The expanding family life cycle : individual, family, and social perspectives / Monica McGoldrick, Director, Multicultural Family Institute, Highland Park, New Jersey, Betty Carter, Emerita Director, Family Institute of Westchester, Nydia Garcia Preto, Associate Director, Multicultural Family Institute, Highland Park, New Jersey.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The life cycle in its changing context : individual, family, and social perspectives -- Women and the family life cycle -- Men and the family life cycle -- Social class and the life cycle -- The life cycle of economically fragile families -- Sexuality and the family life cycle -- Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and the family life cycle -- Spirituality and the family life cycle -- Siblings and the life cycle -- Single adults and the life cycle -- Friendship across the life cycle -- Migration and the family life cycle -- Becoming an adult : learning to love and work -- Becoming a couple : the joining of families -- Becoming parents : the family with children -- The transformation of the family system during adolescence -- Families at midlife : launching children and moving on -- Families in later life : challenges, opportunities, and resilience -- Death, loss, and the family life cycle -- Divorce : an unscheduled family transition -- Single-parent families : strengths, vulnerabilities, and interventions -- The remarriage cycle : divorced, multi-nuclear and recoupled families -- Chronic illness and the life cycle -- Alcohol problems and the life cycle -- Violence and the life cycle -- Creating meaningful rituals for new life cycle transitions -- The therapist and the family : the intersection of life cycles.