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Families and Their Social Worlds, 4th edition

Published by Pearson (August 6, 2019) © 2020

  • Karen Seccombe Portland State University

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For courses in Sociology of Family.

Study the family through a sociological lens

Families and Their Social Worlds examines current policies and how those policies impact families. Author Karen Seccombe encourages students to think about families beyond their own personal experiences, and even beyond family structure in the US. Integrated coverage of important policy considerations throughout each chapter illustrates what is currently being done, and perhaps more importantly what can be done, to strengthen families and intimate relationships.

The 4th Edition has been updated with examples that today's students will find relatable, as well as the latest statistics and research findings.

Hallmark features of this title

  • A thematically rich narrative encourages students to examine the family sociologically. Author Karen Seccombe shines a sociological light on the family by way of 5 key themes that help students develop a sociological understanding of the family. She helps students to see that:
    • Families are both a public social institution and a private personal relationship.
    • Social inequality has a powerful influence on family life.
    • An expanded strengths-based perspective can demonstrate paths to family resiliency.
    • Family policies reflect a complex set of historical, cultural, political and social factors.
    • Understanding families in the United States requires a comparative perspective.

New and updated features of this title

  • UPDATED: Coverage of contemporary social issues reinforces the relevance of course concepts to students' lives. Highlights include the #MeToo movement, online dating and economic issues in a post-recession era.
  • UPDATED: Greater attention to the political debates that affect families and intimate relationships helps students learn how to analyze today's problems sociologically. Highlights include immigration policy, the DACA program and climate change.
  • UPDATED: An increased focus on global issues emphasizes similarities and differences in the challenges that families face all over the world. Highlights include changes to the one-child policy in China, world family planning efforts and girls' access to education.
  • UPDATED: Enhanced photos and graphics grab students' attention and help them better retain the ideas and concepts presented.
  • UPDATED: World maps show differences and similarities across countries on different family-related topics.
  • UPDATED: Thought-provoking critical thinking questions throughout each chapter encourage students to synthesize course content and to think theoretically and empirically.

1. Families and the Sociological Imagination
2. Families Throughout the World
3. Families Throughout History
4. Sex, Gender, and Families
5. Social Stratification, Social Class, and Families
6. Race, Ethnicity, and Families
7. Courtship, Intimacy, and Partnering
8. Marriage as a Personal Relationship and Social Institution
9. Becoming a Parent
10. Raising Children
11. Families and the Work They Do
12. Aging Families
13. Violence and Abuse
14. Divorce, Repartnering, and Remarriage
15. Summing up Families and the Sociological Imagination

About our authors

Karen Seccombe (Meenan) considers herself a freelance academic these days. Over the course of her career, she has been a professor at the University of Alaska, University of Florida and Portland State University. Most recently she enjoyed teaching in the Semester at Sea program, where she traveled to Japan, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, South Africa, Ghana and Morocco with nearly 600 students. While the ship was at sea, Karen taught Marriage and Family Relationships, Gender and Society, and Social Problems, enriching her courses with the in-port opportunities she and her students experienced.

Karen is a proud community college graduate, which she credits as giving her “a great start in life.” She received her BA in sociology from California State University, Chico; her MSW in health and social welfare policy from the University of Washington; and her PhD in sociology from Washington State University.

She is the author of Exploring Marriages and Families, 3rd Edition; Social Problems, 16th Edition with William Kornblum; “So You Think I Drive a Cadillac?”: Welfare Recipients’ Perspectives on the System and its Reform, 4th Edition; Families in Poverty (all with Pearson); and Just Don’t Get Sick: Access to Health Care in the Aftermath of Welfare Reform with Kim Hoffman (Rutgers University Press). She is a National Council on Family Relations fellow, and a member of the American Sociological Association and the Pacific Sociological Association, where she has held elective offices.

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