Overview

In this essay collection, a variety of authorities explore the significance of parent-child interaction and its implications for all stages of family life. Numerous aspects of this socialization process in changing societies throughout the world are represented, for relatively uniform societies, such as in Western Europe; multicultural societies, such as in North America; and traditional societies facing the impact of modernization or Westernization of values, such as in India, China, or Japan. Individual approaches range from analyses of typical intergenerational changes to direct comparisons of specific family systems within and among societies, cultures, and ethnic groups. Also discussed are current theories in the area of parent-child interaction, including changing authority structures, differences between fathers and mothers, adjustment and social disorganization crises of children, pressures of modernization, cultural transitions, divorce, and the problems of child abuse. A valuable bibliographic essay, referring to many related works, appears at the end of the volume.