1. What is a Family?
2. Foster Families
3. Adoptive Families
4. Single-parent Families
5. Stepfamilies
6. Lesbian and Gay Families
7. Grandparent-headed Families
8. Unraveling the Family: What We Can Learn from Family Diversity
This nonjudgmental, inclusive, and far-reaching text focuses on the diverse patterns of family structure prevalent in our society today. Family Diversity presents empirical research on the internal dynamics, social environments, support factors, prevalence of discrimination, and common stereotypes that account for the issues surrounding current family relations. By examining the history and nature of foster and adoptive, single-parent, lesbian/gay, step- and grandparent family units, Pauline Irit Erera is able to challenge both the idealized family prototype and the hegemony of the traditional structure. ''