This paper describes an approach to family life education which consists of a set of three educational objectives: (a) learning general principles; (b) learning how to apply principles in specific situations; and (c) learning skills to implement the principles in everyday life. (Author)

This issue of "Emphasis" deals with families in transition, providing some model programs for the new family and some historical perspectives on how families have developed over time. Articles include: (1) "Nostalgia on the Right" (Nancy Theriot); (2) "Heart to Heart" (Nancy Harrington-MacLennan); (3) "The Media Get the Message" (Janet Alyn); (4)…

Figures from the 1980 census show that the all-American family (husband, at-home wife, and two children) represented only 11 percent of all households. In 1985, the percentage dropped to seven percent. This article highlights the characteristics of contemporary families and briefly reviews research on families that are happy. (MT)

Examines the constructs of individuation, differentiation, and identity formation from the individual development and family system theory perspectives. States that individuation and identity formation process encompass both the individual's efforts toward separation from family of origin and impact of these efforts on identity formation and the…

Examines the social and social psychological implications of infertility and involuntary childlessness. Examines the clinical and popular literature on the correlates and causes of infertility and the social psychological consequences of infertility. Suggests ways that family practitioners and researchers might overcome some of the limitations.…

Analyzed marital satisfaction of wives from the perspective of integrating the combined effects of preschool children, employment, social class, and marital social desirability. Rather than indicating a mild problem for all wives, the family life-cycle data actually reflected a very severe source of distress for a small group of wives. (Author/ABL)

Presents a rationale and framework for reconceptualizing the present and future practice of home economics based upon the perception of home economics as a unified field concerned with home and family. The framework combines historic and contemporary views of home economics that integrate professional involvement over time, place, and role. (JOW)

Counsels teachers to become aware of their students' family life. (Author/RH)

Used data from mothers and fathers to examine patterns and levels of functioning in families of 106 first-married and 108 remarried couples. Compared with first-married group, remarried families scored significantly lower on 9 of 15 standard measures of family functioning. Patterns of functioning as assessed by relationships among 15 measures were…

Surveyed Vietnam veterans' (n=131 males, 4 females) perceptions of impact of their wartime experiences on their current family life. Found direct effects of war service on psychological impact and direct effects of psychological impact on family satisfaction and functioning. Found no direct effects between war service and family satisfaction and…

Treats family as everyday, working vocabulary or discourse for assigning meaning to social relations. Considers social processes and descriptive conditions through which meaning is established, managed, and transcended. Presents ethnographic material to show how family is local enactment of practical reasoning substantively bounded by local…

Uses distributive justice approach in reviewing research on family work, organizing review around three factors that contribute to sense of fairness: outcome values, comparison referents, and justifications. Concludes that women sense injustice if they lack some outcome they desire, have a high standard for comparison, and believe there is no…

Outlines relevant methodological issues that need to be considered for creation of effective family life education programs. Describes framework for developing family life education programs. Framework is intended to apply to variety of family life education materials including curricula for workshops, newsletters, videotape-based programs, and…