Unequal Beginnings: Social Class and America’s Children

Philip A. Cowan and Carolyn P. Cowan, Beyond Family Structure: Family Process Studies Help to Reframe Debates about What’s Good for Children

Valerie Adrian, Opinion Piece: A Mother’s Day Gift That Makes a Real Difference

Fact Sheet: Military Childcare: A Government Success Story

Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr., Diverging Development: The Not-So-Invisible Hand of Social Class in the United States

Annette Lareau, Briefing Paper: Unequal Childhoods: Inequalities in the Rhythms of Daily Life

In the News: Both Sides of Inequality (New York Times)

Kevin Roy and Natasha Cabrera, Not Just Provide and Reside: Engaged Fathers in Low-Income Families

Paula England and Kathryn Edin, Briefing Paper: Unmarried Couples with Children: Why Don't They Marry? How Can Policy-Makers Promote More Stable Relationships?

In the News: Marital Mythology: Why the New Crisis in Marriage Isn't (Reason Online)

In the News: Book Examines Trend of Unmarried Parents (National Public Radio)

In the News: It Takes a Wedding (New York Times)

Andraé L. Brown, Melina Dimitriou, and Lisa Dressner, Rituals as Tools of Resistance—From Survival to Liberation

Part IV: The Unfinished Gender Revolution

Barbara J. Risman and Elizabeth Seale, Betwixt and Be Tween: Gender Contradictions among Middle Schoolers

Elizabeth A. Armstrong, Paula England, and Alison C. K. Fogarty, Orgasm in College Hookups and Relationships

Kathleen Gerson, Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory

Oriel Sullivan, Changing Men's Contribution to Family Work

Oriel Sullivan and Scott Coltrane, Briefing Paper: Men's Changing Contribution to Housework and Child Care

In the News: Chores for Two? Men Are Pitching in with Domestic Duties More Than Ever Before (Christian Science Monitor)

Molly Monahan Lang and Barbara J. Risman, Briefing Paper: A “Stalled” Revolution or a Still Unfolding One?

In the News: Signs of Détente in the Battle Between Venus and Mars (New York Times)

David Cotter, Paula England, and Joan Hermsen, Briefing Paper: Moms and Jobs: Trends in Mothers’ Employment and Which Mothers Stay Home

In the News: Working Moms More the Norm Than Exception (Palo Alto Online)

Sanjiv Gupta, Briefing Paper: Women’s Money Matters: Earnings and Housework in Dual-Earner Families

In the News: Wealthier Women Do Less Housework (Daily Collegian)

Lynn Prince Cooke, Briefing Paper: “Traditional” Marriages Now Less Stable Than Ones Where Couples Share Work and Household Chores

In the News: Matrimonial Bliss Lies in the Mop Bucket and Broom (Seattle P-I)

Rhea V. Almedia, Domestic Violence in Heterosexual Relationships

Conclusion

Barbara J. Risman, Families: A Great American Institution