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The Family Communication Sourcebook
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The Family Communication Sourcebook

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May 2006 | 568 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
The Family Communication Sourcebook provides an in-depth examination of contemporary theory and research in the area of family communication. This unique collection offers a state-of-the art approach by pairing conceptual pieces with original studies in the same general topic area. Editors Lynn H. Turner and Richard West present readers with a thoughtful and thorough exploration of the critical issues facing family communication researchers today.  

Key Features:
  • Illustrates the breadth and depth of contemporary research: A combination of groundbreaking research and reviews of past research in family communication allows readers to gain thorough knowledge in various areas. This reflective review of family communication provides historical perspective and illustrates the development of the field.
  • Uses a focused organizational pattern: Divided into four parts, the book comprehensively examines Defining and Interpreting the Family, Theoretical and Methodological Considerations, Internal Family Dynamics, and External Structural Frameworks. The first two chapters provide very different approaches to defining family, offering opportunities for active discussion of the limits of the definition of family.
  • Extensively reviews theoretical and methodological approaches: The strength of this collection is in its comprehensive examination of family communication theory and research. In addition, a framework for doing research in family communication is provided.  

This is the ultimate resource for scholars, students, and practitioners looking for cutting-edge family communication scholarship.


Lynn H. Turner and Richard West
Preface
L. Edna Rogers
Introduction: A Reflective View on the Development of Family Communication
 
Part I: Defining and Interpreting the Family
Kathleen M. Galvin
1. Diversity's Impact on Defining the Family: Discourse-Dependence and Identity
Kory Floyd, Alan C. Mikkelson, and Jeff Judd
2. Defining the Family Through Relationships
 
Part II: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations
Teresa C. Sabourin
3. Theories and Methatheories to Explain Family Communication: An Overview
Deborah S. Ballard-Reisch and Daniel J. Weigel
4. Established and Promising Models for Family Communication Research
Sandra Metts and Emily Lamb
5. Methodological Approaches to the Study of Family Communication
 
Part III: Internal Family Dynamics
 
Storytelling
Kristin M. Langellier and Eric E. Peterson
6. Family Storytelling as Communication Practice
Theresa L. Hest, Judy C. Pearson, and Jeffrey T. Child
7. Cover Stories as Family Communication Practice
 
Conflict
Michael E. Roloff and Courtney Waite Miller
8. Mulling About Family Conflict and Communication: What We Know and What We Need to Know
Patricia Noller, Sharon Atkin, Judith A. Feeney, and Candida Peterson
9. Family Conflict and Adolescents
 
Intimacy
Megan K. Foley and Steve Duck
10. "That Dear Octopus": A Family-Based Model of Intimacy
Sandra Petronio and Susanne M. Jones
11. When "Friendly Advice" Becomes a Privacy Dilemma for Pregnant Couples: Applying Communication Privacy Management Theory
 
Discipline
Thomas J. Socha
12. Orchestrating and Directing Domestic Potential Through Communication: Toward a Positive Reframing of “Discipline”
Steven R. Wilson, Xiaowei Shi, Lisa Tirmenstein, Alda Norris, and Jessica J. Rack
13. Parental Physical Negative Touch and Child Noncompliance in Abusive, Neglectful, and Comparison Families: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies
 
Rituals
Leslie A. Baxter and Dawn O. Braithwaite
14. Family Rituals
Leah E. Bryant
15. Ritual (In)Activity in Postbereaved Stepfamilies
 
Part IV: External Structural Frameworks
 
Media-Family Interface
J. Alison Bryant and Jennings Bryant
16. Implications of Living in a Wired Family: New Directions in Family and Media Research
Alison Alexander, Seok Kang, and Yeora Kim
17. Cyberkids: The Influence of Mediation and Motivation on Children’s Use of and Attitudes Toward the Internet
 
Work-Family Interface
Kristen Lucas and Patrice M. Buzzanell
18. Employees "Without" Families: Discourses of Family as an External Constraint to Work-Life Balance
Caryn E. Medved and Elizabeth E. Graham
19. Communicating Contradictions: (Re)Producing Dialectical Tensions Through Work, Family, and Balance Socialization Messages
 
Religion-Family Interface
Patrick C. Hughes and Fran C. Dickson
20. Relational Dynamics in Interfaith Marriage
Helen Sterk and Rebecca Kallemeyn
21. Women Belong in the...Pulpit: Family and Professional Tensions in the Lives of Southern Baptist Women Pastors
 
School-Family Interface
Pamela Cooper
22. Family-School Relationships: Theoretical Perspectives and Concerns
Scott A. Myers, Paul Schrodt, and Christine E. Rittenour
23. The Impact of Parents' Use of Hurtful Messages on Adult Children's Self-Esteem and Educational Motivation
 
Health Care–Family Interface
Loretta L. Pecchioni, Teresa L. Thompson, and Dustin J. Anderson
24. Interrelations Between Family Communication and Health Communication
Donna R. Pawlowski
25. Dialectical Tensions in Families Experiencing Acute Health Issues: Stroke Survivors’ Perceptions
Mary Anne Fitzpatrick
Epilogue: The Future of Family Communication Theory and Research
 
Author Index
 
Subject Index
 
About the Editors
 
About the Contributors

"The book's most distinctive feature is revealed in its third and fourth sections, where the editors pair chapters that address specific communication issues. These pairings--a review chapter and a fresh exemplar--address topics such as conflict, discipline, rituals, the impact of the media or workplace, religion, schools, and health care. Summing up: Highly recommended."

R. B. Stewart Jr.
Oakland University

"There is no question that this volume represents the best, most up-to-date compendium about family communication available to advanced students in various disciplines, especially family therapists who desire a substantive background for their practice. There are extremely relevant topics that deserve the attention of family-oriented scholars, researchers, and clinicians. There is no question, in my opinion, that this volume is a substantial contribution to the field of family communication. Once could go as far as asserting that it constitutes a milestone in the evolution of theories, models, and research not only in the field of communication but also in the sociological and psychological study of the family."

Luciano L'Abate
Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books
Key features
  • This unique collection illustrates the breadth and depth of contemporary research in family communication by first constructing a conceptual foundation and then pairing review chapters with data-based chapters in areas of topical interest to family researchers.
  • Parts I (Defining and Interpreting the Family) and II (Theoretical and Methodological Considerations) lay the foundation for Family Communication studies and explicates the variety of family forms that are explored throughout the Handbook. Using a focused organizational pattern, the Handbook captures well-researched areas representing internal family dynamics (such as how families engage in narrative sense-making, conflict, intimacy, or discipline) and illuminates critical interfaces between the family and other external structures (such as work, religion, school, health care, and the media). In so doing, the Handbook concentrates on how families communicate internally and externally.
  • In Parts III (Internal Family Dynamics) and IV (External Structural Frameworks), each subtopic contains two chapters:  The first chapter summarizes the literature in the area, suggests where the research should go in the future, and discusses problems within the existing research; the second chapter provides a specific research example of work in this area.
  •  The combination of review chapters and data-based chapters allows readers to get both state-of-the-art reviews and new knowledge in a variety of areas of importance to family communication.
  • The reflective review of the field of family communication provides historical perspective and illustrates the development of the field from the perspective of a researcher who was instrumental in the development.
  • Investigations of important family communication practices illustrate how families practice intimacy, conflict, discipline, and so forth.
  • A point-counterpoint approach to defining family, the text provides opportunities for active discussion of the limits of the definition of family.
  • An extensive review of the theoretical and methodological approaches to family communication provides a primer on the topic and in addition, it offers a framework for doing research in family communication.

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ISBN: 9781412909921
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