The family is currently a controversial topic both within the UK and Europe. While demographic trends seem to suggest that family structures and attitudes within the European Union are converging and that member states are facing similar social problems, their policy responses are very different. This book examines the differences between these national responses and that of the EU as contained in the social chapter. It analyses the key concepts underlying the formulation of family policy and illustrates it with the latest data much of it hitherto unpublished.

Here is a comprehensive source of vital information on single parent families in contemporary society. This book analyzes literature and empirical research concerning single parent families and explores issues and challenges they face. Contributing authors from many fields and perspectives examine a broad range of subjects relating to families in which one person is primarily responsible for parenting. The only state-of-the-art compendium on the topic of single parent families available today, the book synthesizes empirical, theoretical, and contemporary literature about the diversity, myths, and realities of single parent families in western countries. Each chapter contains a demographic overview, definitions, a literature review, and implications for practice, research, education, and social policy. Theoretical and conceptual perspectives related to parenting and wider families are included. An analysis, synthesis, and commentary on single parent families concludes the volume. Themes highlighted throughout the book include socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of single parent families, cultural and ethnic features, and legal and ethical components. Some chapter topics include: single parenthood following divorce single parenthood following death of a spouse never married teen mothers and fathers female-headed homeless families adoptions by single parents noncustodial mothers and fathers grandparents as primary parents single parents of children with disabilities Single Parent Families contains additional resources useful for family professionals: an annotated bibliography, a video/filmography, and a national community resource list. The book is intended for a multidisciplinary audience, including sociologists, psychologists, health care professionals, social workers, therapists, and other researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and educators. An ideal primary or reference text for undergraduate and graduate level programs, the book can also serve as a tool for staff development and continuing education in service agencies.

These are just some of the questions this controverisal book asks in its analysis of the European labour markets. By bringing together contributions from all over Europe, Women, Work and the Family in Europe outlines the similarities and differences between countries in terms of the problems of reconciling work and family. In doing so it questions the division of labour, not just in the labour market but also in the home, reviewing, for example, fatherhood and the effect of work commitments on men's time spent with their families. Contributions range from a study of family policies to the care of the elderly; from home working to gender roles, motherhood and class. Clearly written, systematic and comprehensive, this book reflects the growing interest in the European context and will appeal to students of social policy and European studies as well as all those involved in women's studies and sociology. Ruth Emerek, University of Aalborg, Denmark, Susan Mc Rae, Oxford Brookes University, Yvonne Hirdman, Sweden, Eileen Drew and Evelyn Mahon, both at Trinity College,

Originally published in 1989, this cross-national study investigates the role and pattern of family life in fourteen countries in contemporary Europe. Providing a wealth of information on European families, it is a key source for anyone wishing to understand the changes in the family at that time. The contributors argue that, far from withering away, the family remained a very important social unit which continued to have considerable influence on other social institutions such as the state and the labour market. The central theme is the interrelation between changes in production and working life on one hand, and changes in family life and reproduction on the other. The contributors focus on the pressures and contradictions produced by the division of functions between family and work, and on problems which have arisen as a consequence of the sometimes incompatible and even conflicting demands of the two institutions. They show that the evolution of the nuclear family model in Europe had led to a great diversity of family patterns, and conclude that the family in modern European societies still had a contribution to make which no other institution could provide.

Based on a long-term study of the policies of several European nations' lone mothers, this te×t reveals the contrasting attitudes in Europe towards lone mothers, and how they have been categorized and treated. Also e×amined is the role of men as both carers and cash-providers.

This book, which has been created in the framework of the EU-funded COST Action YOUNG-IN (CA17114), sheds a light on the structural disadvantages and opportunities in family formation among youth, offering an insight into the relevant contextual factors in eleven countries. Analyzing demographic trends and socioeconomic settings, including normative and institutional frameworks (that focus on family policies), the authors have identified and presented the peculiarities of the transition to parenthood, as well as common challenges that young people face in that process. Endorsements: "Gathering rich and novel information from 11 European countries that have been so far neglected in family formation studies this volume is an enlightening reading for policy makers, social policy students and young people themselves." — Anu Toots, Tallinn University, Estonia and COST Action YOUNG-IN "This book brings together scholars from all over Europe to provide an updated account of demographic change and family formation in Europe. The book is quite impressive both in its scope and depth, and should be an essential read for those interested in the demographic challenges that our countries are facing." — Johannes Bergh, Institute for Social Research, Oslo, Norway

Since 1945 Europe has experienced many periods of turmoil and conflict and as many moments of peace and integration: from the devastation felt in the aftermath of World War II to the recovery in the 1950s and 1960s; to the new challenges in the 1970s and 1980s when neoliberal policies led to fundamental social and economic changes, marked by the effects of the oil shock and widespread unemployment; and then 1989 and after when the existing world order experienced new convulsions. In this brilliant and comprehensive work, the author, one of the best known social historians of Europe, discusses a wide range of subjects, not shying away from controversial topics: family structure, work, consumption, values, migration, inequality, elites, civil society, social movements, media, welfare state, education, and urban policies. He focuses on the fundamental changes European societies underwent in the second half of the twentieth century but also explores what divides Europeans, what unites them, and what sets them apart from the rest of the world. This major historical work will be an important and highly sought-after addition for library collections as well as an important volume for course adoptions.

This book provides insights in and explanations of the varieties and similarities in values in Europe in a number of life spheres at the turn of the millennium.