Reference Reviews

Lawrence Looks at Books

American Families in Crisis: A Reference Handbook. Jeffrey S. Turner. 305p. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2009. 978-1-59884-164-0; 2008-43888. $55.

With the annual number of divorces so high and the marriage rate at its lowest in the nation’s history, there is much discussion of the decline of the American family. However, there are difference in opinion over the causes of these changes. In this guide, family studies scholar, Jeffrey Turner, reviews scholarship on the dynamics of American families. He focuses on those factors in American life that place the greatest stress on families. Significantly, the political red herring of same-sex marriage is not among the issues causing turmoil for the typical family. Instead, the greater causes for concern are addiction, chronic disease, divorce, elder care, infidelity, runaway children and unemployment. In recent years, domestic abuse, military deployment, school violence, teenage suicides and natural disasters have had a significant impact on American families. In all these situations, patterns of life are disrupted and families must come to an accommodation with their new circumstances. How families cope has become a major focus of study among social scientists. Many researchers hope that by understanding the ways which the family group reacts to different domestic crises, they may ultimately help others cope successfully with similar problems. Turner explains the underlying theories and methods of this research. He examines the state of research on a dozen family issues from divorce to runaways. His commentary illuminates current social trends and their implications for family life. He places current academic research in context with a chronology of a century of social change in the United States and biographies of pioneering scholars in family studies and therapy. Turner also provides current data and documents, as well as annotated lists of relevant organizations and publications. In short, he provides students and families with an excellent starting point for research on many important domestic problems. His guide is recommended for both public and academic libraries.