Family Theories

Family Theories: An Introduction by James M. White, Todd F. Martin, and new co-author Kari Adamsons provides an incisive, thorough primer to current theories of the family that balances the diversity and richness of a broad scope of scholarly work in a concise manner. This best-selling text draws upon eight major theoretical frameworks developed by key social scientists to explain variation in family life. These frameworks include social exchange and choice, symbolic-interaction, family life course development, systems, conflict, feminist, ecological, and functional theories.

This new Fifth Edition includes suggestions for integrating theory to guide a research program and more applications for those going on to careers in the helping professions. With an increased focus on both classical theories as well as contemporary and emerging theories, this text challenges students to think about how families and family theories have changed over the last 70 years as well as where family scholarship is headed.

James M. White is a Professor in the School of Social Work and Family Studies at the University of British Columbia and resides with his wife and three daughters in Vancouver, Canada. His research interests include family development as well as marital interaction and communication. He is the author of Dynamics of Family Development (published in the U.S. in 1991 and translated into Japanese in 1994), as well as numerous articles that have appeared in the Journal of Family Issues, Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, Journal of Marriage and Family, and elsewhere. His authored and co-authored book chapters include a chapter with R. H. Rodgers on family development in the Sourcebook of Family Theories & Methods (1993). He has served as referee for numerous journals in family relations and public health and is an Associate Editor for the Canadian Journal of Public Health, Journal of Comparative Family Studies, and The International Encyclopedia of Family Relationships. He is a past-president of the Northwest Council on Family Relations, whose membership includes academics, practitioners, and therapists from the states and provinces of the Pacific Northwest.  He is also an Honorary Fellow of the National Council on Family Relations.     Todd F. Martin is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Trinity Western University. He is co-author of Families Across the Life Course (2012). He holds degrees in Theology, Family Studies, and Sociology. His work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Adolescent Research, International Migration Review and Journal of Family Theory and Review. He has also contributed to edited volumes on the topic of fertility as well as work and family interaction. His current research is on cohabitation, adolescent religious socialization, and union dissolution. Currently he is the Managing Editor of The Journal of Comparative Family Studies He is a member of the National Council on Family Relations and active in the Theory Construction and Research Methodology Workshop. Kari Adamsons is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Connecticut. She holds a master’s and Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies, and a B.A. in Psychology. Her work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Family Psychology, Parenting: Science and Practice, and the Journal of Family Theory and Review. Her research focuses on fathering, coparenting, and identity theory. She is an associate editor for the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships and a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Family Theory and Review. She is the current Chair of the Research and Theory section of the National Council on Family Relations, and she is a past Chair of the Theory Construction and Research Methodology Workshop.